Religion can be a place of comfort and peace for most, but sadly, it can also be an environment in which you feel unsafe and unsupported. 

   My family is Catholic, but we weren’t inclined to go to church every Sunday or attend Sunday school. I was never forced to attend any religious event, but I started attending to please my other relatives, but this made me uncomfortable.  

   Despite my discomfort with my Catholic religion, growing up I attended Christian youth camps 4 years in a row. The camps were filled with great outdoor activities on beautiful camp sites in California. We had an early wake up time of 7 A.M. when we would eat breakfast, and then we would have worship for about an hour and a half.  

    Other members of the group would express their strong and emotional relationship with God, but I felt like the odd one out for not feeling such emotion when we would worship. Because I didn’t have such a strong religious connection, my peers would make me feel as if I wasn’t a true believer.  

    At the camp we were scheduled bible study where we sat in groups and discussed chapters of our bibles. During these sessions I wouldn’t participate much and mostly read through the chapters and not fully grasp or understand what the bible was saying. Experiencing this made me feel shameful because I wasn’t as devoted as the other children who attended.  

   This pressure on a little girl can be very damaging and has made me believe I don’t want to find myself in religion at all. Religion looks different for everyone, and your faith is not comparable to that of others.  

   Now that I’m older and can understand more of the religion, rebuilding a tarnished relationship with it has healed a lot of those negative emotions towards my Catholic upbringing. Looking back at my time at those camps, I learned the value of my relationship with God and religion in general. It is not comparable to that of other people, but it is my own.  

Currently, I don’t actively practice religion, but I know that if I ever need guidance or faith, it is an option I can turn to. I will not, however, allow the experience of others to affect my pursuit of faith.  

Interesting Facts about Catholicism

– Roman Catholicism is the oldest and largest branch of Christianity.

– The Roman Catholic Church is led by the Pope.

– The History of Catholicism began about 2000 years ago.

– Catholics attend Mass in which they eat a piece of bread that represents Jesus Body.

Source:https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/Roman-Catholicism/353727