What is a misconception you would like to clear up about your religion?

Question

I am agnostic and was raised Catholic. I no longer hold those beliefs or practice the religion. Nowadays I hear a lot of rumors about Catholicism from people who simply do not understand the religion at all. They seem to believe what they see in movies and make judgements based on the media and rumors instead of doing research and learning the facts for themselves.

In the additional details you will find some things I want to clear up about the Catholic religion. Is there anything else anyone would like to add?

OR perhaps their are common misconceptions you would like to clear up about your specific religion or another religion about which you are informed.

I would like to hear facts here, no rumors and no prejudice about other religions. Only truths about common misconceptions.
For example: Many people think that Wiccans are evil or devil worshipers and this is NOT true.

Catholics DO NOT worship Mary.
-Catholics simply respect and honor her as the mother of Jesus. They ask for her prayers since she is close to God.
-That is the biggest misconception I want to clear up.

Catholics do not worship Saints.
-Same concept. Saints are respected and honored for their good deeds, etc. They are supposedly close to God and Catholoics ask Saints to pray for them as well.

The whole Baptism thing:
-It seems that many faiths (Baptists specifically) believe that Catholics will go to Hell because they are not "saved".
Catholics are baptized at birth to cleanse the child of original sin. Later on in life, usually as a teenager, a Catholic will get 'Confirmed' into the Church. This is pretty self-explainitory. No, Catholics do not get "saved" per se...but you get the idea.

Catholics do not worship objects:
-Catholics do not worship objects such as crucifixes and rosaries. Rosaries are simply prayer tools and crucifixes honor Jesus for dying for their sins.

Answer 1

I too am agnostic.

Many people think that agnostics are too lazy to decide if they believe in God or not.

In fact, agnosticism (as I practice it) consists of a very definite belief that knowledge of God's existence is unknowable, not just by me, but by anyone. I believe that atheists and believers alike are making assumptions based on an incomplete set of information.

Agnostics believe that God(s) may in fact exist, but that we will not know it, or the nature of those dieties, until after death.

Answer 2

Lutherans believe the same things Catholics do, It is basically the same religion, we say the creeds, and use the lords prayer. The only real difference is the fact that we Do Not pray to anyone other than god. Catholics pray to Mary and the Saints and such, we on the other hand dont, we believe god is the only guy to pray to. There are other minor differences concerning marrige and death and stuff. But alot of people are confused as to what we believe and think we arnt christians when really we are! We believe In The Bible and all of its teachings everything! hopefully this cleared up any confusion

Answer 3

I think you've already covered a lot of the common misconceptions about Catholicism.

Here are a few more:

-- Catholics have to pay money as a penance after confessing sins (not a common misconception, but some people hold it. It's very false).

-- Galileo got in trouble with the Church because his theories conflicted with Church teaching (not true at all -- he got in trouble because he was teaching theories as fact that he hadn't yet proven).

-- The Catholic Church killed 50 million people during the Spanish Inquisition (there weren't even that many people in Spain during the whole time the Inquisition operated; there aren't that many people in Spain today, either).

Answer 4

I will not go on and on like others have. I don't read long posts and sure many other don't read long posts.

I practice an African Traditional Religion (ATR) called Vodou. It is not an evil religion that worships the devil and curses people. And most of all we don't create zombies.

Vodou is a religion that focuses on honoring your ancestors, serving the lwa, and serving Bondye (God). Just like Christianity there are different types of Vodou. There are some groups that practice the bad stuff (not movie bad but bad nonetheless) however that comprises only 5% of all practitioners. Those that practice left hand as it is called are called Bokors

Most Vodou services focus on helping the community, counseling, healing, and family. It is a beautiful religion whose roots have not changed much in the thousands of years it has been practiced. All services are lead by a priest called a Houngan or a priestess called a Mambo or if you are lucky both.

Here are some websites that will give you a better understanding of the Vodou religion as it is practiced in Haiti:
http://members.aol.com/racine125/index1.html#lessons (look under Vodou lessons) and
http://www.sosyetedumarche.com/Vodou_Info/vodou_info.html (this is a Haitian Vodou house located in the U.S.)

Answer 5

I'm glad that you brought up the Satan worshiping business about Wiccans. Being one, I'm ALWAYS faced with that terrible misconception. So, once and for all, here is the truth. And I believe you will appreciate it given that you were raised a Catholic.

In order to worship a concept like Satan, you must believe in the existence of this Great Ruler of Evil. Wiccans do not. Consequently, in order to be a Satan worshiper you must first be Christian. You simply cannot practice a Black Mass without first knowing what a White Mass is. The fact is, Christians must first look at themselves and their belief system before casting their ire at others.

Answer 6

Hi, I have read your question and comments and I just want you to know that I too was brought up in a catholic home or religion, whichever you prefer. I didnt care much about church and things related to God, but I always knew deep in my heart that God existed . I began reading the Bible one day and started seeking at a different lavel to know for sure if there really was a God, because if there was I needed to know . And thats when I can say that my life really did change and for the better, I might add but that is not what I want to talk to you about .
I really just wanted to make a comment on your first paragraph and please dont take this offensively, but you too must study and do research on many things because your knowledge of things in terms of religion and the R.C. church is a bit off .

Answer 7

Clearing up misconceptions about my religion, oh man, do you have the next year or two free? Seriously, there are so many about members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints it's enough to make me dizzy - people have gone so far as to say people in my church have horns - It's so funny, and so far out there.

Let me just give the official church website: www.lds.org, I think it's complete enough to cover everything for anyone that's willing to do some research.

BTW - my parents were Catholic too, and I respect that religion as a foundation of faith for our family - best wishes.

Answer 8

Mormons do NOT practice Polygamy. The group of people that do, are not mormons!!!! They were excommunicated from the morman church and now exercise their own beliefs. Mormons do not bash other religions while in Sacrament Meeting, or during Sunday school, or at any other time. Mormons are not forced to have 5 children per family. Coca-Cola is NOT owned by mormans. (Just to mention a few)

Answer 9

No offense to Kamaliyah, but after reading Misconception #1, I disagree with you. because if we all worshipped the same God, then why are there different religions? Why would people be fighting over who's right and wrong if we all were right?

Answer 10

LaVey Satanists do not worthip a Christian character known as the devil. Their religion in is completely insular from Christianity. Their texts make no referrence to God, Jesus, Sin or any facets of Christianity. They aren't just rebelling from God or trying to rile Christians. Christians are just as qualitifed to tell Satanists about how dangerous Satan worship is as Satanists are to inform Christians of how dangerous Christianity is.