A Catholic Background

My religious history starts with my baptism as a Roman Catholic by my family. I went through phases of feeling serious about Catholicism but it was always from a really idealistic, superficial stance. I was too young to really understand it, I hated reading the bible, and my understanding of Christianity was mostly based on a new agey "I love Jesus and he loves me too - oh that makes me feel so good!" mentality. I was also raised in relative cultural isolation. I lived in a mostly white suburb and went to a mostly white school full of Catholics and Protestants. Alternative religions were few and far between, not to mention general cultural diversity. It wasn't until I was much older that I started to look outside. I started to learn about other countries, other languages, other ways of seeing the world... I started to travel and went to college where I met people of other religious persuasions...

But I'm getting ahead of myself!

Although I was Catholic and mostly isolated from the rest of the world, my family felt that education and reading were important. Through school I learned a bit about geography and world history - but only as much as a typical public school will allow. Any real discussion of religion was limited to very simple concepts that seemed hallow. Christianity was always the implied victor. The other big five religions were just more facts to remember for a test. We never discussed their merits or the depth of their philosophies. But the library had books if one knew where to look... and mythology.

Mythology was the beginning. Even as a child I was drawn to books about Belleraphon and Pegasus, Castor and Pollux, the Olympians, and the Argonauts. I liked to read and listen to the folk tales told by Native Americans who visited the local library during summer programs. (That was probably the most culturally diverse it got!) Slowly, as I moved through the stages of child development, my brain began to realize that these were religious concepts to other people. The Olympians were Gods worshiped by others. Back then, in my early youth, I couldn't imagine that people still worshiped them. I was too indoctrinated with Christianity at that point. I hadn't yet considered the possibility that the Old Gods were still around and that I had a choice- A CHOICE - in regards to my religion. Until I reached late adolescence and early adulthood, I hadn't considered whether or not my family's religion was really mine.

My mother, it must be said, was never a true Catholic. She converted only to marry my father. In reality she is more of a free spirited Christian, if I may. She's fairly liberal and has a whimsical side. She taught me that it is okay to love nature, talk to animals, and believe in fairies. She allowed me to explore my imagination and encouraged creativity, feminist thinking, and a sense of self. She was not like most of my family in those respects. At the same time, she went to church and did as she was expected.

When I discovered Wicca, she was the first person in the family I told. My conversion to Wicca is a story in and of itself that I will relate in my next post.