Catholicism: Correcting Misconceptions In Montgomery Gentry's hit song “Where I Come From,” he sings about his small-town Southern pride. In this country tune, the phrase "That little white church's gonna have a crowd" is accompanied by lyrics about a town that could easily be located in East Tennessee. One thing that can be inferred from Gentry's song is that the "little white church" he sings about is probably not a Catholic cathedral. In Southern cities, like the one Gentry sings about, Protestant churches dramatically outnumber Catholic churches. In Kingsport, Tennessee, Catholic churches are outnumbered, forty-two to one, by Baptist churches alone. This statistic makes it easy to understand why, on the whole, Protestants are ignorant and overly critical of the Catholic faith, the same religion from which Protestantism derives. It is this lack of knowledge that gives rise to inaccurate statements about Catholicism. Catholicism is seen as an impersonal relationship between God and man. This misleading assumption stems from the 16th century belief that only religious officials had the right and ability to interpret God's Word, the Bible. In the past, Catholics acquired knowledge of the Lord during Sunday mass. Priests and other officials studied the Bible and communicated with God through prayer, then conveyed the message to the people of the church. This way of interacting with God was like going to a foreign country and not being able to speak the national language. The priests acted as translators, speaking directly to both God and man. Just as with a translator, the personal connection established between God and man is limited. Some of the emotion is lost in translation; however the message arrives. This tradition was... middle of paper... actions, misleading stereotypes will be put to rest. These stereotypes can only be stopped by those who spread them, believe them, or allow them to be true, so my latest challenge is to all Christians. Stop the stereotypes! No matter what you believe or how you demonstrate it, be prayerful. Immerse yourself in the teachings of your faith and be able to refute stereotypes when they come your way. Once you've decided on a denomination, dedicate yourself to the opposing faction. Passionately explore the principles, motivations and guidelines of a point of view different from yours. Every belief and lifestyle has merit; it's just up to us to find out. Finally, when you've considered all sides, celebrate the similarities; Don't stress the differences. If we all served the God we believe we serve, isn't that what He would want? This is not what He sent His Son to do??