[pinkyphimu]

why i left the catholic church...

i went to catholic school grades k-8. i switched from one school to another in grade 7.

1. age 8- got in trouble on a monday for not attending church the day before. when i said that my parents didn't take me, the nun told me i should have walked.

2. age 10- we were discussing the israelites being called the chosen ones and i asked if they were the chosen ones, then why do we (as catholics) say that we are the only right religion and everyone else is going to hell. i got in trouble for asking.

3. somewhere before grade 7- we had a children's mass on the first friday of every month which was solely attended by the children of the school, the parents of the kids we were
readers and maybe a few little old ladies. the homily was all about how jesus wanted us to give more money to the church. the priest actually related it back to the bible.

4. age 13- i had already switched schools and was becoming a little more comfortable with this school's take on religion. then, a nun, who i totally respected until this incident, told us in health class that if a woman is raped and gets pregnant it is because she enjoyed it. i just about fell out of my chair. this was the last straw for me.

today, i am a "maria-ist." essentially, i believe in god and jesus. i believe that god is not in a building, but is always with you. i also believe that you have to be a good person 100% of the time, not just the 45 minutes you are in a church (as many people believe.) i have felt drawn to judaism, but have not done enough research to decide if i truly would be able to convert.