Sit or kneel

[Warren Dew]

I attended a Catholic mass yesterday - services for the recently deceased father of one of my good friends. Before going, I checked with another Catholic friend on the protocol. He said, "stand when we stand, sit when we sit. You don't have to kneel when we kneel; sitting is fine."

Now, I can understand why a religious noncatholic might want to avoid kneeling to the Catholic god - the noncatholic's own god might get offended. As an atheist, though, I don't have any other gods to get offended. So should I go ahead and kneel? Or would the Catholic god, if there were one, prefer obeisance only from people from his own religion?

As it turned out, I was too busy controlling my two year old to flip down the little kneeling board. I'm still kind of curious about the question, though.

As a side note, I found it somewhat interesting that the Catholics all seemed delighted to have the little kids there, and didn't mind the resulting disturbance at all. We got some dirty looks from people who weren't Catholic, though. I guess they thought the little kids should be more respectful of this religion which wasn't theirs.

[hadespussercats]

Catholics are generally pretty pro-baby-- maybe it's connected to their strictures on birth control, and the fact that Catholics are born into the faith.

Protestants, on the other hand, often hail from the tradition of children being seen and not heard-- might be why they sent you the dirty looks. Maybe I shouldn't assume the dirty-lookers were Protestant...

I don't see why you shouldn't kneel if you feel like it-- after all, if you're standing when the others stand (a sign of respect you don't necessarily endorse), why not kneel when they kneel, if the symbolism of the move is empty for you, and you want to move with the crowd? Still, if you're worried about offending through false obeisance, it seems it's the catholic people you should worry about-- not their theoretical god.

[Gallstones]

Our newest church doesn't even have kneelers. Some of the old people don't stand.

What you can't do is go up for the Eucharist. Catholics can be very territorial regarding the Eucharist, one must be a full member of the Church.

[JimC]

Our newest church doesn't even have kneelers. Some of the old people don't stand.

What you can't do is go up for the Eucharist. Catholics can be very territorial regarding the Eucharist, one must be a full member of the Church.

You can go up with your arms crossed, and get a blessing from the priest instead...

[Gallstones]

Our newest church doesn't even have kneelers. Some of the old people don't stand.

What you can't do is go up for the Eucharist. Catholics can be very territorial regarding the Eucharist, one must be a full member of the Church.

You can go up with your arms crossed, and get a blessing from the priest instead...

Yes you can, but would an atheist do that?
I can see wanting a sip of wine--but a blessing? Maybe it depends on what the bless-or looks like, eh?

[JimC]

Our newest church doesn't even have kneelers. Some of the old people don't stand.

What you can't do is go up for the Eucharist. Catholics can be very territorial regarding the Eucharist, one must be a full member of the Church.

You can go up with your arms crossed, and get a blessing from the priest instead...

Yes you can, but would an atheist do that?
I can see wanting a sip of wine--but a blessing? Maybe it depends on what the bless-or looks like, eh?

I certainly wouldn't, but was mentioning it for the sake of completeness...

[Warren Dew]

Still, if you're worried about offending through false obeisance, it seems it's the catholic people you should worry about-- not their theoretical god.

True. I guess I was kind of assuming they'd endorse the position of their theoretical god - or perhaps that the god would get his position from the people.

What you can't do is go up for the Eucharist. Catholics can be very territorial regarding the Eucharist, one must be a full member of the Church.

Yes; I forgot to mention that part of the advice we got. I've been to one mass where they invited anyone who had been baptized to partake, but that may have been in an Episcopal church or some other branch of Christianity.

You can go up with your arms crossed, and get a blessing from the priest instead...

Yes you can, but would an atheist do that?

If it helped to create more of a sense of community across religious boundaries, I would.

[Gallstones]

You can go up with your arms crossed, and get a blessing from the priest instead...

Yes you can, but would an atheist do that?

If it helped to create more of a sense of community across religious boundaries, I would.

It is optional and most people bring their children, who have not yet had their First Eucharist, up for the blessing.
It would warm them to you for sure.

When my son was very young I'd have to bring him up with me. He'd reach for the wine and not understand why he couldn't have any.

[.Morticia.]

When I go to a funeral it is to honour the deceased. Not to worship someone else's god.

I do not participate in any way in worship. And if other's complain that's not my problem, they should respect MY belief or lack thereof.

[stripes4]

I go "la la la, la da da la la la" all the way through.

[drl2]

The answer to "Sit or kneel" depends on the height of the priest standing in front of you.

[stripes4]

The answer to "Sit or kneel" depends on the height of the priest standing in front of you.

[klr]

I attended a Catholic mass yesterday - services for the recently deceased father of one of my good friends. Before going, I checked with another Catholic friend on the protocol. He said, "stand when we stand, sit when we sit. You don't have to kneel when we kneel; sitting is fine."

Now, I can understand why a religious noncatholic might want to avoid kneeling to the Catholic god - the noncatholic's own god might get offended. As an atheist, though, I don't have any other gods to get offended. So should I go ahead and kneel? Or would the Catholic god, if there were one, prefer obeisance only from people from his own religion?

As it turned out, I was too busy controlling my two year old to flip down the little kneeling board. I'm still kind of curious about the question, though.

As a side note, I found it somewhat interesting that the Catholics all seemed delighted to have the little kids there, and didn't mind the resulting disturbance at all. We got some dirty looks from people who weren't Catholic, though. I guess they thought the little kids should be more respectful of this religion which wasn't theirs.

This is standard procedure here as well.

Says someone who only darkens the church door for weddings and funerals.

[.Morticia.]

Oh, I go to churches all the time.

They are part of my cultural heritage and I enjoy the architecture and art. I also like to visit churches for history and archaeology and contribute mucho dollars/euros to any archaeological fund they have.

[Gallstones]

Not just sit or kneel, there is a third option.
Bück dich!

And since we are talking about Catholics, perhaps a fourth,
Bestrafe Mich