It's not personal, on this site for YEARS, it has been allowed to attack any philosophy or ideology with as much visciousness as one can muster. FreeRepublic has NO sacred cows. Attacking your faith is not attacking YOU PERSONALLY... although to the devout, it is always classified as such.
Much as there are GREAT catholic folks out there, there are aspects of their faith that are ridiculous on their face. MOST catholics don't swallow them hook line and sinker.. and therefore, they are ripe for exposure, refutation and ridicule... for being whack.
Since when did conservatism embrace the denial of visible facts and reality. Liberalism may embrace hallucinations of the drug induced insanos... why would a true conservative want to?
Extremist Catholics are actually religious conservatives... not true political conservatives... across the broad slate of issues. When it comes to socialism... they openly embrace their brand of religious socialism wherein their religious and moral convictions are codified into laws and enforced on others... at taxpayer expense... hardly a conservative in the purest sense of the word.
It's not bashing, it's folks trying to point out where socialistic catholicism in our political life leads. It FEELS like bashing to some because the social tenets of catholicism are so deeply ingrained into the minds of its followers. Some say, that level of inculcation, is equivalent to being a cult... just like the taliban.
Theresa, sorry for the delay in my response to you. I wasn't online last night.
I am sorry to admit that, yes, sometimes that attitude IS learned at church. I grew up in the Pentecostal Church in Tulsa Oklahoma during the 40's and the 50's. We were taught that the Catholic Church is the Whore of Babylon as discussed in Revelation. I don't know for a fact, but I would assume it's still being taught today.