Is it possible to be too religious?
Will you please explain the following assertion further: "In some places, a certain excessive supernaturalism arises that makes either the Holy Spirit or the devil responsible for all the things that happen, a theory which practically smothers the possibility of human initiative"
It is a fact that a certain kind of obscure and simplistic faith tends to attribute any good that is done to the direct action of the Spirit and all the evil that is done to the direct intervention of the devil. People who go to these extremes see the Spirit or the devil everywhere.
The Church is wiser than that and closer to the reality of things. Here is what she says on the matter. We do have a choice between good and evil. With God's grace, we can accomplish virtuous actions. But we can also perform evil actions for which we are truly responsible. God created us as free beings. The devil cannot take this gift away from us.