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Seriously. My father died before I was born, but mom agreed that I'd be raised Catholic. So she, being the good Quaker that she is, and knowing nothing about Catholicism, handed me off to the only recognizable (to her) bit of the Catholic Church she could when it was time for my indoctrination at about age 4... the Jesuits.
I had a Jesuit catechist and confessor from that day forward, even if she had to leave post to find me one. I also had a Jesuit tutor once I got to upper elementary school and Mom explained that I was being raised by a Quaker and a Baptist. (This, and the money from my grandparents, usually got the priests and nuns pretty fired up.)
I never went to Catholic school, however, since most of them were not real keen on the idea of me coming in during the middle of the school year, and we military brats have that problem. Plus, mom didn't want the difference between me and my sisters being make real obvious (we have different fathers, obviously) and she couldn't find the extra money to put my sisters in Catholic school, too. The grandparents were generous, but not THAT generous.
I was pretty devout, but it was the Jesuits that did me in. (Being a girl, I was pretty safe from the priests, and I actually respect a lot of celibate religious; it's a tough life they choose.) Jesuits are very strong on scholarship, and they taught me to think. A little too well. Once I started applying the critical thinking skills the priests had taught me to the religion, it was all down hill from there.
The other rupture happened during preparation for Confirmation, when I was arguing a point of theology with my catechist - something on a state of grace, I believe. He said something to the effect of 'You would be an honor to the faith and a most able Church Lawyer, and possibly even a Devil's Advocate, Miss _____, if only you were a boy.' He meant it as a compliment, I'm sure. That was the look on his face, anyway.
Nice blow to my girl's ego. I remember stacking my books very calmly and walking out the door saying that if the Church didn't have a place for me, then I didn't belong in the Church. It hurt, because of all of the jobs on earth at the time, the two that appealed most to me were a) astronaut and b) Devil's Advocate. (The DA is the person who argued against the beatification and canonization of candidates for sainthood. This is the person - always a priest - who investigates and looks for physical reasons for miracles. This position has been eliminated by the John Paul II Vatican for most sainthood issues.)
I still contemplated joining a convent, though. I didn't like most of the men I'd been exposed to - small, Mormon communities and military bases are not exactly bastions of gender equality after all - and there were a couple of very good, liberation theology communities in AZ that would have not only taken me, but helped me pay for college. Then sex happened. I say this honestly, Thank God. :)
I left Christianity by the time I was 20, hit deism by my 22nd birthday, and I've been atheist/agnostic/probabilitarian since I was 24.
I don't regret my education, however. They were excellent in getting me to use my brain.
Pcat
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