Taking Sides: Anglicanism vs Catholicism

Aargh! Forgot! Without religion - no art! No literature! No music!

Bugger that's that theory shot.

There are so many different branches (high church, low church, 1812 Prayerbook, whatever) that it's like Catholicism and Protestantism all mixed together. Which of course, defeats the purpose of either, which is that you believe what you believe fervently, because you must. It's like generic religion, and you pick the bits that suit you.

I am very confused by the issue, partly, I am sure, because I went to a "mixed" (half Anglican, half Catholic) prep school where each priest spent half the year trying to debunk the other's religion.

High Church Anglicans have better art, plain and simple. Because they have more money, and can afford better vestments, smellier insence, and prettier stained glass. Low Church Anglicans are tacky in their relentless tastefulness, while Catholicism, as beautiful as it is, requires you to actually MEAN IT, MAAAAAAAN.

Yes, Catholicism looks prettier. From a distance.

if had children i would send them to a a mixed science-vs-occult-spooky-rubbish school

I will absolutely raise my children in a religion, preferably Anglican, as it's so tasteful. So that they will have something to rebel against in later life without actually causing any harm. My mum was raised by free-thinking atheist scientists, and during her mid- life crisis had a sudden and devout and life-altering conversion to HIGH CHURCH ANGLICANISM. God forbid that should to any offspring of mine.

Fuck, missed another train.

That is all.

I am sure I have said the Bob the Builder/Christ the Carpenter thing here before, but it still is good for the belly yuXoRs. I'd also like to comment that a trip to Spain and many cathedral visits (lots of gory crucifixes and suffering) as a youth severely affected my mental state for a while. And then when I started listening to the HOLY BIBLE well oy vey, as they say in YIDDISH. I also used to go to a mad Latin only YOU SHALL PRAY ON YORE KNEES 4EVAH church for the majority of my years (why, another two hour chant in Latin, why not) so to me, you're all pretty much church ponces.

To answer the question: the Daily Mail *is* a C of E coffee morning while the Daily Telegraph is edited and defined by the most stern ideological stripe of High Tory Catholic. I hate the Telegraph less, out of the two, so Catholicism it is.

this doesn't really answer the question. having some experience of schooldays anglican ritual (including singing psalms in latin and call and response latin prayers (public school don't you know). I can only say that anglicanism seems a very wet and weedy non commital form of christianity. However i am of the opion that christianintiy cloaks the essential message of Jesus the teacher i.e. 'why doesn't everyone be nice to each other?' Base Humanism or even humanity?

Actually though, you probably really want to go the whole hog and join the Quakers or the Unitarians.

On the other hand, half of Dad's family is Eastern Orthodox, and that seems like Catholicism on steroids (longer services ofttimes conducted in Old Church Slavonic [the Latin of Slavic languages], even more pomp, ornate church art that borders on being over-the-top). And then there are the Uniate/Byzantine-rite/"Greek" Catholics, who retain Orthodox rituals but (unlike the Orthodox) acknowledge the Pope's authority. Us wacky Slavs ;-p

A Yorkshireman to be precise.

Whenever you meet a person with an English accent in the movies, he is always god or the devil, so beware. Just as any people with German accents are automatically Nazis. Poor Conrad Veidt.

Cos he studied at Cambridge, of course.

I missed this thread before but I'd just like to say how neat a summary this is.

Luis - I agree that the Catholic Church's rules for human behaviour are more consistent than people give them credit for (even if they are WRONG). But the mentalism really kicks in when it comes to papal infallibility, n'est ce pas?

"I can only say that anglicanism seems a very wet and weedy non-commital form of christianity"

I couldn't agree more. I'm pretty indifferent to religion in general, but I was raised Anglican, confirmed and even spent years in my church's server's guild. Non-commitment is the best part of the C of E. You basically do whatever you want all week, go to church for an hour on Sunday, tell God that you're sorry "for there is no health in us etc...", and you're good to go. Save all of the guilt for the Jews and Catholics.

There is a vast amount of literature on the Worker, and two I would reommend are: Revolution of the Heart, ed. Patrick Coy, a collection of scholarly essays, and A Penny a Copy: Readings From the Catholic Worker, eds. Thomas Cornell, Robert Ellsberg and Jim Forest, a collection of esays culled from the Catholic Worker newspaper.

In terms of a history of radical Catholicism, the only book I can think of is Breaking Bread: The Catholic Worker and the Origin of Catholic Radicalism in America, Mel Piehl.