Growing up, my family never practiced any religion or even thought about the existence of a higher power, so when I was given this mission , I didn't know what to think about it. But while discussing this mission with someone close to me, I realized that this was a great opportunity for me to explore a religion and perhaps even adapt it into my life as a way of life. I decided that for this mission I would attend a Catholic church because it is one of the most popular religions and I have several friends who attend this church. Although my immediate family does not practice any religion, my family has always practiced Judaism. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay I personally identify as an agnostic because I do not believe in any particular god or higher power. I'm excited about this opportunity to be able to explore the Catholic religion and hopefully finally understand what all the hype is about. As I was deciding what type of church I wanted to visit because I felt like attending a Catholic church was too basic but after realizing there could be more to visit I decided to choose it. Although before deciding, I did some research on the practice of religion in the South Florida area. While conducting this research, I came across a figure that shocked me: only 41% of people in this region practice a religion. This figure is very low compared to the rest of the country. I then dug deeper and discovered that of the 41% who practice a religion, 22% practice Catholicism. So, after all this research, I also found friends who are very attached to their religion and who practice it quite frequently. I asked if they could attend with me, as the service would be much more meaningful with a real Catholic by my side. Catholicism is a very ancient religion, meaning it goes back a long way in history, back to when Jesus Christ was alive. The main belief of Catholicism is that to be saved from all sins and bad things, you must first recognize that god is alive and will punish not only bad deeds but also good ones. A big ritual that takes place quite often between families is baptism. A baptism is symbolic because it symbolizes cleansing, liberation from all denotation, and rejecting Satan while allowing God to be accepted. During a baptism, the priest takes water and sprinkles it on the forehead of the person being baptized, then immerses them in a pool of water. This can take place at church on Sunday, either during the morning parish mass, or in the afternoon, once all the masses for the day have finished. As I took my first steps into the church, my eyes were completely lost in all the beauty of the artwork that was among the ceilings and walls. Each represented a different story of Jesus Christ. I later realized that the murals were erected to show respect to their lord and savior. Much of the artwork was depicted in art styles I had never seen before, but I figured that was because the church had been around for many years before and had works of art from different periods. Although there are many beautiful works of art, only one stood out to me, it is called the Siena Cathedral. The coin depicts a cathedral located in Siena, Spain, which represents different stories of the Catholic religion. After researching religionCatholic, I had a vision of what I thought this Catholic church would be like, but it looked a little different. Although the building had the same eye-catching cross and pointed roof, it was a bit flatter than the ones pictured online. There was more art outside, but it was displayed through red and blue stained glass windows. The seating inside was as expected, with long wooden benches lined up and facing the podium where the preacher is giving the service. Everything was so eye-catching. All the artwork was impeccable, but what caught my eye the most was a sculpture hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the church. The sculpture represented Jesus Christ crucified. Honestly, it was a little mortifying because I had never seen anything like it before. But I was lucky to have come with a friend and to be able to ask her the meaning of the sculpture. I was then told that it was Jesus Christ who died for our sins. The reason for his death was because he wanted to protect all his followers from harm. Jesus dying on the cross was the only way to help his people. My friend's explanation gave me a lot of information about this religion. It was amazing to see how something so small meant so much to all these people. During the research I had done beforehand, I discovered that under most Catholic churches there was a crypt. A crypt is a burial place for people who have had an impact on religion. I was surprised to discover that the church I visited did not have a crypt. Based on my prior knowledge and watching movies I expected everyone to come dressed in their “Sunday best” outfits, I was right. The men wore nice dress shirts with slacks while the women wore casual dresses. It was exciting to see everyone dressed so properly and cleaned up. The demographics were very diverse considering we were in Miami, but it was nice to see everyone there for one reason and to celebrate their religion. It was great to see so many people come together to celebrate one thing, especially with all the discrimination and segregation going on in the United States right now. I realized that it's not just about service and religion, but also about connecting with people around you who share the same beliefs. The service began with everyone standing and singing along with a choir playing religious music. I felt out of place because everyone was singing and I had no idea what was going on or what the lyrics were. I remember the song about Jesus and why he died for his people. There is a phrase in the song that stood out to me. I wrote it because I thought it would be good to research and find out more. The phrase was “Jesus took all our sorrows and joys and built a life for us and our sons.” My first thought was that it was a good, thought-provoking sentence, but after re-reading it, I found something amiss. The song had mentioned "for you and their sons", but never mentioned anything about a woman. But when I thought about it a little more, I told myself that this song must be older and that the theme of feminism was not a subject discussed too often at the time. The reason I say this is because this church is still using the practices of ancient times rather than realizing that habits are changing and that women are actually important to society. Later, in the service, after all the singing was finished. The sermon came out and I started reading some.