Discussion on Confessions of a Closet Catholic

My group met last Monday at discussed Confessions of a Closet Catholic. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was pleased as to how our discussion went. We talked about how some of us in the group went to Catholic school and attend a Catholic church, it was interesting for me to hear some of their perspectives on the book. Although I may not be very religious, I have been raised Catholic and attend a Catholic church (although I don't attend it nearly as much as I should). Because I'm still figuring out what it means to Catholic and all the beliefs that follow with this religion, I was unaware of stereotypes held within the book. We discussed how having a big family is a stereotype of being Catholic, which I never knew about or had even heard before. I realize that to be Catholic and the traditions you follow may be different across different families. We talked about how in the book when Justine went to church with Mac, they were kneeling before Communion. To many of us, we never we experienced the kneeling. I've only experienced it once within my grandparent's church. It may be because it's following the more traditional practices. This led us into discussion as to if the Catholic faith was represented accurately, because it seemed as if some of the traditions the author mentioned were old traditions and ones that aren't necessarily followed everywhere today.

We also talked about how Justine's parents became upset when she was contemplating switching religions when her grandparents have survived the holocaust. Although I can understand how a parent can be upset or at least confused as to why a child may switch faiths, but because I'm not very religious, I think I would support my child no matter what. We also talked about how it was interesting that her parents weren't that religious, and yet they were upset to hear her thinking about switching. Again, I feel like I would be even more supportive because if they are finding faith and belief, then I would want them to be happy and to follow whatever they believed in. Personally, I'm still trying to find my faith and what I believe, and it can be a very complicated process. I can identify with Justine in the book about being confused and believing in one thing, but definitely being curious about another. I really appreciated that within the book, the author didn't make it out that Justine was picking a 'right' or 'wrong' religion, but was just trying to find her own faith by gathering more information. It was also nice to see that the priest and Rabbi both supported her while she was in confusion as to which religion she should believe in.

I think everyone, including myself, should learn a little bit more about other religions, just so you have more knowledge and understanding of those faiths. One other thing I can identify with Justine is that I was raised a certain way with a certain religion, but to me it seemed as if because I was raised Catholic, then I didn't have a lot of exposure to other religions that may have fit me more. If I was given a choice when I was younger, or exposed to more, rather than learning prayers and beliefs that I didn't necessarly agree with, I may have chosen a different religion. Then again, maybe I wouldn't have chosen any, but I feel that children should at least have the knowledge base of many religions; that way, they could follow which fits them most.