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I am a practicing Catholic but not in the typical sense. I believe in the moral teachings of love thy neighbor and do good to others etc and see that as the true meaning of the religion.
The problem is misinterpretation and ignorance in my opinion. Some of the greatest things I learned studying theology is that
A) The New Testament (which so many people like to thump) does not represent all writings about Jesus- the books that are included were selected by early Christians and members of the Catholic Church during the Middle Ages to portray a particular view of Jesus. There are plenty of other "Gospels" (Gnostics included) that were rejected because of personal opinions of the authors
B) Certain practices in the faith (fasting on Fridays during lent) have nothing to do with the early teachings of Christianity- they have everything to do with people having enough food to last them the winter during famines, again in the Middle ages.
For me, when you boil off all of the "fluff" that's not really true to the real teachings of a religion you are left with a moral compass that helps you live your life working towards the good of a society. I don't think it really matters what religion, as long as something guides you.
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