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[quote=petsandgardens;57071290]"People keep telling me their religion"....I'm trying to envision the scenario. How does this even come up?
They may say "I graduated from (name of a Catholic school, or University - Fordham, Loyola (3 of them), Georgetown, Marquette, Trinity, Villanova, Notre Dame, Creighton, St. Johns, Franciscan, Boston College, etc.)".
Or "I, or my family member, works at (name of Catholic hospital) or is a nun - or priest.
Or they say casually "I went somewhere after Mass yesterday". (Protestants don't use the term Mass). Or "I attended a wedding at (name of church). Or "the nuns at school would slap us."
Or they swear by using the expression "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph".
Last edited by slowlane3; 01-13-2020 at 06:55 AM..
Hyphenated usage was commonly in use back then . Had she said Italian American we would have had a very different conversation.
When I say I’m British ,it means I’m british.
To you. That isn't the case where I grew up. People said, and continue to say, 'I'm Polish' or 'I'm Italian' or 'I'm Irish'. We all know what they mean. They're referring to heritage. When they're not referring to that, they say, 'I was born in Italy.'
If someone is devoutly religious, their particular faith leaves a cultural imprint on just about every aspect of how a that person sees the world and reacts to it. It affects relationships, beliefs, worldviews, approaches to marriage, and just about everything else on the planet. Even if they don't strictly adhere to the teachings of their faith, you'll be surprised when it suddenly emerges.
I mean, hell, I married into a devout German Catholic family. It was an absolute shocker to this whitebread Episcopalian.
So, rather than ignore it, understand what they're really telling you about themselves.
This is exactly what's going on. When I hear, 'As an Irish Catholic.....' I know they're going to tell me they come from a large family, had six plus siblings, or had a very strict, religious upbringing.
It's got to be put into context, which is why I asked for a few (not just one) examples of what has been said after, 'As an Irish Catholic....'
woah , that is a nasty stereotype and totally untrue.
well I hate to ruin your "gotcha" moment but I do think there is a small kernel of truth in some stereotypes. And I happen to agree there are a lot of problems with alcoholism in the Irish Catholic community.
"I used to be Irish-Catholic, but now I'm an American--you know, you grow..." Anyone else think of this classic George Carlin bit when reading the original post?
For people of a certain generation when the Church permeated pretty much every facet of a person's life from birth to death--especially in "ethnic" communities, the references that our O.P. friends make towards being raised as Irish Catholics make sense. Ditto for many Jewish friends of mine--especially those of a generation older than mine. It's likely a cultural rather than a religious thing that they're referencing.
Kind of like everyone has Native American, but can’t pinpoint from who.
I can. My great great great grandma was full blood Cherokee, and it's documented.
OP, maybe they mean it as a form of reference. Sometimes, here in these forums, I will say things like "Being from St. Louis" or "Having grown up in Florida", to explain what my frame of reference is. Maybe when they say "I'm Irish Catholic" they're saying it to explain their frame of reference?
Since you are a person interested in New York City, I recommend you read The Island At The Center Of The World, by Russell Shorto. You would learn that your black-and-white perception of the Dutch may have a little more color to it.
The short version is that history is written by the victors, and most of our history of early Dutch settlers comes from the English who took Manhattan from them. It was the Dutch who adopted from the Iroquois the governmental system of checks and balances that made its way into our Constitution. It was the Dutch who in 1654 allowed the first Jews fleeing from oppression in Brazil to make their home in Nieuw Amsterdam. Their Congregation of Shearith Israel still survives in New York City.
The documents from the colony of Nieuw Amsterdam laid for years in storage until they were unearthed and translated about forty years ago, and they tell the story of New York before it was New York, when the northern border of the city was a wooden wall and the street that is now synonymous with the country's financial center ran alongside it.
In a riveting, groundbreaking narrative, Russell Shorto tells the story of New Netherland, the Dutch colony which pre-dated the Pilgrims and established ideals of tolerance and individual rights that shaped American history.
In keeping with the thread topic, they were part of the Dutch Reformed Church, but they allowed the Jews in, and later, lent the Catholic church money to build their first church in Manhattan and then forgave them the mortgage.
Thank you. I remember you suggesting this before.
Just a note: My extreme negative reaction to finding out I was Dutch (which is funny, because now that I've had my DNA done not an ounce of Dutch blood) - but going back to then - I thought I was Italian Irish/Scotts/Welch, and then remembered my grandmother was Dutch) - I literally took to my bed crying due to my perception of what it meant to be Dutch in America (her line was also Protestant, which offended my Catholic heritage and training (the Italian side). The bottom line is that it was all bogus and in my mind - had very little to do with reality, yet I had this huge reaction because to me, I had to rebuild my identity and now I had to add what I perceived as this horrible, racist, suppressive side into my lineage.
It's amazing what a head trip people can have, based on nothing to do with reality.
I can. My great great great grandma was full blood Cherokee, and it's documented.
OP, maybe they mean it as a form of reference. Sometimes, here in these forums, I will say things like "Being from St. Louis" or "Having grown up in Florida", to explain what my frame of reference is. Maybe when they say "I'm Irish Catholic" they're saying it to explain their frame of reference?
I think these sound bites can convey a lot of info, so for that reason, it makes sense that people would use that shorthand. In this case, I think the OP feels envious or left out. Otherwise, it would just be humorous and would actually convey some context to the situations being referenced.
I have a couple of friends who are always pointing out that they are Irish Catholic. I am not although I am a Christian.
Each of them, at least once per conversation will say "being Irish Catholic...we always did this..." Usually it's something that everybody does so I find it kind of funny that they think it's specific to being Irish Catholic. One of them is divorced and the other has had an abortion so they are not really strict Catholics.
I get that they are proud of their heritage but I don't know why they have to keep telling me this. It's not like they are 1st generation.
It's really bothering me and I don't know if I should say something or just ignore it. I would like to understand why people do this. Any thoughts? It's as if they think they are superior or special for being born Irish Catholic.
Next time ask them what they would do different if they were human. That should put a stop to it.
I heard something about Native American Indians and those DNA companies. I'm not sure if it's true but I heard that in order to get DNA, they have to be able to gather DNA from different regions. The Native Americans don't really trust people taking their DNA or testing them based on the history they have had with being lied to constantly by the white man.
So, there is not a whole lot of DNA data simply because they won't give it. So you could have Native American Indian in your DNA but it might not come up on the test because there is nothing to compare it to.
I have a friend who is from Virginia. She looks like a Cherokee. All the facial features are there. But when she did the Ancestry test, it didn't come up.
I haven't researched this much b/c I know I don't have any in my DNA but just something to ponder.
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