Paul Andersen Jessica Schley English 231 November 12, 2013 The Difference in the Same God Some

keep the Sabbath going to ChurchI keep it, staying at HomeWith a Bobolink for a ChoristerAnd an Orchard, for a Dome-

Some keep the Sabbath in SurpliceI just wear my WingsAnd instead of tolling the Bell, for Church,Our little Sexton-sings.

God preaches, a noted ClergymanAnd the sermon is never long, So instead of getting to Heaven, at lastIm going, all along.

In the poem Some Keep the Sabbath Going to Church by Emily Dickinson she explains how she doesnt need a big church to go to heaven or be close to God. She talks about not needing the church bell or having to dress up in proper church clothes of that era. I agree with what she is saying, I dont believe you need a big traditional church to practice your beliefs.

Being raised Catholic I was taught that the traditional Catholic way was the only correct way to practice my beliefs and get in to heaven. I came to find out after moving to the south, that what had been drilled in to my head could not have been further from the truth. I also learned how to accept other peoples beliefs and actually listen to other peoples arguments against my beliefs. In a way it was a part of me maturing and understanding both sides of an argument without me being biased. I was born and raised in New York just north of the city in the neighboring Westchester County. The town that I once called home was heavily populated with Jews and Catholics not much of anything else and this was mostly the case in all of New York. I had heard of Baptists and Protestants and knew absolutely nothing about those denominations since they were so rare where I was from. At an early age, I believe second grade, me and my fellow Catholic peers started to attend religion school. It was called CCD, to this day I dont know what it stands for but it was held on Wednesday afternoons after school. We would be released thirty minutes early on Wednesdays so we would have time to make it to CCD by the time it started at three. I was always jealous of the other kids of different religion that just got to go home thirty minutes early once a week. I attended this religion school all the way till eighth grade. The following year, my freshman year of high school I moved to North Carolina. This would have been my last year in CCD and yet the most important. That was the year you got confirmed. Conformation in the Catholic Church is hard to achieve, theres a test, you have to participate in community service, and write an essay. What conformation means is you have, without a doubt accepted Catholicism as your religion and you believe all its beliefs. Being confirmed is also essential if you want to marry in a Catholic church. So I never got confirmed. I would attend a local catholic church, which I found

out is nowhere near as popular as it was in New York, on holidays like Easter and Christmas. As the years went on my attendance diminished and I stopped going entirely. As I met kids at school and began to create friendships with my fellow peers I noticed that they could quote the bible. I didnt know many kids back in New York that were catholic and could quote the bible let alone many different stories as the kids I was meeting could. Religion would come up a lot more in school then it did in New York if it ever did. I found it that a lot more kids were firm believers in god and Christianity down south. SO when religion came up I had assumed that all these Christians were Catholics because that was always the case back home. I was wrong and truly out numbered. Other than the other transplanted northern kids, there were little to none Catholics. I found this to be very strange and completely the opposite from my upbringing. When I came to realize that being very religious was almost the norm I began discussing my beliefs with my friends. I was so sure that Catholicism was the one and only correct religion because that was drilled into my head that I would get offended and find myself in heated arguments. When we got to arguing I realized that I didnt have a chance. My friends would have quotes out of the bible to back up every single argument they made and my only proof was thats what I heard or thats what someone told me. After accepting defeat I began to listen to my friends and learn more than I ever did in religion school. I began to grow religiously and spiritually. I grew away from the Catholic Church so much that I dont think I would label myself as one anymore. I came to find out that many things I was taught at a younger age were false. I am the closest to god now than I ever was and I can thank my parents for moving and my friends from opening my eyes. When you are raised and taught something you think that is the right way and everything else is wrong, well

this taught me a lesson about listening to others arguments open mindedly and truly listening to what they have to say. Emily Dickinson states in this poem that you dont need the big traditional church to get into heaven. In my case the big traditional church is the Catholic Church. I dont need to do some of the things the Catholic Church believes to get in to heaven. Religion was a regular theme in Dickinsons poems. Her understanding of religion was very advanced for her time. This poem is able to give a huge message with only twelve lines. Ive learned this is the case with poetry; one small poem can have many huge messages. Just because you were raised to believe something doesnt mean that its correct.

Works Cited Dickinson, Emily. Some Keep the Sabbath Going to Church: Heath Anthology of American Literature. Volume B. Paul Lauter. Boston: Patricia Coryell, 2009. 3139.Print