Glen -
What would you call people like me, who were reared Catholic, including confirmation and duties as
an "altar boy", but who never believed a single word uttered in Mass, by parents, or in
the official books? In fact, the only concepts I took, believed in, from Catholicism are 1)
catholicism (little "c") and 2) mystery, both of which I could have more readily learned
from other traditions had my parents been more worldy. Thank Yog for open-minded priests, who took
the time to explore their own mental gymnastics with a child like me, in lieu of the stupidity that
is Confession.
I kinda like "aborted acolyte". 8^)
Works for me, I was thinking "crypto athiest"... and while it is not
accurate to the original usage, I like the sound of "Refusenik Catholic".
I was not raised with much overt religion, though my mother attended
(and included her children) a local Presbyterian church now and again...
my father got drug in for occasional Easter or Christmas services where
he insisted on singing louder than anyone else and when the collection
plate was passed, he would just wave it off and say "thanks, but I've
got plenty already".
Interesting that you didn't believe "a word uttered in Mass" while I, as
a young adult came to believe (or at least a appreciate) a great deal of
what was uttered in Mass. Of course, I had unique priests.. the first
being Father Abiwyckrema, whose first language was probably Hindi...
although Mass was held in English by that time, his singsong accent made
most of what he said entirely unintelligible, but at least as lyrical as
if it had been in Latin. The second being Father Charlie Brown (yup,
that was his given name!) who dropped out of seminary after a year,
realizing that he couldn't minister to a "flock" if he was isolated and
sequestered from the common person. He studied psychotherapy instead
and practiced well into his 40's before realizing that without a more
spiritual grounding he felt he was less effective in his ministrations
and returned to Seminary. The bottom line for me was that his
Homilies were actually quite well considered and relevant to the real
world. I "believed" a great deal of what he offered in those Homilies.
I lost what little "faith" in Christian Dogma I might have had when
during a summer Bible School teaching (9 years old?). I got really
excited by the many "miracles" (manna from heaven, red sea parting,
burning bushes, virgin birth, rising from the dead, etc.) and when I
expressed my enthusiasm, taking these to be literal and true and
verifiable stories, my Bible School teacher became very stern with me,
but did not attempt to explain allegory or parable to me, leaving me to
believe that SHE didn't believe those stories either. Kinda undermined
the magic of it all! I got a little back years later when I came to
understand allegory and parable.
And THAT kindof undermined the phrase in the Pledge of Allegiance
referencing "under God"...
Carry on!
- Steve
On 06/23/2017 11:39 AM, Steven A Smith wrote:
I tend to ask those who
were raised (and usually Confirmed) Catholic but no longer
practicing if they are "Escaped", "Reformed", or "Recovering"
Catholics. I doubt those three terms cover the space fully, but
seem to provide some pretty good sampling. Most have used the term
"Recovering" but many are taken aback by the alternatives and the
nuances implied.
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