Do a 10 minute
FREEWRITING on your own religious borders. Respond to one or all of the
following prompts:
1. What aspects of
your religious beliefs (or the beliefs of the religion you were raised in) do
you disagree with? What aspects do you find empowering?
2. How do you feel
about the fact that, if you're talking about Catholicism or Christianity,
you're talking about one of the strongest tools used by the colonizer to
dominate and oppress the colonized?
3. Do you have an
idea for how to decolonize your religious beliefs?
4. If you call
yourself a feminist and/or LGBT and a Catholic or Christian, discuss how you
reconcile these mutually antagonistic belief systems between your sexuality and
your faith.
I was born into a
family that strongly stuck to their Catholic faith. I remember growing up and even today, my
grandparents always had some shrine or picture of La Virgen de Guadalupe. I saw it so often that it become normal to
me. I was baptized as a baby, did my
first communion, and voluntarily did my confirmation when I was 17. I was proud of being Catholic because that
was all I ever knew, but as I got to college I realized that there was more out
there. This was an important turning
point in my religious beliefs because as a Catholic, you are taught that
Catholicism is the right way, and that we must pray for those who haven’t found
their way. Most Catholics are quick to
point out your sins and shun you for them.
After becoming more open-minded, I dabbled into Christianity, but was
also not satisfied with their teaching.
I saw many of my Christian friends look down at some of my gay and
lesbian friends because they were also sinners and wrong-doers. Not only that, but I found most Christians I
came across felt it was okay to “sin” because God forgives them. Blaaaaaaah (that’s how I feel now when I talk
about religion) it’s frustrating because I see a lot of hypocrisy in
religion. It is supposed to be this
positive, spiritual thing that brings people together, but instead I feel that
it pulls people apart. After taking this
class and learning how religion was a tool used by colonizers, it has made me
dislike religion even more. I still like
to believe I am a spiritual person and I do believe in God, but I’m just not so
crazy about religion anymore because I feel like it has torn people apart
rather than empowering and bringing them together. Overall, I’d say I still have more of a
connection with Catholicism but that has to do more with cultural factors
rather than religion itself. I feel like
Catholicism has helped my grandparents and even my mom by giving them something
to believe in and put their faith in, but that’s about it. As of right now I am still trying to figure
out where I stand with religion, my Christian brother would say that that’s the
devil trying to pull me away from God, but I say it’s just being open-minded to
understanding different cultures and backgrounds.
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