bluemason3 said:In the context of evolution, believing in a single original pair and original sin feels bizarre, but those are fixed dogmas within the Catholic Church, so I'm not sure how much room there actually is for symbolic interpretation.
Like many others, I sat through Catholic religious education classes, and I recall one particular incident from my elementary school days back in the old country. At the time, our religious studies were held in a parish classroom. My chemistry teacher was a staunch, uncompromising atheist and a committed communist (her husband, incidentally, was a rather notorious bigwig in the SK). During one specific chemistry lecture, she touched upon the origins of Earth and demanded that every student enrolled in religious studies stand up. About half the class rose to their feet, but because I was considered the top student—particularly in the natural sciences like physics and especially mathematics—she insisted that I remain seated while telling everyone else they could sit down. She began interrogating me about what we had been taught in religion class, clearly intending to mock the subject matter, yet I simply recounted exactly what I had heard during those lessons from a priest who was, by any standard, exceptionally well-educated: that the biblical account of creation is written figuratively and should not be taken as literal fact. Needless to say, she was absolutely livid at my response, as it provided her with absolutely no leverage for the mockery she had planned.
As a side note, later on in my time in a city similar to a mid-sized American suburb, the professors were significantly more cultured (and most were, professionally speaking, among the finest high school educators you could encounter), so even those who identified as atheists would offer Christmas greetings to those who celebrated it. On Christmas—which, mind you, was a regular working day just like any other—we didn't actually do any schoolwork with two of my professors; instead, we simply shared a few drinks with them. We had some non-alcoholic options alongside wine, though nobody got intoxicated or behaved indecently. We even played guitars, though we stuck to the "new wave" hits of the era rather than any hymns.
Back then, as a believer, I found that non-dogmatic atheists were perfectly fine, and I hold them in the highest regard, just as I do now that I have transitioned to being an agnostic (and an atheist), particularly when dealing with non-dogmatic theists. I tend to have, if I may say so, certain "issues" with the stubborn extremists on both sides—much like in politics, whether it's the clash between far-right zealots and hardline leftists, or those self-proclaimed "anti-fascists" who turn a blind eye to the fascist-leaning atrocities committed by those claiming to fight against them.
