WARNING: QUITE a controversial topic here.  Continue reading at your own risk.

Are you Catholic?  Jewish?  Christian?  Agnostic?  Atheist?

I don't like to get all preachy on here because that's not really what I designed this blog for but I have a few stories to share...

I was raised Catholic.
We went to church, every Sunday, as a family.
My mom was my CCD teacher.
I know all my prayers...even Glory Be.
I have received all of the Sacraments necessary, to date.
And even though I haven't been to church is about a year, I could jump in and follow every step of Mass like a Boss.

But...I don't know if I was ever REALLY Catholic.  I mean I can recite the Nicene Creed with the best of them but more than Catholic, my brother and I were raised with a ton of faith and somehow we still have all of it.

I think that religion can breed intolerance.

I don't believe, for one second, that God wanted us to do any of the following:
Stay single forever (Nuns and Priests)
Stay celibate until marriage; I wouldn't even encourage my own daughter to do this
Hate or condem ANYone (Gay, straight, atheist, purple polka dotted)
Push our religion on people as if it were the ONLY way
Be intolerant of one another.
Not have a sense of humor about Him.
Believe that people were going to Hell.
Quote a book that was written by over 40 men over the course of 1,500 years as if it had no mistakes and was absolute fact on how everything should be done now.

Now, I also believe it can do amazing things.

I loved growing up Catholic.  "On Eagle's Wings," is still my favorite church song.

I loved going to my friend's Non-Denominational Christian churches and singing fun songs.  "Lord, I Lift Your Name On High"
I had aspirations to be Mormon like my friend's family.  I loved the idea of Family Home Evening and folding our arms to pray.
Some of my favorite people are Jewish.
Some of my coolest students were Muslim.
I have gone to a Lutheran church and it almost felt like home.


So...what religion am I?  I'm not sure...but here's the story all my faith is based around...

To be continued.