What's it like to be a Catholic?

[O.T.I.S.]

Not much different than other religions.

I was raised catholic from birth until my mid/late teens. Then i attended a Church of Christ every sunday for almost 2 years. Also attended a Baptist church for about a year on and off.
Aside from the traditions and customs of catholicism there wasnt much difference.
All Christians who believe that they can sin wildly during the week and then feel much better about themselves by Sunday afternoon because they went to church that morning and asked for forgiveness. Only thing is there are many more things in Catholicism that are considered sacred and heavily frowned upon whereas the other Christian religions you can get away with much more. Take divorce for instance. THe way marriages and divorces are looked upon among Baptists and CoC (Church Of Christ) people is more leniant than catholics. As a Catholic, getting married is considered a holy union sacred by God and divorce shouldnt even be looked at as an option even tho it is. But I feel like for baptists and CoC people marriage is just like another business transaction that you can get in and out whenever you feel like.That's why they get married so quickly because they look at it as "if i dont like it i can always get out". Whereas catholics are shamed and deterred from divorces with every tool the church can use .

Now that i think about it it kinda makes sense because if i'm not mistaken the reason King James left the traditional Catholic influence Church was because they wouldnt let him get a divorce. Someone please correct me on that since ya'll know religion has never been my most knowledgeable subject.

Side note: It's always been funny to me how Voodoo in the Caribbean and latin America tends to intertwine with Catholicism, tho. Growing up in Haiti i remember some people would practice both is not all 3 (Catholicism, Voodoo and Protestant/Baptists)

Well, thats because of the Templar Knights I think

They were more agnostic and hid it from the catholic church

But pretty much what everyone says in here, nothing changed

 

[Elle Seven]

Interesting question.

Around Christmas, I was playing around on the AM side of the radio and stumbled onto a Catholic station. The conversations were fascinating. Even the advertisements all had explicit Catholic messaging...like asking the listener if they were in need of a good Catholic doctor and to call the number provided if they did.

They've got call-in shows where people are talking about their ethical dilemmas and asking for advice on how to handle them according to Catholic ethics and tradition...very eye-opening. I never really hear following Jesus' example as a model for living on the show, but maybe I haven't been listening long enough...

I'm on the outside looking in. Is it deep like for Catholics?

I've mostly thought Catholicism is heavily ritualistic and just couldn't get with any religion where I can't talk to God directly. I know this wasn't his aim for doing so when he did lol, but it's why I enjoy hearing about all things Henry VIII and Catholic Catherine of Aragon vs Protestant Anne Boleyn.

 

[horizon]

bump

Why would you do this

 

[JadeB]

Why would you do this

It's an interesting thread topic and I want more discussion

 

[horizon]

It's an interesting thread topic and I want more discussion

And you didn't want to make a new thread? Lol

 

[ViShawn]

There's a lot of traditions and rituals in Catholicism you don't see in other Christian denominations. In Mass, we take the Eucharist seriously because we want to remember Jesus' sacrifice. I did Sunday School, went to church almost weekly, did Confirmation, did Lent, own a rosary, Bible, St. Christopher, etc. We have a LOT of symbols too.

I appreciate growing up this way because there's a certain rite of passage to be a confirmed Catholic in the church. It's quite interesting to me that Jewish and Catholics are heavily represented in American Law & Politics. I wonder if it's due to their upbringing and how serious their religions are. Even though I consider myself the Christmas & Easter category now I still practice Lent almost every year and pray, though I think the older I get I adopt a more Universalist view of God & religion and I find other religions interesting even if I don't practice as much.

I also appreciate that Catholics have some form of law i.e through the Vatican and the Catechism vs I always felt a lot of Protestant Churches (outside of maybe Episcopalians and Pentecostals) just made things up and there was no uniformity among churches even if they were the same denomination. I appreciate going to my uncles Southern Baptist Church every now and then but most fire and brimstone style churches (which you get more in Evangelical & Baptist churches) rarely landed with me.