I have gone to a Catholic school all of my life. I am not "extremely" Catholic, and I try to question my faith in as constructive ways as possible--for a scientist that is. There are many things that I don't--and won't ever--understand because that's just the way things are. However, being part of a "Catholic" community has taught me a few things about people.
Now I never like to make generalizations about groups of people, but I think it is easier to describe what I've learned by doing so. I have learned that there are about four types of people.
One, the person who is overly faithful and believes that everyone should share the same faith.
Two, the person who has a strong faith, but understands that there are many religions, and that there is no proof that any one person is right or wrong.
Three, the person that has no preference but understands that there is something out there that is greater than us.
And four, the person who just doesn't care at all (in all honesty, there really aren't too many of these people, so I won't go into it).
So I'm going to admit that the first type is quite annoying to me. With my experience with people of many faith traditions, I simply cannot hold that view or agree that it is valid. You can't tell me that God will throw me into hell for supporting immigrants in the United States (as one man held a sign that said this up in Postville). I hate to have a Star Wars quote in here, but Yoda said that, "Only the sith deal in the absolute." And by sith, he meant the evil and selfish. And that is true, if a person is so focused on him or herself being right, only conflict will come out of that.
I personally like the second person. They are focused and seem to have a clear goal in life, but they still understand the world--or I guess they simply understand that the world cannot be understood. They believe that no one person is right, but if you live by a good set of morals, then you are living a good life (the third person is also quite similar). However, as soon as one mentions the word "morals," the discussion of religion and where morals come from now comes into play.
All-in-all, I guess there are two types of people that I discussed. Those that deal in the absolute, and those that try to understand. And these two are like oil and water, they don't go together. It seems that if you get two of these people in a room to discuss something, nothing gets accomplished and tempers flair. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, but it would be better if we could all come to somewhat of an understanding.
So all this blabber that I just said gets me to this, I've had a lot of interesting conversations in my time at Loras College. I cannot say that Loras being a Catholic institution had anything to do with it, but I've had many--some had me up till three in the morning intrigued by the way other people view the world. I think it is awesome to share a great conversation with other people. It is a way to get to know how humanity works.
I do know one thing, though, I've never had to pull out a Dorothy Day quote or reference. It seems that when dealing with "backing up" your religion, I think it takes a personal understanding. You do have to know a bit about your religion, but you must be able to understand the view of the person you are conversing with. That is the key to what I've learn at Loras--UNDERSTAND, EVEN IF IT'S SIMPLY UNDERSTANDING THAT WE DO NOT KNOW.
2 comments:
i appreciate your academic reference to Star Wars. Yoda is a true philosopher. :)
Ryan,
Wow... I just wrote a huge reply... that just got deleted! Oh well, try two (which I'm sure will be much less eloquently worded ;)).
First, I think it's interesting for you to say you have attended Catholic school all your life, and add that you are not "extremely" Catholic -- and you are far from the only person on campus to which both things apply.
I have been actually telling quite a few people recently that I am glad I attended both Catholic and public schools before college. I feel that my Catholic grade school instilled and reiterated a moral backbone on which I rely to this day. My public high school, however, exposed me to a much more diverse community. As a result, I now have many close friends that are of different faiths, cultures, and sexualities.
Now, I have returned to Catholic education. In my blog post I mentioned an experience I had earlier this year when I was asked how a religious-affiliated institution can facilitate free thought. Your well-thought blog post (as coming from an individual who has only received formal schooling from a Catholic institution) illustrates that free thought and critical thinking are not just possible, but are exercised daily.
I think there is certain merit to discussing the two types of people you outlined in your post. I have had my fair share of experiences with the first kind, and both of us have found it a frustrating experience. As for the second kind, I feel that I fall into this category, and was more easily shaped as such by my experiences in public schooling.
I am glad you have found such open discussion about faith, morals, and religion on the campus of Loras College. While I do think I have had more such discussion this year than any of my previous years at Loras, I find they more often occur inside the classroom than at three a.m. Frankly, my favorite "Catholic facet" of my education at Loras has come through the open discussions about religion and critical thinking in our honors classes like this one.
Great post, Ryan. I look forward to reading more!
--Leah
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