Who here is still Catholic??

[fingercuffs]

I'm still Baptist.

I was at a Baptist service Christmas morning. The Minister or whatever he's called kept talking about Facebook. In a care home, where the average age is around 85 and everyone living there's riddled with Dementia.

 

[Rvd Slmr]

Lol at stuck with it. How is it affecting your life? Why would you even want to bother with "unregistering" or whatever?

It's a stat they can use to claim a power they don't have.

Every few years where I live you have to fill out a census form. If the census said 2 million people were Catholics, it wouldn't matter jack squat if they claimed that they had 4 million members.

Some countries, France for instance, don't do racial and religious census, so those kind of baptism records can be used by the church to make believe they have way more believers than what they actually do.

 

[penpal]

it's hard for me to imagine anyone believing in religion in 2013.

 

[MC Paul Barman]

it's hard for me to imagine anyone believing in religion in 2013.

Believing in religion?
Religion is the human response to the divine. You don't "believe in religion". That sounds silly how you said it.



Agnostic up until about 2004, then eventually found my way into the Catholic Church, by the grace of God.

 

[808Darce]

and also with you...

And also with you

You guys are good men. I don't care what they say!

 

[penpal]

Believing in religion?
Religion is the human response to the divine. You don't "believe in religion". That sounds silly how you said it.



Agnostic up until about 2004, then eventually found my way into the Catholic Church, by the grace of God.

funny how you said i sound silly.

 

[WalkenWouldOwn]

I was raised Catholic.

Fastest way to atheism, imo.

This, same here.

 

[HuntersCreed]

I was at a Baptist service Christmas morning. The Minister or whatever he's called kept talking about Facebook. In a care home, where the average age is around 85 and everyone living there's riddled with Dementia.

If that's what you took away from me mentioning Baptist I am proud. It carries so many negative connotations that are perpetuated by a minority that I'm kind of relieved.

 

[WalkenWouldOwn]

Edit

 

[Rusk]

Pretty sure they wouldn't allow shit like that over here.

I resigned from church via a form I filled on the internet. Then I got a letter from the register office confirming my exit. That was it and that's how it should be.


No.

Check your taxes. If you're Lutheran in Scandinavia, you're paying for it.

i know and i do pay taxes

 

[fingercuffs]

If that's what you took away from me mentioning Baptist I am proud. It carries so many negative connotations that are perpetuated by a minority that I'm kind of relieved.

Lol, I think they were the only Baptists I'd ever met up until that point. Really nice people but the service was completely fucking stupid considering the age and state of their audience.

 

[Vincent86]

I thought you had to be baptized, have your first communion, then your confirmation, before you were "Officially Catholic." I know I was baptized when I was a baby, had my first communion when I was a kid, but by the time I was suppose to have my confirmation I was a teenager and didn't really want to be associated with the Catholic church.

don't matter you are in their books ever since you were baptized, and NOTHING can change that

 

[lapollarecords]

all that is why I haven't even tried to get out of that shit. I'm atheist but I'm oficially a catholic because I was baptized. the funny thing is my parents don't give a shit about religion but they decided to get me baptized because they're photographers and they make photographic reports of catholic baptism, weddings, etc. so their kids not being baptized would look bad.

 

[new_mexico1]

In your guys countries is this really official? Yes, they keep records of baptismal, etc. and people might just assume but there is nothing official about it.

 

[Vincent86]

In your guys countries is this really official? Yes, they keep records of baptismal, etc. and people might just assume but there is nothing official about it.

ofcourse it's official.

According to the catholic church there are millions of catholics in the Netherlands.

They get rights and subsidies accordingly

 

[new_mexico1]

ofcourse it's official.

According to the catholic church there are millions of catholics in the Netherlands.

They get rights and subsidies accordingly

That is what I'm asking. It doesn't work like that in the U.S.

 

[jackietreehorn8]

I guess I'm in the same situation as you, TS, although I never considered the idea that I'm "registered" for anything.

I've had no contact with "the church" in like 20 years...are they really still keeping my name on their "list?"

I would be curious to learn more about the subsidies and benefits you say they're getting based on these registration lists, how they keep them current, how difficult it really is to get off them, and if the things you're saying hold true in the US. I may do some googling. I'm almost positive I wouldn't get a visit from a priest if I tried to get off it.

 

[new_mexico1]

I guess I'm in the same situation as you, TS, although I never considered the idea that I'm "registered" for anything.

I've had no contact with "the church" in like 20 years...are they really still keeping my name on their "list?"

I would be curious to learn more about the subsidies and benefits you say they're getting based on these registration lists, how they keep them current, how difficult it really is to get off them, and if the things you're saying hold true in the US. I may do some googling. I'm almost positive I wouldn't get a visit from a priest if I tried to get off it.

Apparently in some countries, you do have like an official religion. I guess in some they will tax you a little and the money will go to the religion to support it. Sounds like the numbers affect funding and other stuff as well in The Netherlands.

In the U.S. it's different. Churches save baptismal records and stuff like that, but there is nothing official and there is no register to get taken off of.

 

[Cestus]

Lazy Catholic as most people i know
Basically if you ask what religion i am, i reply catholic, but on reality i go to church basically only when i'm forced to (marriage,funeral,baptism etc)

Honestly as long i'm unsure on what i believe/think about God, i'm sure to not believe in the istitution
For me a church is a building and a priest is just a human being

 

[Yompton]

Lazy Catholic as most people i know
Basically if you ask what religion i am, i reply catholic, but on reality i go to church basically only when i'm forced to (marriage,funeral,baptism etc)

Honestly as long i'm unsure on what i believe/think about God, i'm sure to not believe in the istitution
For me a church is a building and a priest is just a human being

This sums up my life as a Catholic