StaroftheSea Posted September 30, 2012 Author Share Posted September 30, 2012 I had heard about the requirement, but it never fully registered in my mind, I guess, until the puja. I'll talk to my teacher tomorrow, so please pray for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeteorShower Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 Prayers for you! I understand it's a very awkward situation - I went through it myself in my first year of high school. During our Buddhism unit, we all had to do projects on different aspects of Buddhism. One of the girls for her presentation decided to lead the class in meditation. I found it extremely uncomfortable and stopped participating half way through. The year before we had gone on a school trip to a Buddhist temple where we also were led in group meditation. At that time I did participate in the meditation. Although it was very interesting to see the temple and learn about the history and beliefs in Buddhism, I regret doing it and would never go again. This seems to be an issue in many world religion classes. When I was looking into doing a world religion course in university, the website mentioned that the classes visit a variety of places of worship. They didn't go into detail about whether it was just for observation or if one was expected to participate (and if so, to what degree) but I ended up not doing it anyway. I hope that your teacher is respecteful of your views. My world religions teacher in high school was also Catholic, interestingly enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixpence Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 [quote name='Basilisa Marie' timestamp='1348898326' post='2487923'] And personally, I would find it insulting if a group of non-Catholics said the rosary together just to "see what it's like" or something, especially if it were lead by a non-Catholic. [/quote] this!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basilisa Marie Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 (edited) I think it's a bit sad, because I'm a huge fan of World Religions classes and think they're desperately needed in a lot of ways. Not only can they help clear up misconceptions about other religions, but in turn they can help you see why you're Catholic and not Muslim or Buddhist or whatever. Having different religious leaders come in to give a talk and answer questions, and even field trips to different houses of worship can be wonderfully illuminating experiences. I know I would have loved a world religions class in high school, because it would have given me the opportunity to not be the freaky Catholic kid. But by requiring people to participate in religious devotions and rituals, not just observing them, you begin implying that all religions are really just the same, that the differences only matter in that one might "feel" better for you, etc. And that's not doing justice to any religion. If you don't respect the different answers to the big questions in life, you're ultimately saying that those questions don't really matter. Lots of prayers for you, StaroftheSea! I hope the conversation goes well! Edited October 1, 2012 by Basilisa Marie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinytherese Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 I took two semesters of world religion courses at a none Catholic school and we simply had to attend a worship service of another faith, but not necessarily participate, then write a reflection on the experience. For that I went to a Reformed Jewish Synagogue one friday night. It was interesting. Ironically, while attending the Catholic university on the Newman Guide, my professor who was a religious sister for Introduction to Sacred Scripture gave us a pamphlet where we would get to select the opening prayer and along with Catholic prayers were Buddhist and pagan Native American prayers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG45 Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 Star of the Sea, how did it go? Hopefully well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaroftheSea Posted October 3, 2012 Author Share Posted October 3, 2012 Yeah, it went well! Thanks for your prayers! So now I can sit and just observe during the rituals. For the part where everyone has to lead, she told me I could do the explaining after the ritual or during it, so I'm not participating in the actual ritual but explaining the symbolism, actions, etc. to my classmates. It still sorta bugs me though, that I was even put into this situation at a Catholic school. But I'm glad everything worked out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmotherofpirl Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 Does she realize that NO catholic can take part in these rituals? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qfnol31 Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 [quote name='cmotherofpirl' timestamp='1349401080' post='2490155'] Does she realize that NO catholic can take part in these rituals? [/quote] I know Catholic professors (one who works closely with the USCCB) who encourage this sort of thing from their students... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmotherofpirl Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 Then those supposedly Catholic professors have issues. We cannot participate in a pagan ritual, I don't care what class it is. We can conceivably sit quietly in a corner and observe, but that is not the same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatitude Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 How is it possible to 'lead' a ritual of another faith if you aren't a member of that faith? A group of non-Catholic students couldn't just decide to celebrate Mass in order to learn about it, and I imagine it's similar with rituals of other religions. One of my good friends is a rabbi and I sometimes invited him along to explain various Jewish rituals to my former students, but I couldn't have 'led' those rituals myself - I'm not a Jew or a rabbi and no matter how many books I read about Judaism, I will never be competent to do that. I understand the principle behind 'learning by doing', but when applied to religion it becomes superficial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihil Obstat Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 [quote name='beatitude' timestamp='1349443528' post='2490301'] How is it possible to 'lead' a ritual of another faith if you aren't a member of that faith? A group of non-Catholic students couldn't just decide to celebrate Mass in order to learn about it, and I imagine it's similar with rituals of other religions. One of my good friends is a rabbi and I sometimes invited him along to explain various Jewish rituals to my former students, but I couldn't have 'led' those rituals myself - I'm not a Jew or a rabbi and no matter how many books I read about Judaism, I will never be competent to do that. I understand the principle behind 'learning by doing', but when applied to religion it becomes superficial. [/quote] I think you might be unpleasantly surprised at how many Catholics would be ok with pagans 'leading' a Catholic Mass. Buddhist prayers of the faithful... A lama giving the homily... Yikes. Now that I think about it, I am seriously wondering if someone has pulled that stunt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinytherese Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 [quote name='qfnol31' timestamp='1349403584' post='2490173'] I know Catholic professors (one who works closely with the USCCB) who encourage this sort of thing from their students... [/quote] The USCCB in general is full of bologna and contrary to popular belief has no authority apart from individual bishops in their own dioceses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qfnol31 Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 [quote name='tinytherese' timestamp='1349482667' post='2490520'] The USCCB in general is full of bologna and contrary to popular belief has no authority apart from individual bishops in their own dioceses. [/quote] I don't think that's quite fair to the current USCCB, but you are correct about their level of authority. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seven77 Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 As a student at a Catholic school you are right to be alarmed by the class. Even in a secular settling, a world religions class shouldn't have students leading and actively participating in religious rituals that are unfamiliar to them--and I'm sure adherents of the particular religions would take offense at their fellow classmates who are uninitiated. On the topic of world religions, here's a book you should read: The Christ Connection: How the World Religions Prepared the Way for the Phenomenon of Jesus http://www.amazon.com/The-Christ-Connection-Phenomenon-ebook/dp/B005DHMUG2/ref=sr_1_sc_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1349643010&sr=8-3-spell&keywords=roy+vergese The author is Catholic and a former atheist. I'm looking forward to reading it myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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