Even though I was raised to believe in the Catholic Religion I questioned those beliefs from the time I was 9. It’s hard for me to imagine how a 9 year old should be so adamant in their belief of religious constraints being more than out of perspective.
When I was nine Sister Mary Margaret slapped my boyfriend across the face in church during one of summer catechism classes. I stood up on the opposite side of the church and declared “God wouldn’t want you to hit him!” indignant in my absolute knowledge it was wrong to slap anyone across the face, especially for merely laughing in church.
Sister Mary Margaret marched her way across the church and hauled off as to strike me as well and I looked her straight in the eye and said with a vehemence uncanny to any child “He’ll like you even less if you strike me too!”
Sister Mary Margaret did not strike me but she did place me outside of the church with my nose firmly pressed against the church wall. Periodically she would sneak around the side of the church with her newspaper wrapped up waiting to strike me across the back of my head if my nose wasn’t touching the wall.
Imagine my disconnection when it came to religion when I experienced this so early on. I can look back some 50+ years later and see it was the first time I questioned authority.
The experience gave me a foundation, not only understanding I could not trust but I could question what other’s thought to be absolute!