Grandfather Tree

Now having come to understand that we are all spiritual beings who have chosen to temporarily live a physical existence on this planet, certain musings are inevitable, and shared here.

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

I am a Cultural Catholic

I invite all you folks out there who grew up in the Catholic faith and are no longer "practicing Catholics" to begin to call yourselves Cultural Catholics. We grew up in a significant sub-culture in these United States. There were wonderful things and awful things about that cultural and religious experience. If I no longer adhere to the dogma, if I no longer embrace the theology, I still am daily and minutely influenced, positively and negatively, by its culture. Many folks say "I am a recovering Catholic." When I first heard that term a decade or so ago, I thought it was cute, and I used it myself a couple of times. But I was uncomfortable with it, and stopped using it. It renders invisible all the powerfully influential and beautiful aspects of what it meant to grow up in that environment. Cultural Catholic on the other hand acknowledges the possibility of gleaning value and meaning from those experiences.

posted by Wally Nut @ 3:26 PM  

7 Comments:

  • At 4:00 PM, Blogger Karen M Matthews said…

    I am curious why you are not catholic anymore.

     

  • At 8:03 PM, Blogger Wally Nut said…

    Thanks for your interest. Your question is a big one. If you really want to know email me privately and I will attemt to answer. However, if your motivation is to somehow talk me into coming "back into the fold" I would prefer that you didn't.

    Blessings

     

  • At 9:42 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    As a Buddist seeking enlightenment and the truth, its time for you to rediscover the truth of your Cultural Catholic faith and return to the Church.

    That inner connection to Catholicism that you feel is the kernal of grace that was implanted at your baptism. It will continue to grow as you seek to grow in holiness.

    You can experience the fulness that you seek in the Catholic Church.

    You might start down the path towards that fulness by learning and practicing Lectio Divina, "Catholic meditation."

    May God's Holy Spirit fll you and enlighten you...

    - Timothy

     

  • At 7:06 AM, Blogger Wally Nut said…

    Timothy, I do hear a genuine concern in your words, but I wonder if you are aware of the incredible self-righteousness that your words reveal. How do you come to believe that you are able to step into a position where you know what is best for my spirituality?

     

  • At 7:26 AM, Blogger Bill Baar said…

    Many would argue the United States is a Christian country for just these same reasons.

    The heritage for many of us is Christian even if we no longer practice the faith or use the label.

    I prefer to think if formally reject the label, and have a secular gov, were secular regardless of our heritage....

    Same thing goes for ex Catholics.

     

  • At 8:08 AM, Blogger Wally Nut said…

    Thanks Bill. I think I get your point. But to claim that the US is a "Christian country" charges those words with a certain kind of politic that denies its secular roots. I believe that this is different from saying that the dominant culture in the US is Christian, or Judeo-Christian. If I identify myself as a Cultural Catholic, I am acknowledging that cultural influence, without implying any kind of political privlege based on that claim.

     

  • At 9:43 AM, Blogger Fred Garber said…

    I grew up a Methodist and later became a Unitarian-Universalist. But even as a child I always felt at home in Catholic churches. I really cannot explain why. So about 8 years ago I converted to Catholicism. It feels right. I have a rosary hanging from my rearview mirror. We have crosses and statues of the Virgen of Guadeloupe all over the apartment. So, Wally am I a recovering Methodist/Unitarian Universalist? Also, from my experience so far, Catholic churches have better potluck dinners. I am glad that you are back posting!!! Keep it up!

     

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