My Catholic Religious Belief System

Without them we couldn't receive God’s grace and we would more distant from God. Baptism is an important part of my life as a Catholic. It is frees me of original sin and it is part of the initiation in the Catholic Church. Baptism is important because it allows us to go to enter the kingdom of God. Even though I can’t remember my baptism, I learn more about it in my religion class at school.

As a child even though I was a Catholic and did believe in God and Jesus Christ, I never really got much from my faith. It was almost like I was going through the motions because it was something I was surrounded by every day. Whether or not you are affiliated with a religion, faith is something that you ultimately have to choose at some point in your life. Many people, including myself, were baptized when they were infants and did not choose to be baptized. So my faith evolved and grew stronger as I got older and better understood the teachings of my faith and the meaning of them.

Throughout life, challenges and experiences are thrown our way. Prior to my knowledge, gained throughout the year, I would blame God for misfortunes. However through my understanding, God helps us go through the inevitable. Important concepts in THCT100, helped me understand God and regain strength to develop my faith again. I was raised by catholic guidelines for the way of living, behaving and the ways I viewed the world.

The majority of people today acquired their religious beliefs from their parents or relatives. Religion is part of human tradition which has been passed down from generations. I did not choose my religion. I was baptized as a Catholic at a young age. I spent most of my younger years in a catholic school and my family has always taken me to church every Sunday.

Children learn Christian virtues such as faith, obedience, piety, chastity, love, mercy, and humility(Garner 272). Catholic children are also taught that if they do sin, than they simply can go confess their sins to a priest and then they are forgiven. According to the Old Testament, salvation is free gift and forgiveness is given straight from God, not through some high standing official in the Church. Catholics are given a bad name, and their religion is considered to be hostile towards others and unethical at times(Hudnut 22).

When I was young, I really didn’t understand a lot of what the Bible meant, but I knew the basics of Christianity because of the influence my mom and family put into my life. As soon as I started growing up, and started understanding the true meaning of what the bible portrayed, I felt it was something that I could get behind. I practice my religion because the core principles that define Christianity are simple ways of life that will make you a better person. The principles that are most significant in my life revolve around being kind and honest to everyone while following basic principles such as, do not steal, do not murder, honor your parents. When things like this are stated, the first word that comes to mind is trustworthy.

Paul explained to me that despite the fact that he was raised in a devout Catholic family he doesn’t credit his ethics to his religion but rather to his life experiences. It seems that a lot of Paul’s personal growth came through his exploration of different religions rather than it being cultivated by one specific ideology. I was surprised however, by how many differences I have with the ethics of my classmates and how many similarities I have with the ethics of Paul Leonard. Leonard, P. (2014, April 5). Personal interview.

It made me realize how my life could have been if my parents would have followed the journey of my father’s side of the family. The people I interviewed share most of their religious understandings. Before I did this paper, I did not know anything about the Lutheran church. Now I learned that there are many differences within this religion. I have noticed that Mary, during her course of life, got more relaxed about religion, and has become open for other things during her life.

Outside of my family environment, my school community has also shaped me into the young Catholic woman I am today. Like I mentioned earlier, I have been fortunate enough to attend the same private catholic school my entire life. Due to this fact, I have been with pretty much the same group of people in my class since kindergarten. These people, whom I consider my family, have definitely made me who I am today. My school has shown me how lucky I am to be a Catholic and has made me grateful to be able to attend mass and confessions every week.

Their religion affected the way in which they went about teaching their children morals. It also affected how they structured their family, by a breakdown of the relationships among the family members. Also, parents' religious affiliation allowed them to raise their children in a healthy environment that promoted the best raising of their children that they could ask for. Finally, we did find amongst our findings on the affect of religion on childrearing, that the community can also affect how parents raise their children. Further research could be done comparing the two, as to which factor is more effective.