My Religion Blog (Rant)

I know that it has been a while since I blogged, but I wanted to post this on here to let you know one of the things that I have been thinking and that has been going on lately:

The below are quotes from either wikipedia.com or from about.com:

“A religion is a set of common beliefs and practices generally held by a group of people, often codified as prayer, ritual, and religious law.”

“The Lutheran Church is the Protestant denomination which led the way in the development of the Protestant Reformation. The doctrines of the Lutheran churchesare derived directly from the teachings of Martin Luther, the originator of the Protestant Reformation.”

“The Roman Catholic Church traces its history to Jesus and the Twelve Apostles, and sees the bishops of the Church as the successors of the Apostles in general, and the Pope as the successor of Saint Peter, leader of the Apostles, in particular.[19] The first known use of the term "Catholic Church" was in a letter by Ignatius of Antioch in 107, who wrote: "Where the bishop appears, there let the people be, just as where Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church."[20”


To some people religion means everything to them, itis what they live and breathe everyday, and it means the world to them. Like my mother for example, who has to go to church every Sunday, even if she is so sick that she can barely move she will still do her best to go, even if it means making someone drive her because she is unable to drive herself. The only times that I have ever seen her not go to church was when she was in the hospital for various reasons, and man did it bug her that he couldn’t go. My mother is a Roman Catholic and has been since she was born. She is such a strict Catholic that if she is on vacation in a city that she has not ever been too, and it happens to be a Sunday you automatically know that you have to find
her a church to go to for when it is Sunday morning. So that is how I was brought up, even though my dad isn’t a very religious person at all, like I think the only time that he has ever set foot in a church was for a wedding or my two childrens baptisms, my mom took me to church with her every Sunday, whether I liked it or not. Which for most of my childhood it was just something that I did, and I believed in it
because my mom did. And that was that, I was even an altar server for a few years, don’t remember exactly how long, but I did it for a while. So I was brought
up catholic. I did baptize my children as they were born, and had no issues with that, they were baptized in the same catholic church that I was. And I do believe in a lot of things still that I was brought up believing, but some things I do not follow. Then when everything happened to me at once about two years ago with the hurricane, my home, my boyfriend, and losing everything, not that I quit believing but I guess just that something got lost, and it wasn’t the same. Not that I had really went to church a lot then, but I did more then I do now that’s for sure. To give you an idea of how often I go to church, the last time that I had went was in April (before this moment) and I didn’t even get to go inside the actual church because it was easter Sunday and it was very crowded so I couldn’t get an actual seat inside the church. And before that it had also been a really long time, maybe a year if not two years. So that should give you an idea of how often I go to church, and if I do go at all of course it would be a catholic church because that is how I was raised and where the basis of my beliefs are. but here is where the issue comes in and the reason that I am blogging this now. My boyfriend isnt a hugely devoutly religious person, I don’t think, because he doesn’t hardly go to church, for the past two and a half months that we have been living together he hasn’t been once that I know of, which means that he hasn’t gone, cause I would know. But he is a huge believer in god ,and is a Lutheran and the things that he does for us, and how everything happens for a reason, and being part of gods plan, and how god doesn’t give us more then we can handle. And blah, blah, blah, so he is definitely a lot more religious then I am, that is for sure. And somehow the subject came up that he was going to be going to church on thanksgiving day and I said to him you know I wont be going with you right. And he gave me this look like I had just shocked the heck out of him and said why. So I said to him that he knows that I am not a really
religious person and that I don’t go to church really, and that on the slim chance I was going to be going to church that I would be going to a catholic church. So he was very surprised for that, and basically asked if I would go for him. And of course on Christmas Eve too he goes, and other holidays especially. So basically he asked me if I would go with him at least several times a year, because he didn’t think that was that big of a deal. To me it is a big deal, not only is he asking me too go to church, which I generally don’t do, but he is also asking me to go to a church which religion I am definitely not nor have I ever been. So to me yes that is a hugely big deal. So that conversation of course sparked the conversation of if we have a baby what religion would it be baptized with. And his response of course \ would be that itwould be baptized Lutheran and that there would be no options or discussion when it came to that, because that was what he wanted it to be. Which wasn’t as huge of a big deal to me as me being made to go to a church that I really don’t want to go to, because to me a child being baptized is a child being baptized and it doesn’t matter what religion it is as long as it is baptized. I just cant stand the thought of it being that big of a deal to me that I go to church with him
and it being that important to him that I go. Because I know that if I don’t that it will be a huge big deal to him. And I am even more sure that his parents that are the same religion are also super religious would make a big deal out of it if I wasn’t there with him. So that would be another issue. His parents are so super religious that they don’t know that I am still technically married and am not divorced yet at this time. He actually made it a point to tell me that he didn’t want them to know that because it would kill them, I guess knowing that their son was living with a woman who was married to someone else. So that is something that we haven’t told them, but I am just waiting for the moment that it somehow slips out from somewhere or someone and they get hugely upset about it, but what else can be done? I don’t exactly have about 1,000 dollars sitting around so that I can file with a paralegal, not even a lawyer. That’s right it is that much to not even have a lawyer, just a paralegal to just file everything for you. Incredible huh? So anyway, to get back to the religion thing, this is giving me something to decide. The whole
baptism thing isn’t that big if an issue, because I have accepted the fact that if at some point we have a baby it is going to be baptized Lutheran, so that is okay I suppose. But me going to church just to make him happy and not feeling it or meaning it or wanting me to be there on my own doesn’t make me happy. Well, I suppose that I have about a month and a half to figure that one out. Ugh.