Catholic Stereotypes

[Dancelittleewok]

Catholics are anti-intellectual or less rational somehow by following the Church. (I hear this one from my atheist/agnostic friends and sometimes a few Protestants on other boards.)

 

[exoflare]

Just read some of the postings in the Moral Theology section - you’ll see!

I know, but you’ll find overly scrupulous individuals like that within any branch of Christianity. What I don’t understand is why people single out Catholics as being more prone to guilt in general.

 

[SarahR]

Haven’t read through all the other posts, but what irks me is the assumption that all catholics really want female priests, birth control okayed, open divorce/remarriage, and that we’re all just waiting until Rome “gets with the program”. There are many of us who love and embrace the teachings (even the ones that are difficult!) as children who trust their parents.

 

[DihydrogenOxide]

The Catholic Church doesn’t give to charity.

The Catholic Church is an offshoot of paganism/church of satan (people who don’t know history…)

Catholics worship wafers.

Catholics can only pray to God through the pope. They have to pray to the pope first.(lol)

The Catholic Church did not do anything to save victims of the Holocaust.

Catholics “added” books to the Bible OR changed the Bible.

Catholics are like puppets, they only do what the Church says. They can’t decide on their own.

Catholics are snobs.

etc. etc. etc…misinformation. It pays to do research.

 

[whatevergirl]

*Some I have personally heard:

Catholics worship Mary, and the Pope.
Catholics are cold and snobby.
Catholics are not Christian. *

 

[Petergee]

This is an interesting point and brings to mind statements from several people I’ve met who have left the Church. Upon hearing that I am Catholic, they often state “I use to be a good Catholic until I saw the light.” This usually brings my reply that they couldn’t have been that damned good a Catholic since they left the Church followed by a quick change of the subject.

My reply would be “It’s nice to see that you still use a Catholic-invented phrase like “I saw the Light”, but it’s offensive to use it against the Church which is that “Light on the hilltop” which God spoke of”.

 

[exoflare]

Catholics can only pray to God through the pope. They have to pray to the pope first.(lol)

Wow, how could I have forgotten that classic?? Thanks for reminding me.

A lot of people are going to read that and think you’re joking, but I’ve actually had someone say this to me IRL at least once.

 

[lareinatortura]

Whoever instructed you on the vitally important subject of Christian doctrines about sex did a woeful job of it, particulaly as it was such a personally important subject to you as you were about to get married. I am not aware of any branch of Christianity ever having taught that sex is evil and that the enjoyment of sex is a sin. This is certainly the exact opposite of Catholic doctrine on the subject. The Catholic Church teaches that sex is very good indeed, and that it is a sin to deliberately deprive sexual activity of its enjoyment for either the husband or the wife or both.

THANK YOU! I absolutely loathe when anyone–Christian or non–says that we “hate sex,” and that “God hates sex.” That’s not true! Now, albeit. . there are HUMANS who teach these things. . Sigh. . I’m thinking of all the stuffy Southern Baptists I’ve been around in my life as I post this. .

But, our God certainly doesn’t hate sex, and Christians should not hate sex. Now, sexual immorality, that’s another thing.

I hate porn. I hate promiscuity. I have our over-sexed society. I hate the concept of prostitution. I hate abortion. BUT, as a Christian, I do not hate sex itself. I believe that in a married couple, sex is good. I think it’s even necessary, in that case. I think it helps to maintain a certain connection between a husband and wife.

But. . that’s just me. .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

Catholic stereotypes that I hate. .

“Catholics worship the Virgin Mary.”
“Catholics worship Saints.”
“Catholics pray *to *Saints.”
“Catholics pray to Mary.”
“Catholicism is empty because it is full of ‘superstition.’”
“Catholics are not allowed to question anything their priests tell them.”
“Catholics are not allowed to question anything the Pope says.”
“Catholics don’t *like *science.”
“Catholics don’t acknowledge science.”
“Catholicism smothers people and does not allow them to be themselves.”
“(Lay) Catholics are not allowed to look in the Bible.”

Etc. etc. . . I’ve heard more than that over the years, but that’s really what I can remember. And it drives me crazy! I absolutely loathe the whole, “Oh, they pray *to *Saints,” thing!

And what’s worse? Some Catholics–perhaps unknowingly, sometimes–further that misconception, by saying things like, “Oh, this is a prayer *to *Saint Monica,”

Darn it. . I thought it was pray with! Pray with! Or maybe ask? Asking for a prayer. (We do that with our fellow living Christians, right? “Hey mom, I’m really worried that I will not get that job and be able to pay my bills–please pray for me, okay?” Some Christians–particularly Protestant–seem to be under the impression that there is NO difference between a “prayer,” and a “request for prayer.” Well, I think there is a difference.

When I pray to God, I can do many things besides *asking *Him for something:

I can exalt Him.
I can thank Him.
I can tell Him my worries.
I can tell Him my random thoughts!

I don’t think prayers automatically have to be requests, and that’s why when I say anything about praying with the Saints, I’ll say, “I *asked *Saint so-and-so to please pray for me.”

So. . praying to God, and our *asking the Saints to pray for us are two different things. . Get it straight, Protestant people! >.<

(That was a general comment, by the way. . -.-)

 

[Spiritu]

Here’s one: Catholics eat fish on Fridays because there was once a Pope who was related to a fish-monger, and he wanted to give the family business a boost.

 

[Petergee]

THANK YOU! I absolutely loathe when anyone–Christian or non–says that we “hate sex,” and that “God hates sex.” That’s not true! Now, albeit. . there are HUMANS who teach these things. . Sigh. . I’m thinking of all the stuffy Southern Baptists I’ve been around in my life as I post this.

In fairness to Southern Baptists, and not that I’ve met many because I’ve never been to the USA, I’ve never heard ANY Christian say that sex is something to be hated.

I absolutely loathe the whole, “Oh, they pray *to *Saints,” thing!

And what’s worse? Some Catholics–perhaps unknowingly, sometimes–further that misconception, by saying things like, “Oh, this is a prayer *to *Saint Monica,”

Darn it. . I thought it was pray with! Pray with! Or maybe ask? Asking for a prayer. (We do that with our fellow living Christians, right? “Hey mom, I’m really worried that I will not get that job and be able to pay my bills–please pray for me, okay?” Some Christians–particularly Protestant–seem to be under the impression that there is NO difference between a “prayer,” and a “request for prayer.” Well, I think there is a difference.

When I pray to God, I can do many things besides *asking *Him for something:

I can exalt Him.
I can thank Him.
I can tell Him my worries.
I can tell Him my random thoughts!

I don’t think prayers automatically have to be requests, and that’s why when I say anything about praying with the Saints, I’ll say, “I *asked *Saint so-and-so to please pray for me.”

So. . praying to God, and our *asking the Saints to pray for us are two different things. . Get it straight, Protestant people! >.<

(That was a general comment, by the way. . -.-)

I don’t see anything wrong with saying “I prayed to St. X”. The word “pray” has TWO common dictionary meanings: “to utter prayers to God or other object of worship” OR "“to make an earnest entreaty, beg or implore”. As in “she prayed to be allowed to go”. In Australia the standard wording for a citizens’ petition to Parliament always says that they “pray” to the politicians that they do what they are being implored to do.

Rather than modifying your own language and demanding that other Catholics do the same, I suggest you could tell these protestants that they simply don’t understand and correctly use the word “pray”. I think it was C. S. Lewis who said: “They begin with bad English and end up with bad theology.”

 

[SeekingWisdom]

The ones I hear most frequently:

The Church oppresses women.
All priests are pedophiles
The Church is stuck in the Dark Ages regarding birth control
Catholics are not Christians
Catholics are sexually repressed.
Catholics hate gays

And whoever said “Catholics hate sex”?
Have they seen how many children we are producing? Ah yes, such drudgery it must be.

 

[deb216]

Hey, I’m Catholic and I have problems with the Church’s teaching on sexuality. So I don’t think that the comment “Catholics hate sex” is a stereotype. I think it is a valid critism of Church teaching. However, I would go further and say pretty much all Christians hate sex, in that all Christian traditions teach that it is evil and that the enjoyment of sex is a sin.

Yes, I am a convert. I came into the Church at Easter 2008. I was a pagan until I met the man I was to marry (we married in the Church in Sept 2008). I honor all the Church’s teachings, even the ones I question, but the issue with sexuality is a source of conflict and absence of joy in an otherwise wonderful marriage.

As far as real stereotypes about Catholics that bother me, I would have to say the common misconception that Catholics worship Mary tops the list. Also high on the list is that all priests are as bad as the ones that make the news for breaking their vows. I always tell people who tell me that it isn’t true; it’s just that the people who report the news don’t find the good priests interesting because they aren’t involved in any scandals.

Just my opinions…

Wow. My Pre-Cana experience was very different from yours. Hubby and I were definitely not taught that sex is evil and that the enjoyment of sex is a sin. To the contrary. We were taught that it is a beautiful thing; a gift to be enjoyed between a husband and wife. We will be celebrating our 20th anniversary this year. If I knew who taught our Pre-Cana class, I would send them flowers.

The stereotype that bothers me is the belief that Catholics are brainwashed by the Vatican; incapable of grasping what the Bible teaches and too ignorant to care.

 

[Norseman82]

I’m surprised nobody brought this one up:

Annulment is a Catholic divorce.

 

[lareinatortura]

The word “pray” has TWO common dictionary meanings: “to utter prayers to God or other object of worship” OR "“to make an earnest entreaty, beg or implore”.

Thank you, Petergee. I didn’t stop to think about this. But, in my defense, I have to say two things. .

I am aware that the stereotype of “hating sex” extends to other Christians beyond the Southern Baptists. I should have worded my post differently, but there is a reason why I referenced Southern Baptists in my post. (Going to a Southern Baptist church and hearing their teachings/beliefs in my daily life were my very *first *experiences with Christianity. They seem to have made a permanent mark on me. I need to put myself in check, as I’ve developed a resentment toward the sect.)

Secondly, I don’t *demand *that other Catholics change their language. In my former ignorance, I only wished that others would word themselves differently, concerning prayers with the Saints, and requests to them. I didn’t think about the other meanings for the word prayer, you know? So that’s just how I felt. It was a sort of wish that I had based on my observations. I never told others what they *should *do.

But again, thank you for bringing the other meaning of the word “prayer” to my attention. Honestly, it’s something I knew because of my knowledge of the English language, but it wasn’t something I really thought about. I guess it was always in the very back of my mind, because it’s more common for, well, “common folks” to focus on the first definition of “prayer” that you gave, in daily conversations.

I would also consider my Protestant background. From my experience–and I realize this the more I learn about Catholicism and speak with practicing Catholics–Protestants get extremely “hung up” on the. . how can I say. . language that Catholicism uses.

While there are some differences in vocabulary, I’ve found that it’s not really the differences in the words themselves that hang uninformed Protestants up. It seems to be how the words are utilized. I think that once they’re informed about the context in which Catholics use particular words, and the other connotations of those words, they become less “hung up” because they understand.

At least, that’s how I see it, because I’ve experienced the same thing. Even right here, just now. I feel a little saddened that we (Protestants) get so caught up and confused by language that we also essentially use ourselves, but what can be done?

I guess it’s as Petergee says. Just pass along what you learn to others who do not know any better, in hopes that they will understand.

 

[lareinatortura]

I’m surprised nobody brought this one up:

Annulment is a Catholic divorce.

That’s an interesting one, Norseman82.

If you feel this is a stupid question, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to trouble you with basics, but I am still learning.

Isn’t an annulment basically something that says the marriage never existed?

Or is it something else?

 

[lareinatortura]

The ones I hear most frequently:

The Church oppresses women.
All priests are pedophiles
The Church is stuck in the Dark Ages regarding birth control
Catholics are not Christians
Catholics are sexually repressed.
Catholics hate gays

And whoever said “Catholics hate sex”?
Have they seen how many children we are producing? Ah yes, such drudgery it must be.

I love your post.

I find it extremely disheartening that the typical world-view of Catholics–just Christians in general, for that matter–is that they are extremely prejudice, ignorant, and too stubborn and/or backward to keep pace with general society.

That is so not true. .

Sigh.

 

[CountrySinger]

Catholics are cold and snobby.
*

Most Catholics that I personally know fit this. If you don’t fit their “standard” forget it.
That’s why I was so shocked at my new parish, everyone is so nice and welcoming. Maybe because they have a shortage of Catholic single women there. I feel like the shiny new toy. I can’t be a wallflower there (which is what I do best).

 

[Norseman82]

That’s an interesting one, Norseman82.

If you feel this is a stupid question, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to trouble you with basics, but I am still learning.

Isn’t an annulment basically something that says the marriage never existed?

Or is it something else?

No, you have it correct.

 

[Norseman82]

How about this one:

Didn’t Vatican II change all that?

 

[DL82]

Catholics don’t know their Bible
The Catholic Church doesn’t allow birth control because they want to out-breed the Protestants
The Catholic Church doesn’t allow people to think for themselves
The Catholic Church is only for the Irish and the Italians
The Catholic Church is too rich
Catholics feel their faith is a burden not a joy

Those are the typical stereotypes you get here. There really was a Catholic group in Scotland and Ireland in the 19th century whose apostolate was to outbreed the Protestants, but the Church hierarchy never approved of it (ironically, such a goal objectifies sex in the same way that contraception does). Somewhere along the line this got confused with the Church’s real teaching on marriage and family.

I have just been hearing today from two friends my age (in their 20’s), both converts, about the intolerance they have faced from their families toward the Catholic faith. It’s so sad that such things can still happen in today’s world.