Blog about Religious Practitioner's Negotiations of Official Religious Beliefs

PDF of Blog about the official beliefs of the Catholic Church and what is actually practiced

By: Cierra Smith, Spring 2016

There are many controversial topics in our society concerning our morality. Catholics are viewed to be extremely conservative and have a strong hold on their beliefs. Some of the topics that are debated the most include gay marriage, abortion, cohabitation, contraception, divorce, and sex before marriage.

In this blog, I strive to explore the official beliefs of the Catholic Church and analyze the statistics behind Catholics who still believe or practice them. I cover what the Catholic Church's official stance is on each subject, provide statistical values of Catholics who follow or dont follow these official beliefs, and provide information I have obtained thorugh interviews with Catholic students at Florida State University about their personal views and practices of each subject.

It is important to realize that when we practice a religion it is our responsibility to follow what we are taught and essentially practice what we preach. This blog is a useful way to see how society in our world today is distancing from the values of their religious beliefs.