Hum Wk 9 Final

World Religions Report
Jason Kempen
Hum/130
January 23, 2011
Andrea Lynch

World Religions Report
I was baptized Lutheran in a small town in St. Louis Missouri, from what I remember there was never any discussion of God, religion or faith in our home. We rarely attended services and any kind of attendance stopped completely when I was little. Religion has never been a priority to me. To this day I don’t practice any religion. Here is where I stand on my beliefs today; I go to Catholic mass almost every Sunday with my wife and kids (I go to avoid her nagging me and I go to help her with our two small children), I believe in God and I believe I can talk to Him or pray anywhere at any time, that it doesn’t necessarily need to be done in a church. I chose the Catholic religion because in the last two years, my wife and I have had more than our share of struggles and she has rediscovered her Catholic roots and is adamant that with the help of God, we made it through and back on solid ground (her words, not mine). The truth is any Christian religion has most of the same basic principles, just different ways of celebrating or different mass progression. I will be visiting a Catholic church, explaining the interview I had with my wife, and comparing and contrasting with a different religion entirely.

    In Catholicism, we allow the Pope, the church and certain traditions of the church hold the authority. Catholics believe that one must have faith and love within the person to be saved. Catholics believe that the bread and wine were changed into Christ’s body and blood. Catholics believe it in offering prayers to saints or to see Mary as a "mediator" between God and human beings. “The interesting thing about Catholic faith is that the basic truths never change. Our understanding of revealed truths may evolve and develop (such as the change in the Church’s understanding of slavery), but the fundamental principles never change. Catholics are called to be faithful... [continues]

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