Hey everyone,

My name is Mike, I'm 24 and I live in the UK. I've been an atheist for roughly 10 years now. I was brought up in a catholic household, all of my relatives are either catholic or protestant and I was baptised and had my first communion, but I was never confirmed.

From an early age I always questioned religion to a certain degree and when I finally decided and announced myself as an atheist, all my family were completely fine with it (it even rubbed off on them a little).

Recently, I have started to look into excommunicating myself from the church. I have no desire to have my name associated with them in any way. However, I was wondering if there would be any cons with doing such a thing, e.g, I might find it hard for any children I have in the future finding a good school.

I can't really find many cons, so I just want to make sure I'm not missing out on any real benefits. Also, after saying this to my parents, I was surprised when they told me that they would be disappointed if I went ahead with this. That surprised me a lot. If I was to tell them I wanted to be a muslim, hindu, any other religion they'd be accepting. They are accepting of me as an atheist. If I was homosexual or bisexual, they'd be accepting. But this decision seems to have hit a nerve.

Would be grateful to hear any advice or even stories from members of this forum.

Thanks,
Mike.

You might find it harder to get children into a roman catholic school, but they aren't as good as they used to be. Guess funding may have dried up a little, even the creationist funded schools (they exist) seem to have a better budget.

Other than that, does it really matter that much, or is it simply so that they can't publish you as part of a statistic to prove how many people are catholics in the world?

So you are getting paused by some catholic red tape? Advice? If I could give it on some quality, I'd be selling them, not giving

(January 4, 2013 at 12:57 pm)NoMoreFaith Wrote: is it simply so that they can't publish you as part of a statistic to prove how many people are catholics in the world?

Like I've said, I've no desire to have my name associated with them in any way. I would like to hear the cons with going ahead and excommunicating myself from the church.

As an American I don't think I have much to offer but best wishes.

It's been a long time since I looked into this question but like every else with catholics it is a one-way street. The church tells - you listen. Figures that eventually they got a former Hitler Youth member as their leader, huh?

Anyway, They claim the idea that your parents baptize you before you have any ability to resist makes you one of them for all time. Quite a good scam when you think about it. However, THEY retain the right to throw you out.

I suppose you could write a letter to some bishop....assuming you can find one who isn't sodomizing children at the moment....and tell him that you support gay marriage, contraception, abortion, divorce, and the reversal of tax exemptions for church income/property AND that you think Herr Von Popenfuhrer should be in jail for his part in the child abuse scandal. That may be enough to get them to throw you out.

Good luck.

(January 4, 2013 at 1:37 pm)Minimalist Wrote: It's been a long time since I looked into this question but like every else with catholics it is a one-way street. The church tells - you listen. Figures that eventually they got a former Hitler Youth member as their leader, huh?

Anyway, They claim the idea that your parents baptize you before you have any ability to resist makes you one of them for all time. Quite a good scam when you think about it. However, THEY retain the right to throw you out.

I suppose you could write a letter to some bishop....assuming you can find one who isn't sodomizing children at the moment....and tell him that you support gay marriage, contraception, abortion, divorce, and the reversal of tax exemptions for church income/property AND that you think Herr Von Popenfuhrer should be in jail for his part in the child abuse scandal. That may be enough to get them to throw you out.

Good luck.

I've looked into it and I know how to go about getting myself thrown out. I just wish to know the cons of no longer being associated with it in any way, if there are any.

None that I know of...but I'm in the US not Britain.

My advice? Don't burn your bridges. Symbolic acts are all well and good, but there is generally little point to them, other than to make you feel good. Perhaps you may never need that bridge, but I don't see what you would gain by taking that step, and with the future uncertain, who knows what the consequences might be. (In line with Rumsfield's "unknown unknowns"; as Niels Bohr said, "Prediction is difficult. Especially about the future.")

Perhaps I'm a bit too martial, but I see no tactical or strategic benefits from doing so, and potential disadvantages.

If you're worried about it impacting your kids' future, I'd recommend holding off until you're sure it will/won't before making a choice. That being said, I'm sure you can find plenty of schools that will give your children a good education that aren't specifically Catholic. This might also depend on where in the UK you are. Good luck.