What role did religion play in the lives of Luzia, Hualit, and Valentina? How was religion different from belief for them?

What role did religion play in the lives of Luzia, Hualit, and Valentina? How was religion different from belief for them?

Religion was something imposed upon Luzia and Hualit, while their beliefs lived on despite what the state told them to do. Religion caused fear.

I don't think religion factored into any of the lives of the characters. The book was rife with duplicitous natures, cruelty, sadism and betrayal. Where I come from, none of those things have anything to do with bona fide religion.

I think religion could be more defined as fear in this book.

Religion was the organized standards that was imposed the people by the state and other than making broad statements that these standards were required by God, they were basically strict laws with unreasonable penalties. Faith was in the hope of Hualit in her understanding that there is something more and also something ancient that she was longing for. Luzia was in a confused state and straddling both worlds to try to prosper while she learned of who she was and what she was capable of. Valentine had a low sense of self and knew the liturgy of state imposed religion but had no personal understanding of anything else for most of the book.

The religion of their families had to be buried because of a religion that was forced on them to be able to survive. That was true for many during this time period, but that’s not true religious belief but succumbing to a scare tactic. It made me sad to think that this was yet another book illustrating how religion was wielded as a power and threat to so many.

Citizens felt they had to present themselves as religious by attending church, but they drew no comfort or peace from it. They appeared to go out of fear, and their beliefs were not discussed except that Luzia and Hualit had to deny their Jewish roots in order to survive.

I think Hualit had loved her own religion, Judaism, although she had to hide that. Her dreams of being able to practice her religion openly in Salonika sustained her. Although Valentina and Luzia each practiced Christianity, neither seemed especially religious in the sense that going to church was meaningful for them. However, each prayed occasionally (if I remember correctly), and each found a way to be true to themselves and to be kind to others. In that sense perhaps they felt a sense of spirituality (defined broadly). The Catholic Church, as shown in the book, was appalling, but I also thought the characters appreciated beauty, nature, connection, generosity - all values associated with aspects of religion. I don't think the book was anti-religious. It more showed a range of religion from its worst to its best.

Religion played the part of punishment, control and fear. It was not about faith, but power.

Religion was like the law in modern terms. The dominant religion, Catholicism, imposed their standards, traditions, morality on citizens, like judges. Disobedience ended you in jail or dead. Faith was in your heart, and your private thoughts.