Visions of two gods: Religion, class, and the Italian community of Carbon County, Utah, 1900--1930

Historians have typically understood the ethno-religious traditions of American immigrant groups as a provincial barrier, bottling immigrants in self-contained communities and preventing the development of class consciousness or labor agitation. Such an assumption is particularly pronounced for Catholic ethnic groups. The case of Italian immigrants in Carbon County, Utah, however, suggests that religion is a more dynamic social force, one that facilitates both the stability of ethnic communities as well as labor protest. Between 1900 and 1930, over one thousand Italians migrated through eastern Utah's coal mines; many miners brought wives and children, and Italian families planted roots in Utah. They shared religious experiences with “outside” groups such as Mormons, Protestants, and Greek Orthodox; this religious mixing may be peculiar to western or frontier conditions. Yet, despite the lack of a strong institutional presence, lay Italian Catholics preserved their own religious identities. Italians' religious survival was possible largely because it centered on the family as the locus of religious experience. Italian women maintained internal familial control, including guidance over the family economy as well as holding the role of spiritual leadership. Italian men were typically less church-centered than women, but, because their family was viewed as a sacred institution, their work outside the home constituted a quasi-religious commitment. As the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) attempted the organization of Utah's coal fields, Italian men combined the social teachings of the Catholic Church, their aim to achieve the social status of “white Americans,” and their familial obligations into a dedicated union drive.