Religion d'attestation et créativité communautaire. L'immigration italienne au Rio Grande do Sul (1875-1914) . / Attesting Religion and Group Creativity. The Italian Emigration to Rio Grande do Sul (1875-1914)

When the social and cultural behaviour of Italian immigrants and their descendants to the Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) is studied, two features become immediately evident. On the one hand, the preservation of the original languages, customs and traditions, and on the other hand the total absence of an Italian national conscience. Finding themselves transplanted to a world which lacked the cultural symbols or references which would have allowed them to relate their memories, the immigrant's major concern was to re-establish the cultural elements of the Italian villages, particularly on the basis of religious values. The Catholic Church with its rites and feast-days was for many years the only social manifestation of the Italian colonies in this area. After examining religion as a psychological prop, the birth of the spontaneous communities of worship, the construction of the churches and the choice and role of the "lay priests", the A. concludes by emphasizing the analogy existing between the major aspects of the Italian colonization at the Rio Grande do Sul and those contained in the dossier of the Afro-Brazilian religions, studied by Roger Bastide.Manfroi Olivio. Religion d'attestation et créativité communautaire. L'immigration italienne au Rio Grande do Sul (1875-1914) . / Attesting Religion and Group Creativity. The Italian Emigration to Rio Grande do Sul (1875-1914). In: Archives de sciences sociales des religions, n°41, 1976. pp. 55-75