Faith is such a personal thing. Those who are religious stand behind their beliefs, and those who don't understand others beliefs will often criticize due to a lack of understanding or willingness to understand. I was raised Catholic, and I continue to subscribe to the Catholic faith into my college years currently. I know for myself I can fall short tempered when people turn their noses up without truly understanding the beauty I see in the Church and act of practicing a religion, no matter what it is.

In my short life thus far as a young Catholic, I've definitely encountered my fair share of questions about my faith. Now attending the Catholic University of America, these questions and looks of discontent have only grown. A lot of these questions bear loads of stereotypes and misconceptions about the Church that I can't wrap my head around. Sometimes I wonder where people get the idea that Catholicism is so horrible. Wherever these misconceptions and distaste started, I'm here to attempt to end it. Here are the top 5 misconceptions I've come across thus far about the Catholic Church.

1. Worship Mary/ Idolatry

Misconception: Catholics worship Mary and are, therefore, committing idolatry

In the bible, the idea of idolatry is essentially the act of worshipping anything other than God. There is a huge difference between worshipping and committing idolatry versus merely giving reverence to someone and giving them the respect they deserve. For the Catholic church, Mary, the mother of God, deserves reverence. This is not idolatry in the eyes of the Church. The reason is behind the type of worship it practices. There are three types of worship in Catholicism.

Latria

Adoration given to God, and God alone. This is not to be given to anyone but God, otherwise it is considered idolatry.

Hyperdulia

This is a special type of worship given to Mary the Mother of Jesus – it is only given to her and it is not considered to be idolatry as it is not adoration, merely reverence.

Dulia

This is the special type of worship given only to the saints and angels – it is also not idolatrous as it, too, is a form of reverence.

Overall, we only pray for Mary's assistance and intervention. We know that God is above Mary and only God has a plan for us and is all powerful. The same goes for statues of Mary and saints, they are meant to show reverence and we do not worship them as Gods.

2. Discourage reading of the bible

Misconception: Catholics don't take the bible seriously and neglect to read it.

There is this odd misconception that Catholics don't read the bible. I find this strange because every Sunday we have readings from the bible as part of our mass. There are three readings, including a gospel. I've been to numerous Catholic bible study groups and I can assure you the bible is taken seriously in Catholicism. Where we split from our protestant neighbors is in interpretation. We as Catholics take the bible to be a compilation of stories. Some of these stories help humanity understand God's power and did not actually happen. For instance, the story of Adam and Eve and the creation of the world in 7 days are merely creationist stories to give our human brains something to latch onto in order to understand something about God's power and the act of sin. We still take these stories seriously, because we recognize the meaning behind them. Just because we aren't taking every single word literally does not mean we don't still read and try to understand the message.

3. Anti-science

Misconception: The Catholic church is opposed to science and has no belief in evolution.

Science and faith go hand in hand. They do not oppose each other. Yes, you can believe in evolution and all different types of science and still be 100% a Catholic. Catholicism believes in the big bang theory and evolution. It is in fact taught in most Catholic schools. In fact, many great scientific advances of our time have developed through Catholic scholarship and education. In example, Monsignor Georges Lemaître is a Belgian priest who proposed the Big Bang theory. When he proposed his theory, Einstein rejected it, causing Monsignor Lemaître to write to him: "Your math is correct, but your physics is abominable." Eventually Einstein came to accept the theory. The theory was later confirmed and officially accepted by Pope Benedict XVI, where he states that there is an abundance of evidence to support both the big bang theory and some sort of evolutionary theory. So, all in all, Catholics embrace science. This may not have always been the case, but it is certainly is now.

4. Catholics aren't christians

Misconception: Catholics aren't Christians.

This is one of the wackiest misconceptions out there. Catholics are the original Christians. We are the foundation on which all Christian churches stem from. Every other protestant Christian Church comes from the Catholic Church. Practices of today's Catholic church are the closest to that of what the apostles and early Christians practiced. Also verifiable from ancient texts, most historians agree that Catholicism is the first form of Christianity. This is kind of a short paragraph here but there isn't much more I can expand on about this… We believe in Jesus Christ and the holy trinity, therefore we are Christian.

5. Aren't welcoming/hate certain groups of people

Misconception: Catholics are exclusive and don't want certain groups of people joining the Church.

One of the saddest misconceptions is that Catholics are exclusive and that we don't welcome everyone. This is unfortunate because we truly want everyone to enjoy the word of God with us. None of Catholicism includes bashing on gay people or hating on other religions. We love everyone, because God has commanded us to do so. Love thy neighbor means any neighbor of any kind. God has created us all in his image and has made no mistakes. Please feel free to come to a Catholic mass anytime and participate. I promise we don't bite.

Now that I've run through my list, I should let you know that there are loads more I could talk about, but I rest my case for now. I never want to tell someone what to believe. Please don't take this post as me pushing my beliefs onto you, but rather clarifying and heightening your knowledge of another's faith. If Catholicism does interest you though, I strongly encourage contacting me or any of your Catholic friends about what it means to join such a beautiful faith.