Religion

 

This past summer, one of my best friends looked at me and told me that I was going to Hell. I am Catholic and she is a staunch Southern Baptist. I am fairly open minded when it comes to religion and have gone to her church on multiple occasions. It was very different than mine. The Catholic faith is very much based on tradition and our masses reflect that, where as hers for the first half took on the feel of a rock concert. It wasn’t necessarily my tastes, but nevertheless I enjoyed trying something new. At the beginning of this summer, my same friend invited me to a beach camp with her church. I knew several other girls who were going so I enthusiastically signed up. I went to the masses with her and did the youth group assignments and really enjoyed myself. Even though some of the things they preached did not correspond to my own beliefs, it was interesting to consider a different point of view. About the middle of the week, this friend told me she wanted to speak with me in private. She went on for a bit about how glad she was that I was here and then said “You are one of my closest friends, but if you don’t change your views now, you are going to go to Hell.” I was stunned and hurt by this. I tried to explain my point of view to her but she refused to listen and quickly became upset and defensive. The rest of the week went by and we both pretended that nothing had happened but I was still in disbelief that someone could be so close minded and judgmental, especially towards a friend. I think that it is important to see all sides of an argument. Growing up in the Deep South, the majority of people that I know do not have the same viewpoint. Most people are devoutly Christians and are very closed minded to other religions. In class if we are discussing religion and a kid announces that they are agnostic or atheist, the room gets so quiet you could hear a pin drop. I have multiple friends who have said that they could never be friends with someone who is not Christian. I don’t understand why not. Being friends with this person doesn’t mean that you have to agree with their beliefs. You should be able to discuss religion with someone without becoming defensive. When I asked my friend that day why she thought I was going to Hell, she told me it was because I wasn’t Christian. I find that an interesting assumption considering that Catholicism was the first form of Christianity. I have no problem with people asking me questions about my religion. If they are not Catholic, how would they know that we do not worship the Virgin Mary or have to go to Confession to absolve our sins? However, I do think that knowing Catholicism is a branch of Christianity would be common knowledge. I think that in order to succeed as a society we need to be more accepting of each other’s beliefs. I don’t think it is fair to judge someone who was raised differently than you, and if we allow ourselves to hear the other side of an argument we just might learn something.