Protestantism

Growing up I remember attending mass every Sunday with my family and one thing that I always wondered was why my grandparents never came with us. I later learned that the reason for this was that, while they were Christian, they weren't catholic. My grandparents are Protestant, Presbyterian specifically, and in their faith they do and believe some things different from my catholic mother and step father. I was raised catholic by my parents so I had little to no exposure to the faith of my fathers side but there are a few things that I do know, mostly common knowledge, about Protestantism. It seems like there are a million different protestant denominations, each one with their own, sometimes slight, sometimes large distinctions between them. But one thing they all have in common is that they had actively separated themselves from the Catholic Church and remain distinct from it. Although I'm not a very religious person, I think that many protestant denominations had very valid reasons to be upset with and unsatisfied by the Catholic Church. There has been a lot of corruption and injustices throughout the history of the church and I can see how that would lead many to want to branch off and do their own thing. It's sad to read about all of the violent conflicts between Catholics and Protestants throughout history and learning about all that makes me wonder if the world would be a better place without religion in general. However, I'm fairly certain that wouldn't really make a difference. I think that fighting and conflict are just part of human nature and even if religion was taken out of the equation, people would just find something else to fight about just as they always do. I don't take either side in the whole catholic protestant debate mainly because I feel that the divides are purely earthly and human. Most denominations believe similar things; namely the belief in the teachings of Jesus and the salvation they say is found through him. I'll admit that I'm not an expert, but there are many things that are common knowledge about the various denominations and I think it's not only healthy, but necessary to have civil discussion and dialogue when it comes to these differences. The question of how I will raise my future children, should I have any in the future, does come to mind from time to time. I think that I will let them learn about all different religions and make their own decisions about faith when they are ready, although if my future wife wants something different for them obviously I'll have to take that into account. A lot of protestant denominations have some very good points and I think that if we focused on what we have in common, instead of our differences, then the world would be a much better place. No matter what you believe, you can find a community that helps you to grow your own beliefs and I think that that sense of community, whether it be religiously based or not, is something that helps everyone and should be sought out. It seems like there are a million different denominations of Christianity and even though I don't really fit into any of them, so many people have had their lives made better by their faith and the community they choose to associate with and I don't think it's really my place to tell anyone what they should or shouldn't believe or how to spend their time. To each their own.