I consider myself a cafeteria Catholic: I pick and choose want I want to agree or believe in within the Catholic Church. Going to a Catholic college has strengthened the things I do believe in but it has actually turned me away from the church in some sense as well. The one thing that has strengthened is my passion for social justice and Catholic Social teaching. I believe at the heart of the Catholic Church is social justice for everybody and that is why service is such a big part of our faith. Catholics as well as all Christians need service in order to develop and practice our faith. The hard part of this is getting and staying active in this service. That is why I think the Catholic identity is helpful; it will keep me active or pursuing service throughout my life.
I also think the Catholic Church can blind its followers from this service. Mainly, the politics of the Catholic Church can be the biggest blanket over a person’s eyes. Everybody has different opinions on what is and what is not Catholic. The church today is so big it incorporates such a large array of followers, all with a little different view on the Catholic faith. I think this is a beautiful thing, but it is also very challenging and can be detrimental to a Catholic Institution such as Loras,because everyone is automatically stereotyped and pigeon holed into a certain group. Let’s look at two examples: the conservative traditionalist and the liberal peace loving hippies. The traditionalists are stereotyped that they like to keep things the way they are and not even discuss certain issues that the church views as wrong, i.e. homosexuality. On the other hand, the perception of liberals is that they like to stir things up a bit and bring out some issues for discussion because they believe things could change for the better. These two groups often times butt heads and don’t want to listen to their other sides point of view. At Loras I feel like you have to be part of one or the other or nothing at all, which is not what the Catholic Church is all about. So when I leave I am going to be strong in only one side and will struggle in understanding where the other side is coming from. The college seems to struggle at finding a happy balance between these two sides and having them learn from one another.
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Dave,
I really liked the way you described your view on Catholicism in being that you are more of a "cafeteria Catholic". I think that many students here at Loras can relate to the view. There are many great views that are part of the Catholic Social learning and that all can benefit from. There is also a side of the Catholic church that can leave a bad taste in your mouth.
The stereotype you mention in your blog I feel is one of the strongest and most detrimental stereotype on campus. Many kids that want to get involved in parts of campus ministry, like service learning, are scared away from doing so because they do not find themselves fitting into the stereotype of being bible preachers, or God-hippies.The big question to pose on campus is how do we combat this stereotype? Those involved in campus ministry are well aware of the existence of this stereotype and are constantly trying to combat it, but that doesn't seem too effective. There has to be something more Loras students can do, or stop doing for that matter.
Good blog Dave!
Missy
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