Why It’s Hard to Be a Christian in Italy
“ITALY! You’re going to ITALY!” That’s how everyone responded when they heard that I would be spending the fall semester of my graduate program in Bologna. Now, Bologna is a great city itself, and with quick access to other Italian cities like Venice, Rome and Florence, I was sure to be in heaven on Earth. And I am in many ways. The air is clean; the food tastes better here; and the work-life balance makes living to 82 years old a piece of cake. But what makes me stutter in my breath when I say that I am doing fine here in Italy? Why the sadness behind the smiles? Maybe because I don’t belong to Italy’s people. I’m not talking about the color of my skin or my English language. Italy has long been a country of different cultures meshed together under multiple empires – before and after the Romans. Sicily and Northern Italy are practically different countries culturally, an Italian would tell you. That “uh” feeling doesn’t reflect that I’m a foreigner or my ethnicity, but my faith – m