I should know better than to broach a serious topic on C before 7 am, but for some reason, religion was on my mind this morning. I think I saw something on the news last night, or over the weekend- some mucky-muck in the Roman Catholic Church was complaining that Ted Kennedy's funeral mass should not have been allowed in a Catholic Church because he supported equal rights for gays and a woman's right to choose whether or not to carry a pregnancy. C and I were both raised Catholic, but lapsed long ago, before we met. I don't know his reasons, exactly, but I couldn't stomach a religion that worked so hard to exclude people. As a woman, I felt excluded myself. My only role, it seemed, was to have kids and repopulate the Church. So I stopped going in my senior year of high school, and have returned only for weddings, christenings, and funerals.
In spite of our having turned away from Catholicism, both C and I appreciate the fact that we learned something about God when we were children. I think we would not have been equipped to make educated decisions about our personal faith without that foundation- CCD and Sunday school as kids; C even went to a Catholic high school for a couple of years. Initially, we believed we would have our baby christened in the Catholic Church, and we'd start going to mass again, as a family, to provide a similar foundation for our children.
Then I saw that interview on the news and was reminded how exclusionary the Church can be. I will not send my child to a closed-minded institution to learn about God. So, we now have about 7 months to figure out what religion we'll adopt as adults. I want to find a church that teaches acceptance and inclusion, that emphasizes the similarities between people and celebrates diversity. Whether we have a son or daughter, I want my child to feel valued in the religious community.
So, I'm curious what religions are out there that are more open-minded (I'm guessing there are few more closed-minded), and would love to get some feedback from whatever audience I have today. Are you practicing any particular religion? How does your faith make you feel welcome and valued?
C and I will talk about this some more. Probably a lot more; but not before 7 am.
12 years ago
