I am Roman Catholic. Like
Nin and
superwizard, I think everyone knows this about me, but it may not be as obvious as I think. I don't recall whether or not I did the poll
. I have only ever had one person tell me he intended to convert me, and I informed him that I have a mother, and so I will die Catholic. The reasoning for this is that I know my mother prays for me, and this is very important to her. God hears her prayers, so that young man had not-a-chance of converting me
. [He was Russian Orthodox.]
I do think such lists are not as helpful as they could be, because we all have to explain what we mean. Identifying our religion gives a hint as to what we think and believe, but it doesn't really answer the questions. And when we try to explain, we don't make any sense - because it is hard to teach your language to someone else!
At this point in my life, I do not think I could choose not to believe in God. I can't choose not to believe in my mother - I know her. She's real. The most I could do is deny or reject her.
Which I could certainly do. When I contemplated suicide, it was with the understanding that I would be rejecting God for all eternity. Turning my back and walking away to the one place he could not follow me... So, yes, I could do something like that. (Obviously, I didn't!) I could have weak faith, bad faith, or shrivelled up faith....but I can no longer deny God's very existence. It is too real, something I have experienced too many times. I suppose that that means my faith is confirmed, though it did not happen at Confirmation, but later.
I happen to think that the Catholic Church is a great faith and religion (ie, it has the fullness of truth). But I also know it's a mixed bag -
being Catholic doesn't count for much. I admire people who are saints, but I know that I myself am not. I've had a lot given to me, and so a lot is expected of me - and I seldom live up to that. So, I throw myself on God's infinite mercy and hope for salvation. Some days, it seems too much to hope for my own sanctification, but for some reason, Jesus loves me too much to give up on me, no matter
how stubborn I am, and so as long as I have life, there is hope for me.
I enjoy having conversations about faith and religion and God and spirituality with people who have very different beliefs than I do, and I enjoy having such discussions with people who are on the same page as I am. I gain different things from the two types of conversations, but they are both valuable.