Religion question - NOT MEANT TO OFFEND ANYONE!

Religion question:

I know that religion can be a sensitive subject to some and I don’t mean to upset anyone. I just need some guidance in this area. My DH was born in England and wasn’t really raised with any religion. He believes in God and has done a lot of research on his own. I was born here and my parents raised me catholic. My family was not one that went to church and it wasn’t a very big part of our childhood, but I was baptized and made communion in the Catholic Church. Being an adult now I have made my own conclusion and gained a lot from what I learned as a child. I defiantly feel it’s important to distill some sort of religion in my children to give them a platform to grown from.

So here is my question/dilemma: DH doesn’t want to raise them Catholic his feeling being that he doesn’t agree with how strict they can be (i.e. not agreeing with certain lifestyles, the fact that DH & I weren’t married in the church, etc) which I agree with as well. I know this may seem strange to some people but DH feels strongly about the Catholic Church and I wouldn’t push him into it and would rather give me children something rather than nothing. How do we find information out about different religions/churches that maybe suit our life and beliefs better? Has anyone gone through something like this?

Again, if this post offends you please just ignore. I’m really just looking for advice and I know I can always count on the ladies at LIF to provide that.

Thanks so much.

Re: Religion question - NOT MEANT TO OFFEND ANYONE!

Look into non-dominational churches. I would go and sit for a couple of sermons. See if you like the preacher...if not, move on to the next church.

Good Luck!

Re: Religion question - NOT MEANT TO OFFEND ANYONE!

Check out beliefnet.com -- they have lots of info. Check out Unitarian Universalists -- they're very open minded.

Re: Religion question - NOT MEANT TO OFFEND ANYONE!

HI there.
I know, it's a very hard decision to make.
My DH was never baptized into a religion, though if he was, it probably would've been methodist.
I was "sort of "raised Catholic- but not very strict.
Any of my knowledge of Christianity I learned on my own by reading the Bible.
we were going to try & find other Christian religions, but have decided to stick with the Catholic Church. We're doing so b/c being Catholic has a lot to do with my family's culture as well.... and I think that my child should be a part of that culture.
Regarding those parts of the church doctrine we don't agree with, we'll explain those to our child. I do plan on raising my child as one who accepts the messages of Catholicism (i.e. basic teachings of Christ, etc)- regarding all man-made laws- I will teach that men are not perfect and do their best and we will sometimes not agree with their decisions in interpreting the Bible.

Re: Religion question - NOT MEANT TO OFFEND ANYONE!

I am Lutheran, a form of Protestant. I went to Catholic school most of my life and I also had the chance to convert but didn't because I did not fully agree with their teachings.

Good Luck. I agree that you should try sitting in on some services and make your decision that way.

Re: Religion question - NOT MEANT TO OFFEND ANYONE!

I was going to suggest a non-denominational church as well.

Re: Religion question - NOT MEANT TO OFFEND ANYONE!

Thank you so much. This is exactly the advice I was looking for! You ladies ROCK!!

Re: Religion question - NOT MEANT TO OFFEND ANYONE!

You may find the Episcopal church to be a good compromise. Their services are practically identical to Catholicism, however their beliefs and policies are much more relaxed. A lot of people tease that it's "catholic light" which would give you the comfort of familiarity, but also make DH happy. For example, they allow their priests to marry and divorce. After my parents divorced they no longer considered themselves catholic so they began taking us to different churches to try to find one that fit. My mother was very comfortable with some of the christian churches we went to such as Presbyterian, Evangelical, etc. However, they always felt weird to me b/c they were so drastically different than the catholic church. If you begin to explore other churches they may feel too different from what you grew up with. Best of luck, it is certainly not an easy task to have to choose a religion b/c there usually isn't one philosophy that's a perfect fit with your own beliefs.

Re: Religion question - NOT MEANT TO OFFEND ANYONE!

Re: Religion question - NOT MEANT TO OFFEND ANYONE!

I was going to suggest the Unitarian route as well. I'm not a member,but my co-worker is one. She loves the freedom & understanding that comes from all different religions.

Re: Religion question - NOT MEANT TO OFFEND ANYONE!

I am Jewish and my husband is Catholic and we had our daughter baptized in the episcipol church. Our Minister says it's the lite version of the Catholic church. All I know is that we are very comfortable there. They do not make me feel odd for being a Jew and attending church every week. (I felt like you did and DH felt like your DH- so this was actually my decision). We like their philosphies and their attitudes. Most of the members of our church were actually Catholics at one point. In our church you may receive the host every week at mass as long as you are baptized - PERIOD it doesn't matter what denomination.

If you need anymore information feel free to FM me.

Re: Religion question - NOT MEANT TO OFFEND ANYONE!

I was also going to suggest looking into the Episcopal church. I am Catholic, my DH Episocipalian and we alternate where we go to church. The mass is very similar in both, but the Episcopal church allows all baptized Christians to receive the eucharist, where the Catholic church doesn't. They also allow married priests and the church we attend is very welcoming of gay and lesbian members.

However, like the Catholic church, parishes vary from place to place, some are more conservative than others, so even though the Episcopal church is thought to be more liberal than the Catholic church, there are "high church" parishes that are still pretty conservative. I think from what you describe your situation as, it might be worth looking into.