The old gods make a comeback in Italy?

[Pete Ross Junior]

Interesting story. I wonder if there's any truth to it?

Italian Catholics reverting to ancient Roman gods, seers and sorcerers* - Catholic Herald

There has always been and undercurrent of folk magic in Italy.

The question is whether this is a manufactured moral panic about the same old, or if there's really something new going on.

[Sock Puppet]

Oh. I was hoping for .

[JoeP]

Originally Posted by Sock Puppet

Oh. I was hoping for .

Italians are more

[specious_reasons]

I noticed this is about lapsed Catholics:

A startling number of lapsed Catholics in Italy are reverting to the deities of ancient Rome and turning to pagan seers, astrologers and psychics, attesting to a potentially catastrophic collapse of Catholicism in its traditional bastion.

It's likely these are people inclined to belief but have fallen away from the main organized religion. It's not really surprising to me they're reverting to pre-Christian religious practices, although I'm skeptical that most of these are real. Like Wicca, I expect these new practices are modern reimaginings of old religions. I also expect a lot of it is good old-fashioned flimflammery.

[Ari]

What are saints but the holy spirit knocking boots with a human to create a human/God hybrid but without all that cool animal transmogrification stuff.

[Pete Ross Junior]

Originally Posted by specious_reasons

I noticed this is about lapsed Catholics ...

Lapsed Catholics, like my father the atheist of Italian ancestry? No magic.

Practicing Catholics like his grandmother born inna the old country in the 19th century? Molta stregoneria.

My guess is there is a lot of new age touchy feely (almost in the American style).

But for purely aesthetic and not ideological reasons I kind of like Jupiter and that lot making a comeback.

[specious_reasons]

Originally Posted by Pete Ross Junior

[...]
But for purely aesthetic and not ideological reasons I kind of like Jupiter and that lot making a comeback.

Same here.