Brittany Finger

Dr. David von Schlichten

Faith, Religion, and Society

10 Sept 2016

Faith Journey

I grew up in a Catholic family, and we would go to church every Sunday. I was raised to

follow the bible and all Catholic beliefs. After church, my family would have a coffee hour that

consisted with doughnuts, cookies, and drinks. Everyone would pray before eating and before

bed. We would celebrate every Catholic holiday: Christmas, Lent, Easter, and Ash Wednesday.

Growing up, I would attend CCD and in eighth grade, I transferred to my town’s Catholic

school, Holy Trinity.

My beliefs today are a little bit different than what they initially were growing up. I would

like to be a Christian, and be accepting of all religion. Society is much different now than what it

was when my parents grew up. What I mean by that is how today, people are much more

accepting of other religions, being an atheist, or being a homosexual. I am not saying that I agree

with other religions, atheism, or homosexuals, but that I respect the beliefs of others and their

happiness. I believe in God and everything what the bible says because I am a Christian, but I do

not agree with some of the Catholic beliefs; for example, priests cannot marry.

My beliefs have helped me through hard times tremendously; without them I do not know

where I would be. I have been through so much. Both my father and brother had cancer, two of

my grandparents passed away in the past four years, and many other scares with family

members. Anytime someone close to me was hurting or sick, I would pray to God that they
would be okay. God has guided me through my entire life; God has been there when I needed

someone to talk to, and God is what gives me faith.

I feel that my beliefs give me a sense of purpose, because without my beliefs, I would not

know what I want to do with my life. I want to become a homicide detective, not just because it

is cool and fascinating, but to give people the closure that is essential. Also, without my beliefs I

probably would not horseback ride, which is my favorite thing to do. I would most likely not

participate in track either. I always pray that I will do well, and without my belief of prayer, I

believe I would not succeed.

Many people and events have shaped my beliefs. All throughout high school, I attended a

youth group called, CHIL. I attended CHIL my sophomore year a few times, and it was

enjoyable and helpful. At the time, I did not have many people to go with. Junior year, I attended

almost every week because it was so pleasurable. Senior year was the best year of CHIL. I really

started to understand my faith and what I wanted most in life. Parents and my grandma impacted

my beliefs the most. My parents would always keep me involved with the church. I was involved

in the passion play at my church. I conducted the role of Mary my junior year of high school, and

my senior year I was the angel. My parents are not the only people that have shaped my beliefs.

My closest friends have because they are all Christians and feel strongly about God. We always

converse about God and how we feel about Christianity. We all share our point of view.

A specific event that happened to me was when my grandparents passed away. My

grandpa died four years ago on December first; he had advanced colon cancer. My grandma died

less than a year ago, and also died on December first. She planned on dying on that day. Those

events in my life have made a big impact because what are the odds of them dying on the same

day? That is one thing that gives me faith. Another event was when my brother acquired sickle-
cell lymphoma at the age of 19. It was extremely rare and hard to treat. Nobody knew if he was

going to survive, because it was aggressive and had to receive chemotherapy. Luckily, my

brother pulled through. He lost all of his hair and 40 pounds from the chemo. He is currently in

remission now and very healthy. The fact that he got better was an incredible feeling, and I pray

to God thank you for getting him better because he is my best friend.