I found the readings about The Madonna of 115th Street and Race and Religion Among the Chosen People of Crown Heights particularly interesting because they were the ones that stressed religion the most this entire semester. The two works’ discussions of religion, Catholicism and Judaism respectively, show how religion is a strong force and influence on people, who subsequently influence the cities and neighborhoods they live in.
It is truly a marker of NYC that it can hold both neighborhoods such as Italian Harlem and Jewish/black Crown Heights (and Chinatown, and Dominican Washington Heights, and the Mexican barrio, and…), and the religion and race of the people living in those areas affects each neighborhood; for example, the religion and race differences ware a major reason for the clash between the Jews and the blacks in Crown Heights.
The Catholic Italians of Italian Harlem created an entire culture where they lived, one of family, respect, unity–the domus. Orsi argues that “in some way the Italian home and family, what I have been calling the domus, is the religion of Italian Americans.” Here, he is arguing that religion does not necessarily have to mean the religious laws that one follows, but that the Italian home and family became the religion. Furthermore, the festa is the ultimate display of the domus, and its grand presentation through the streets show the incredible impact this group of people have had on NYC. It shows the significance of Italian values in American culture, and their commitment to these values, an admirable feature.
The Jews of Crown Heights also display this quality of commitment in their strong Orthodox practices. Though their practices have caused multiple confrontations and some violence in their neighborhood of Crown Heights, they maintain their ties to Judaism, and the culture that comes with it. Therefore, one’s religion affects his culture significantly, and the way a neighborhood develops subsequently.
