They don't know their own faith

I was listening to a radio "dialogue" yesterday between Vjerana Zupa and a psychology professor from the Jesuit School of Theology. When asked why some self-proclaimed Catholics don't believe in an afterlife, the professor gave the answer found in this headline.
If I recall correctly, the sentiment expressed was quite simple: "Because they don't truly know their own faith."

I haven't had the chance to get to know them personally yet. I am truly committed to my own path. To me, faith feels like a total absurdity—complete nonsense. It’s almost like being told not to breathe through your own lungs or to deny your own native tongue.

I assume his point was this: they don't have a deep enough grasp of the Catholic Church's doctrine.
Even if we consider that this teaching serves as the foundation for someone's faith, the statement still feels completely absurd to me. At the end of the day, everyone understands what faith means on a personal level. I am truly committed to my own path. At the end of the day, nobody can truly understand her quite like she does. I learned that early on during my time studying at the Jesuit School of Theology—you just have to trust your own intuition.

I don't believe this is some accidental misunderstanding. This is being done intentionally and systematically. They present their doctrine as absolute truth, which creates this heavy sense of guilt in people—making them feel like they don't possess the "correct" knowledge. It's a way to make them feel they've been believing incorrectly, forcing them to repent and eventually align themselves with "their" faith, which isn't even ours. 😉

You can't have real faith without some kind of doctrine.

Besides, your average person isn't out here stressing over technical jargon, right? So, the public response totally reflected that. It was kept simple enough for everyone to get.

It wasn't some deep theological lecture; it was just a basic look at what experts and the public actually think.

There was more explanation available too, but honestly, who cares? If anyone wants the nitty-gritty details, they can go ask their local priest at their parish. 😁

Simone said:True faith can't exist without doctrine.

Besides, your average believer isn't exactly sweating the small stuff when it comes to precise definitions...

I honestly can't tell if you're joking or being dead serious here.
Personally, I see it the exact opposite way. Real faith only begins once a person breaks free from all those doctrines that were used to program them while they were growing up.
Every single doctrine is a lie—and a direct threat to human freedom.

The "average believer" (whatever that even means? 😕 ) believes what they believe, and it’s incredibly rude to suggest they "don't truly know their own faith." 😉

Simone said:Real faith doesn't exist without a solid doctrine.

Besides, your average person in the pews isn't out here stressing over technical jargon or precise definitions, so honestly, the public response was spot on for what people actually care about. It was kept simple enough for everyone to follow.

It was just a basic look at what the experts and the public were thinking—it wasn't some deep dive into theology class.

Look, there’s more explanation if you really want it, but frankly, who cares? If someone wants a full-blown lecture, they can go ask their local priest at their parish. 😁

- wait, is this the European People's Party??

swiftcobra15 said:Are you joking or actually serious right now?
If you ask me, it’s the other way around. You haven't found true faith until you break free from all those doctrines that spent your whole childhood programming you.
Every single doctrine is a lie—and a total enemy of human freedom.

The "average believer" (whatever that even means? 😕 ) thinks they know what's up, and honestly, it's pretty rude to tell them they "don't actually know their own faith." 😉

1. 😁
2. I'd say it too, but it doesn't change the fact that everyone's thinking the exact same thing.
3. It's obvious they don't get it... the surveys prove it.
Either people preach one thing in public while secretly believing something totally different, or what? Does that mean they all need to go get a degree in theology?

Btw, even Goran Ivanišević didn't realize that being a "proper" Catholic meant you had to be married before you could even have a kid baptized in the Catholic Church.

swiftcobra15 said:"Not knowing one's own faith" sounds like a total absurdity to me—complete nonsense. It’s like saying "not breathing with your lungs" or "not being able to speak your own language."

I suspect he actually meant: They don't have a solid grasp on Catholic teaching—the doctrine.

Fine..
If his point was "they don't know the Catholic doctrine well," then what exactly does he think a person who *does* know it looks like?
A believer?
Or just some theologian?
Because from the way you're talking, it sounds like those two things can't possibly coexist..
Correct me if I'm wrong.

swiftcobra15 said:Even if that teaching is the foundation of someone's faith, the statement remains absurd because every individual knows their own faith,

Furthermore, a second question..
Quite a basic one..
If someone claims to be a Christian, yet openly admits they hate certain people and can't forgive what was done to them... does that mean they don't know their own faith? Or simply that they aren't familiar with Christian Doctrines?

swiftcobra15 said:The "average believer"—whatever that means, 😕—has their own convictions. It’s incredibly rude to tell them they "don't actually know their faith." 😉

There’s really no need to mock Simone; she was just being plain-spoken about the truth. An average believer is someone who identifies as Christian and follows the traditions—attending Mass on Sundays, getting the kids baptized, seeing them through First Communion and Confirmation—but honestly, their grasp of theology might be thinner than a Sunday school student's.
I see where you're coming from regarding the gap between faith and academic study.
But if you label doctrine as an enemy to human freedom, then I suppose even the Ten Commandments are just tools for stifling liberty, aren't they?

swiftcobra15 said:Because at the end of the day, everyone understands their own faith personally —no one else can ever truly grasp it quite as deeply as they do.

It’s really just a matter of self-awareness; you only know your faith as well as you know your own heart. Makes sense, right? And if we’re being honest, that means there are probably very few people out there who actually have a deep, genuine understanding of what they believe... 🙄

Simone said:By the way, even someone like Goran Ivanišević didn't realize that being a practicing Catholic means you actually have to be married before you can have a child baptized in the Catholic Church.

Watch out—swiftcobra15 is just going to jump in and claim this isn't about faith, but rather a matter of doctrine.

Alexander Watson said:There’s really no point in making fun of Simone. She was just being blunt, and she’s right! Your average person calls themselves a Christian, hits up Mass on Sundays, gets their kids baptized and through First Communion, but honestly? They probably know less about the faith than a kid in Sunday school..

👍
and thanks...🙂

Alexander Watson said:Watch out, swiftcobra15 is gonna claim once again that this isn't about actual faith, just knowing the doctrine.

But hey, what can I do? 😉

driftingcanyon38 said:A person’s understanding of their faith is only as deep as their understanding of themselves. It stands to reason, doesn't it? And if that's the case, then most people probably don't know their own faith nearly as well as they think they do... 🙄

Now, this is a complete departure from the whole faith versus doctrine debate, but it hits hard nonetheless.
Look, swiftcobra15, you're out here hunting for a clean distinction between the two, and then driftingcanyon38 drops this on you, and...?
How are you even going to respond to that?

Eagle 👍

Alexander Watson said:But if you label doctrine as an enemy of human freedom, wouldn't you also have to say the Ten Commandments are nothing more than a way to stifle our liberty?

👍

I couldn't agree more with this point.😉

driftingcanyon38 said:A person’s understanding of their own faith is only as deep as their understanding of themselves.

👍

That logic holds up, doesn't it? It makes you wonder if a psychoanalyst or a priest might actually understand someone better than they understand themselves.
I suspect the answer to that is almost always a resounding "no," but that wasn't really the point here. The issue is this:
A certain professor (a psychology professor, no less!) looked at a complete stranger and claimed they "don't know their own faith."
From a professional standpoint, I find that absolutely nonsensical. As a public statement, it feels incredibly offensive and quite frankly, unacceptable. 🙂

A professor of psychology likely possesses that knack for reading people quickly—maybe even superficially. It seems that through just a few exchanged sentences with this individual (who apparently "doesn't know their own faith"), he gauged that the person truly lacks any real grasp of themselves or the world they inhabit—and he expressed that realization by pointing out that they "don't know their own faith."
See, deep down—if we want to put it that way—every human being possesses a perfect understanding of themselves, the world, and by extension, their faith. Unfortunately, most people are rarely, if ever, conscious of even the tiniest fragment of that inner depth. Then, you have those rare souls who actually attempt to descend into those depths—much like how mathematicians, biologists, chemists, physicists, or mystics operate—immersing their entire being into their field of study. I think you all know exactly what I mean. 😉 These individuals "discover" bits and pieces of themselves, the surrounding world, and their faith, bit by bit.
Of course, we all know the reality here—those people are a tiny, tiny minority. Always, and everywhere.
On the flip side, you have everyone else. Depending on their temperament, inclinations, or upbringing, they simply follow whatever the mainstream narrative dictates, believing whatever is printed on the surface. They might even be willing to die—or kill—for those beliefs, yet they aren't willing to actually stop and think about them.
The psychology professor recognizes this pattern clearly. Instead of lecturing the person or trying to instill "moral or traditional values," he simply gave them a blunt, concise diagnosis of their primary issue: a total lack of connection to their own faith.
I'm not saying that's exactly how it went down, but why wouldn't it be?

p.s. I'm not trying to get too philosophical here! 😁

driftingcanyon38 said:A psychology professor likely has the knack for reading people quickly and easily—even if it's just a surface-level read—based on nothing more than a few sentences exchanged with them...D

Like I mentioned before, we are talking about an anonymous participant from a survey.
That makes your interpretation (as a possibility) completely wide of the mark.

I've noticed that on both of our research forums, everyone keeps using the term "faith," yet they are clearly discussing something else entirely.
How can someone even "offend my faith"? 😕 😕 😕
It just doesn't make any sense at all.👋

swiftcobra15 said:Like I said, we're talking about some random anonymous person from a poll here.
So your take on this is basically a complete swing and a miss.

They keep pointing out how everyone on both R&D Forums keeps using the word "faith" when they're actually talking about something else entirely.
I mean, how does someone even "insult my faith"? 😕 😕 😕
It’s total nonsense.👋

So what, we just change who we are as a nation now?😉

That’s exactly how most people feel, though. They tie their whole identity to their faith—people will even kill or die for it. That's just facts. Everything else is just talk.

P.S.
Seriously, I'm always complaining about how everyone suddenly starts talking in circles and repeating the same old lines, and I keep telling them it's all just fluff, but hey, what do I know? The chatterboxes have won, and the linguists have gone quiet. So what now?

In everyday conversation, we often use the word faith as a shorthand for religion. It’s totally normal to hear someone ask, "What's your religion?" and get an answer like, "I'm Catholic, Protestant, Muslim," and so on. I honestly don't think that psychologist had any ulterior motive; they were just following the standard way people talk when they label themselves by their group—like identifying as Catholic—even if they don't actually follow or even fully understand what the Catholic Church teaches. 🙂

swiftcobra15 said:Yesterday, I caught a radio "dialogue" between Vjerana Zupa and a psychology professor from the Jesuit School of Theology. When asked why some self-proclaimed Catholics don't believe in an afterlife, the professor gave the answer found in this headline.
If I recall correctly, he said: "Because they don't truly know their faith."

Saying someone doesn't "know their faith" sounds like pure nonsense to me. It's like saying someone isn't "breathing with their lungs" or "speaking their own language."

I assume he meant they don't understand the Catholic teachings—the doctrine.
But even if those teachings form the basis of a person's belief, the statement is still absurd. Everyone knows their own faith; nobody else can understand it better than the individual themselves.

I don't think this is a simple misunderstanding. This is done intentionally and systematically. Doctrine is rebranded as "faith," creating a sense of guilt in people. They are made to feel they don't know the "correct" way to believe, forcing them to conform to a version of "their" (actually, someone else's) faith.😉

Vjerana Zupa asked the Catholic professor a very direct question about why certain Catholics don't believe in one of the Catholic doctrines. The Catholic professor provided a perfectly clear and precise response. Essentially, belief relies on myths, and the diversity of religions lies in the specific myths they have embraced as truth.

So, what else could a Catholic professor say when asked why some of his fellow Catholics don't subscribe to a fundamental myth of their religion, other than to claim they simply don't know it well enough?👋

🙂 🙂 🙂

Maybe bring religious studies to national TV? 😉