Excommunication
The hate spewing forth in the media and online has been getting on my nerves for years. The uproar about the "Growd Zero Mosque" has likewise made me question the general intelligence of humanity. Even if not the intelligence, but the ease with which they can be manipulated by the powers that be: the media and religion.This isn't explicitly about that.The fact that I've been baptized into Catholicism means that I'm in a book somewhere that adds me to the count of adherents to that faith. The veritable count++. (Or, if you want to be pedantic about speed in old-skool C: ++count, it saves a temporary variable)I want to do a "count--".I don't want to be counted and included in a group where the dogma and stated course of action is diametrically opposed to my own beliefs. (As an aside I'm not opposed to many of the teachings in the bible, I am opposed to the practical implementation with the Catholic Church)I want to be clear however: I don't feel bad about the individuals in the Church. I hold no ill will towards people. I do however oppose in all ways the Church as an entity. The same way I might hate the Military (I don't -- I'm using this as an example), but the people that make it up are A-OK.The easiest way to get excommunicated is something I don't want to do: join another religion.Now I'm not opposed to people practicing religion. In fact I've debated on the side of religious freedoms countless times. In my case it's the freedom to not practice anything. I'm also not an atheist, nor am I agnostic. If anything I'm irreligious -- religion doesn't have a part in my day-to-day. Atheists believe there is no god. Agnostics don't know. I actively don't care. Religion is a burden to to clear-headed objective thinking about the world around me.This brings up the question: how does one get excommunicated? Is there a form I can fill out and send to the diocese or the Vatican or something? I want to know.