Painful at times, and awkward at times, but healthy.

because I found the doctrine was not believable and b/c they started a long time shift to association with Republican politics.

I haven't regretted it one day. Nothing painful about it at all.

It felt like being released from a mental prison.

except for the painful part. It does sometimes get awkward with both mine & the spouses family, but I can deal with a bit of awkward.

When people associate with an institution that views their daughters as second-class citizens - what are people teaching their daughters?

My family of origin doesn't share my opinion (politically or religiously) but I would've felt like I was doing my children a disservice to expose them to an institution, without criticism, that engages in the sort of actions and beliefs that I find repulsive.

In my will, I had stated that, if I had died when my children were younger, they should not be exposed to that religion's doctrine before they were old enough to reason. I would never participate in my own child's brainwashing.

to which I have no answer. I cannot speak to the situation which you suggest as I was never in a similar one, but I just couldn't make the whole Catholic Church thing work in my head. I will say that there are some very good people in the church who have their convictions & I will respect their choices, hopefully they will respect mine.

And we worked a poor neighborhood, and this woman who was nice, goes to a christian church that says Obama is the Anti-Christ. I told her it wasn't true, but it will only take someone from the church to reassure her it is. There might be more to these "churches" than meets the eye. And boycotting them would be a good thing. Even hang out in front of catholic churches with signs that ask why those attending support pedophiles? I know they are not all pedophiles, but WHAT are they doing about it? I bet most of them do nothing. Just following orders. Where have we heard that before?

but many of them have never been on the right side of history on ethical issues.

which is more than a little ironic.

wrong side of history. Of course that is not true for every branch of the church. I have read a lot regarding the Quakers and somehow they have been there when it was needed. However today I do not hear much about them.

that they have actively encouraged evil by their beliefs with the belief that they are messengers of god's will?

I mean - southern baptists and their active participation in slavery and, not only slavery, but segregation... twice wrong on the same issue.

The Catholic Church and their active participation in suppressing the truth of science ala Galileo.

Fundies in general with their anti-science, and therefore anti-truth stances.

How do people who participate in these institutions square the knowledge that these institutions have participated in some of the most evil acts in history with the idea that these institutions speak for god? (such as the inquisition and slavery)

the obvious answer is that these institutions are human-made and are run to the benefit of humans who seek power within them.

the various fundamentalist churches in the U.S. are definitely part of this as well.

My question regarding the Catholic Church is also based on the knowledge that so many people who call themselves Catholic don't abide by what the church says - they don't think it applies to their personal lives.

so why support an institution that tries to force these things on poor women?

If they leave, the church is in trouble.

If Americans could have that much influence, think about what they could accomplish to stop this war on women!

it seems to me a boycott would be an ethical act when your religious institution is trying to harm poor women by denying them access to healthcare.

boycott the Catholic church? just askin'

you boycott the church by not showing up and by not participating in its various activities.

women keep religious institutions going, in many places, because of their volunteer work. if people would refuse to participate in the institution, they would feel the loss.

That would make perfect sense I guess If you are Catholic but that's a big decision to make, especially if someone is really serious about their church. It is funny how people tend to overlook some things about their churches isn't it.

they should just give up something they're a part of....to satisfy whom? You?

Stinks of "love it or leave it" to me.

yes. this is entirely to satisfy me.

please ignore the ACTUAL FUCKING ISSUES the OP talks about and the reality that this institution hasn't changed much of anything for a long time.

boycotts are useful to hurt institutions that engage in bad actions.

remember the civil rights movement and the refusal of African-Americans to ride in the back of a bus? They hurt the system that sought to oppress them via financial means.

according to you, they should've just kept giving their money to bus companies that wanted to discriminate against them.

what stinks is your poor attempt at an attack.

Let us know when you come up with an answer.

can ignore the Church's teachings but give time and money to an institution that seeks to harm poor women's access to health care.

as long as people go along with this sort of thing, it will continue.

They're going around passing right-wing politics off as Church doctrine. Jesus put the 1st century Inquisitors in their place by calling them the hypocrites they were; why not calling the hierarchy out on their hypocrisy, in an open letter to the Vatican?

Where's Christ when we need him? Dear Jesus, Satan sneaked into your Church and has corrupted the men entrusted to carry out your work. Please do us a favor and send down a little divine correction.

not just the catholic one... were hit with tax bills because of their endorsement of particular political parties.

but I don't think churches should be exempt from taxation on anything other than direct charity work.

Your view is way too parochial.

We all liked the "Caring for the poor,sick,young,old" Catholic beliefs.We didn't like the perpetual guilt/sin thing.Three of us are gay.Funny how that works.