Summary

The author describes a personal journey from strict religious upbringing to a broader spiritual perspective, critiquing the church's impact and embracing a more individualistic belief system.

Abstract

The author recounts their transition from a deeply religious childhood, dictated by their parents' fervent involvement in the church, to a more nuanced spiritual belief as an adult. They reflect on the challenges of their youth, including mandatory religious activities and the influence of their parents' extreme beliefs, which even led to the disposal of their father's valuable vinyl collection due to unfounded rumors. The author notes the shift in their family's religious fervor after moving and changing social circles, which provided relief and eventually led to a period of disconnection from the church. They observe the economic struggles often associated with religious devotion and criticize the church for exploiting the vulnerable. The author's disillusionment with the Catholic Church, due to its scandals and cover-ups, has led them to adopt Buddhist principles and the belief in a higher power connected to the soul, rather than a traditional notion of God. Despite their personal shift away from organized religion, the author respects individual choices to believe and suggests that self-improvement is the ultimate goal, with or without religion.

Opinions

The author initially considered a religious vocation but later became disillusioned with the Catholic Church

My route from religious beliefs to a more spiritual life conviction

Which way is the best? I would say the one which makes you a better person, don’t you think?

“When I was young, I used to go to church every Sunday.

From 1983 to 1987, my parents became too religious for us.

It was truly tough sometimes for my brother and me. Imagine the two of us, teenagers, asked to stay put and pray in the car. We had to recite the rosary in the car when on trips.

They were part of Christian groups, working in the local church for every festivities throughout the year.

And, of course, we had to follow even if it was not our wish to do so.

For three years in a row, we also participated in a summer camp with other Christian community members. It was pretty cool.

Introspection, songs, chatting, exchanges, talks, music, etc. I can say that we were different when we came back home after.

These camps were mainly for families who could not afford vacations because of their low income. We were all at the same level there, which was great for that.

My parents were churchgoers for as long as I can remember, but they were completely immersed in the movement in those years.

At a certain point, I was into it too. I remember having thought that I may become a priest one day. That was before my hormones found the other sex!

All that “extreme behaviour” was because of their new relationships after we moved to that new area in our city.

My dad has a vast vinyl collection, including some first editions of the Beatles hits. One day, out of nowhere, they heard, from whom, no one ever knew, that there were scratches on some disks, and some satanic members of the music industry purposely made those scratches.

My parents then put all the collections in the garbage. You can imagine the kind of weird mood we were living in. It was close to being some sectarian stuff.

Soon after, we moved, yes again; we moved about every four years in my childhood, and this nonsense stopped.

My parents changed some of their relationships, and it was over — great news for my brother and me. We were disconnected entirely from all church activities for a while at that time. We had enough one day and told our parents about it, and that was it.

Later, I found that, sadly, most religious people are poor. The more they are in, the poorer they seem to be. Why? Maybe simply because, as I was also taught, You cannot serve two gods, God and Money!

I may have it all wrong, but I have never known a millionaire who was a very religious devout churchgoer. Except for some American preachers, but that is another story!

What a crap, I thought at some point in my life.

I find that it has become a vicious circle for religious people. They are struggling, and they have to hang to something, their beliefs. Unfortunately, the more they go to “Some” churches to find a bit of comfort and answers to find ways for a better life, they are bulshittered by some bad mentors.

Believe me; it is not always the priests. There too, many ordinary people have power trips.

Nowadays, I think I am more atheist. I became disillusioned with the Catholic Church. Almost every year comes with a new scandalous truth about the church cover-ups. I got embittered about their doing.

I am more inclined with the Buddhist doctrine than the idea of a God who is everything.

I respect everyone who still believed in God, no matter which religion. It is their choice, honestly.

I believe that there is something bigger than us. More significant than what we see. I think more about something related, linked to our soul. Our life here may be just a passage. One of many dimensions we do not know anything about yet.

Anyway, I don’t think I will ever have the answer about it in this life.

All those lines to seek how many people have had a route like mine. I am sure I am not alone with my thoughts.

All we have to do is try to become the better person than we were yesterday, and if some need religion to achieve it, so be it.