World View on Catholic Religion - Essay Example

Growing up my parents raised my brother, sister and myself Catholic. We attended Sunday school and as we got older would attend church with our parents. We continued this tradition until I was about 12 years old, which is when we suddenly stopped attending church and church functions. Looking back on this I am curious as to why my parents would just stop participating, which in turn meant my siblings and I stopped participating in the church. I feel that this exposure to the church early in my life planted the seeds for the morals and values I can proudly say I have today. However as the expanse of time sense we left the church grew; I slowly started questioning the church and its members more and more. Slowly growing more disenfranchised until my tipping point in 2008 while deployed on board the USS Los Angeles. My early years were shaped by my parents teaching me the difference between right and wrong and how I should face the world little steps at a time. This is where I feel that religion has played a vital role. As a Catholic the concept of good is founded upon the teachings of Jesus Christ and of course the Bible. The Gospel plays an important function in this and how ideas that I correlate with my personal ethics are influenced. In this regard the idea of heaven has played in my mind ever since. Jesus inspires us to be good to be worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven and most of what I know about this place came from the teachings of the church and mass media’s portrayal of it. In order for any good Catholic to achieve this, one must live virtuous life. I was told to do good to others and in one proverbial Catholic maxim: when someone throws you stones, throw bread in return. Correlatively, ‘Be good to thy neighbors’ immediately comes to mind. These are just some of the things that I have carried with me from childhood and I have always thought that they shape how I live and conduct myself to others. Without knowing what ethics is or understanding what it means including all its various types, this is what I know. The Ten Commandments is a fundamental fragment of the Catholic religion which differentiates it among others. From a time of lawlessness and chaos, God has sent to Moses His commandments to the people encapsulated in ten short sentences. When I was a child, this is the first set of laws that I came across with. My days attending Sunday school was my first taste of beginning to comprehend what following rules meant. Slowly as I grow older these rules vary and complicate and how every person deals with it differs concurrently. In retrospect I realize how basic these things are and how at the same time they are so terribly difficult for us to follow. It baffles me how something so archaic such as the Ten Commandments is relevant then to the same extent it is today without us realizing. What it contains is nothing out of the ordinary and any sensible ethical proposition has contained basically the same core ideas. ‘Honor thy God,’ ‘Do not covet thy neighbor’s wife’ and ‘Honor thy parents’ are just some of the imperative notions that finds its value beyond Catholicism. Religion is a way that helps parents in rearing their children and teaching them to be good people in the future. I think that the bible is one good parenting book to serve as guide in times of uncertainty. It defines what any parent would want their child’s perception to be. Religion, in most cases, determines how we dress, what holidays we celebrate, what books we read and sometimes what language we speak. Though it is a fundamental Constitutional right to choose one’s religion and to change it at our will, it is our parents who initially decide for us and whether or not we adapt the same up to the moment that we die, what they have instilled have become a part of us that we cannot easily erase at our every whim. It creates a sense of belongingness and knowing that you are part of something, a tradition that extends far beyond yourself. This also paves the way for interaction which is especially meaningful at a young age. Any rational religion allows for acceptance of diversity and this could be perceived upon seeing children communicate. There are no boundaries or differences but pure and simple acceptance. But as children grow older, I have felt that the church has become more of a hindrance than a virtuous quality. Time and again I have seen people change and not always for the better but the direct opposite version of themselves that made them admirable. To some, religion has become an identity instead of a part of them. It defines them instead of having it only as a portion of who they are. The acceptance that was evident in childhood has turned into an invincible wall that divides people. There grows a sinking feeling that I have felt from adolescence where religion has sometimes paved the way toward alienation. Those that zealously adhere to their religion are often ostracized. Those that rebel against religion or simply do not understand it detest their faith. What was supposed to be a commendable quality turns into a barrier among people. The need to be part of something has become a way of life for some. These groups have formed a bubble amongst themselves that they are unable to see outside of the organization. This is a dangerous thing which leads to narrow-mindedness and an extreme aspect of fraternization that misleads instead of lead. The common bond has transformed them intrinsically. These groups were established not only for the righteousness of the religion but for their own advantage. This reckons the herd mentality of some organizations. Often fathered by a charismatic and evangelical leader, the followers have become submissive disciples under his control. This they do willingly and with self-righteous resolve. The necessity that they find in having to persuade everyone to share and practice their belief is vexing in my point of view. But this is the main point of most religions and where the largest of global and organized religions started. Catholics find the necessity in sharing the Gospel and converting nations. While Judaism finds a sense of exclusion which they have only recently abandoned for posterity. The childhood sense of acceptance has been twisted to intolerance and rejection of everything foreign to their own beliefs. Wars have been waged with religion as its primary purpose. The age of exploration was set forth to propagate the Catholicism with the motto ‘God, Gold and Glory.’ People without understanding religion or having any impression of Christ were converted to Christianity. They were taught to worship Jesus and the saints. A different form of idolatry was proposed coupled with images of who must be worshipped as God. They were instructed to abandon paganism for being sacrilegious. They turned their backs to religious offerings centered upon nature and the reverence of the things around them for an abstract idea that takes form in pictures and statues. Religion was a symbol of power. The pope is one of the most powerful people in the world with millions of followers. There was a time in history when becoming a pope was being more powerful than a king. It symbolized power and corresponded to economic wealth. The Crusades was a bloody part in our world history that occurred because of a showdown of religious and military power between Muslims and Catholics. The Jihad is a religious creation in the Islamic tradition that permits of bloodshed and violence in what they regard as a holy war. Terrorists raise this belief to justify their acts of treacherously killing innocent people they regard as enemies and in the name of Allah. Today it is still evident how politicians have to accommodate religious caprices in exchange for their support. Legislations are sometimes derailed or scrapped despite political will because of opposition from religious groups. This hinders progress in the constant quest to favor religion in exchange for progressive thought. Despite this there are numerous people behind religious organizations who are sincere in what they do and their desire to help. The charity works of these groups uplift people in their difficult times. Community outreach programs are synonymous with these churches where the less privileged are provided with care and support. Churches continue to accept other people who only seek to change and move away from their vices and addiction. These people need others who are willing to believe in them and guide them. If the Bible and the encouragement of a church is what moves them toward reform then so be it. Belonging to an organized religion creates a bond among people that although we are different in nationality we may share the same belief. Every organization is designed to promote, protect and perpetuate itself for the sole reason of its continued existence. Diversity, if taken positively and not vehemently, teaches us that all religions no matter by what name we call our God upholds only one thing and that is our faith. Faith imparts to us the inevitability of hope that we should never lose for the sake of our humanity. Karl Marx said that “Religion is the opium of the people.” But it is not merely religion that defines a person for it is only an aspect of the totality of our being. It is not a drug that clouds our judgment but only one of many others that determine our path. I am yet to fully have my grips on religion. It is I believe a continuous process but what I have come to terms with, I take fully in my own personal affection. No religion is perfect and complete unto itself and we by ourselves must determine who we are and how we stand in this world. Read More