Religion and Catholicism in The Sopranos

I recently finished watching the HBO series The Sopranos, and found that there are various religious elements present in the conflicts and issues faced by the Soprano family and crime-ring throughout the show. First, throughout the show Tony Soprano is seeing a psychotherapist to help him cope with his depression and the various side effects it has brought on like panic attacks and fainting. I found it interesting that he continued to blame his depression on those around him (his mom, sister, stingy business partners, etc.) yet failed to realize that he may be depressed because of all the crime and murder surrounding him on an almost daily basis. Additionally, he is constantly faced with obstacles at home and at work, whether it be his son trying to commit suicide, his wife divorcing him, or having to murder his own cousin out of support for his mafia family. I thought this, paired with the constant crimes committed by him or under his consent, made an excellent example of the Buddhist concept of karma. As Tony and his criminal associates continue to commit heinous crimes like murder and grand theft through the manipulation of those deemed to be inferior to them, they continue to face even larger problems in their own lives. Consistently throughout the show each member of the Soprano crime family faces issues like their family members being killed, threats to go to prison or actually being convicted, and being put on house arrest. It seemed as though all of these characters are blissfully unaware that their malicious actions and cruel behavior have a bearing on their life, whether it be contributing to depression or horrible things happening to them in return.

Furthermore, although the Italian family origin of the Sopranos is built on the principles of Catholicism, many of the characters do not make any effort to act pursuant to its values. Many of the characters seem to use being Catholic as a crutch to justify their wrongdoings, while continuing to live their lives without any devotion to becoming Catholic. Tony’s wife, Carmela, used to regularly go to church and confess at the beginning of the series, yet shied away after becoming too close intimately with her priest. In this way, it almost seems as though the show is trying to depict Catholicism as superficial, after the priest tried to make a move on Carmela in her own home. Overall, I found it interesting that this show so heavily promoted the importance of being Catholic, yet none of the characters act in accordance with Catholic values, and the church itself is also portrayed as underhanded and extremely political.