Susan Sarandon On Religion And The Catholic Teachings She Never Understood (VIDEO)

[rug]

By OWN Posted: 06/08/2013 9:07 am EDT | Updated: 06/08/2013 10:56 am EDT

Susan Sarandon, the oldest of nine children, was raised Catholic and attended Catholic grammar school as a child. Though she grew up with faith, Sarandon says that even as a child, she had many questions about religion -- questions that got her into trouble and ultimately made her rethink her relationship with religion as an adult.

In this video from "Oprah's Master Class," Sarandon explains exactly which Catholic teachings she never understood and shares what happened when she asked innocent questions to better understand her religion.

"I was a very quiet kid, a very wanting-to-please kid," Sarandon says. "But certain things didn't make sense to me and when I questioned [them], there was a problem."

One of the first religious teachings Sarandon questioned was the rule that marriage must take place in the Catholic Church. "I asked how Joseph and Mary were married, since Jesus didn't make it up until later," Sarandon recalls. "[As punishment], I had to go stand in the hallway. That's when the trouble began, when I was in third grade."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/08/susan-sarandon-religion-catholic_n_3399166.html

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

1. I remember Catholic schooling in that era

Questions were not encouraged. One major reason was that far too many of the religion teachers did not know all that much about it. So they would stifle questions that they could not answer.

I have managed to maintain my faith, despite the lousy religion teachers I had.

[rug]

2. I do too.

Especially the red scare stuff.

Hopefully, the catechesis is better now.

[ProgressiveChristian]

17. I am a Catechist

I teach 6th grade CCD. The curriculum we use now, is waaaaay different then the old "Baltimore Catechism" We use the "Finding God" series from Loyola Press, a Jesuit printing house. http://www.loyolapress.com/finding-god-faith-formation-program.htm We encourage our students to ask questions, and we have a strong social justice component to the curriculum in the higher grades. We discuss things like care for the poor, sick and the enviroment. When we do address issues like homosexuality, abortion etc, it is done from the aspect of love for the individual. Obviously it is faithful to the Magisterium, but addresses issues the conservative side likes to gloss over.

[rug]

18. That is good news.

Encouraging questions is key.

Welcome to the group. Post more!

[No Vested Interest]

3. I discovered later - as an adult- that the teachers (nuns)

we perceived as wise adults were only in their young twenties. I'm speaking of my first, second and third grade teachers.

I was lucky enough by high school to have well-trained, intelligent teachers (nuns) who were able to deal quite well with the questions presented by the more precocious students.
We studied the Mass in depth, and were exposed to Thomas Aquinas' writings. They also encouraged reading and research when we needed deeper explanations.

Those were the elements of religious teachings that gave me a firm foundation that sustains me to this day.

[rug]

4. You're right about that but they did look old in their habits.

I had Dominican nuns in grammar school.

[No Vested Interest]

5. Poor dears in those habits

Mine were Sisters of NOtre Dame de Namur - their habits were simpler, but carried some kind of wooden "clicker" that, when activated, brought us to silence (mostly).

And in those "olden days" they weren't allowed to go home when a parent was dying, etc.

I'm sure that most, not unlike the majority of women at that time, didn't have many options in life, so the convent offered a secure, safe way of life.

[CBHagman]

8. An Irish friend of mine used to say...

...that there was a time, as recently as the early and mid-20th century, when convents were where parents sent the younger daughters when there was no money left for a dowry. I can't offer specific cases, however.

[No Vested Interest]

9. Re: no money for dowry for younger daughters-

A family history story handed down in my line is that a French-Canadian female ancestor of mine was slated for a convent but "revolted" and married a seminarian, became a "staunch" Methodist. - So I guess those circumstances existed in more than one culture.

Re Irish daughters, I guess that's why so many single Irish girls in the 19th century came to America and became domestic servants - escaping their fate in the convent.

(I wonder what happened to Protestant daughters when there was no money for a dowry.)

[CBHagman]

12. Not to hijack the thread, but I've only recently heard...

...that inheritance practices did indeed play a role in immigration, with sons who weren't getting daddy's land coming over here, along with younger sisters who didn't have dowries.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

13. Also, for a lot of Catholic women

the only way to get any sort of education past high school was to become a nun. I strongly suspect that one of the main reasons women are no longer becoming nuns is that they have more options nowadays.

[mykpart]

10. The same order of nuns who taught in my grade school

also taught in my high school. I remember one sister in particular who had a master's degree in English which she obtained before joining the convent. My sophomore year she was our religion teacher, and the first day of class she told us, "For some reason the people in charge seem to think that because I wear this habit I am qualified to teach Religion. I am an English teacher, but I will do my best to answer your questions or to find the answers when I don't know them." And she did. She took all our questions seriously, even those we asked facetiously. Each day at the beginning of class, she would pull out a list and say, "Mary, you wanted to know why nobody thought it was awful that Mary was pregnant when she and Joseph married. Here is what ______________says about that:" and she would explain each question and answer. Sometimes we had already forgotten the question, but not Sister! This was in 1963-64. so the whole Vatican II "revolution" was in its infancy. I feel so fortunate to have had a teacher with such integrity. It made it so much easier to tolerate some of the other nuns.

[Kingofalldems]

16. Any question they didn't want to answer

they just said,"Well that's a mystery." George Carlin actually did a routine on it.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

6. I must say that when I got to high school

I was taught by an order called the Society of Mary, who were, on the whole, well trained as teachers. BTW, the brothers' habit was a black suit, white shirt and black tie. As one of them put it, "I'm always dressed appropriately if I have to go to a funeral." (The priests wore cassocks.) They did teach me well, and encouraged questions.

I was speaking of the nuns I had in grade school, who were not particularly good at teaching religion.

[rug]

7. Those are the Marist Brothers, right?

I had the Irish Christian Brothers.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

11. Marianists, not Marist

Two different orders.

[rug]

14. Ah, thanks.

[No Vested Interest]

15. My brother was schooled by the Marianists

as well. Good educators.