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Religious Immersion Reflection Paper.
St. Gabriel Catholic Church- Livestream Experience.
Miranda L. Daniel
Department of Psychology, National University
Psyc454: Psychology of Religion
Professor Lon Clark
November 23, 2025
, 2
Introduction
Having been raised in a Southern Baptist culture, my concept of Christian worship has been
informed by a culture of vigorous preaching, unplanned prayer, and unrestrained emotional
expression. I was always a so-called somewhat Christian, but at the same time, I had never left
my own set of denominations. Since the Catholics are frequently characterized by the very
different expression of worship, formal worship, ritual worship and strongly tied to
traditionalism, I chose to attend an online Catholic Mass as my immersion experience. I picked
the 11 AM live service of the church of St. Gabriel Catholic Church on November 23rd, which is
publicly available on the church website.
The purpose of this assignment is not just to witness a new faith practice but also to consider
how the experience may break assumptions and assumptions, develop empathy, and enhance my
spirituality knowledge. The paper will present what I observed, what I learned, how I
experienced the service and how this experience relates to the concepts of William James
theories of religious experience, ritual practice, and empathy role in interfaith understanding.
History: Catholicism vs. Baptist Tradition.
The oldest branch of the Christian religion is Catholicism, which is founded on the sacramental
worship, a structured liturgy and apostolic tradition. Southern Baptists on the other hand are
centred on Scripture based preaching, individual conversion experience, and a less ceremonial
type of worship. Although both traditions hold to the belief in Christ, read the Bible, and meet
every week, their methods of worship frequently indicate the various perceptions of what is
meant by experiencing God.
The basic structure of Catholic Mass is similar to that used all over the world and it includes:
• The Liturgy of the Word
Religious Immersion Reflection Paper.
St. Gabriel Catholic Church- Livestream Experience.
Miranda L. Daniel
Department of Psychology, National University
Psyc454: Psychology of Religion
Professor Lon Clark
November 23, 2025
, 2
Introduction
Having been raised in a Southern Baptist culture, my concept of Christian worship has been
informed by a culture of vigorous preaching, unplanned prayer, and unrestrained emotional
expression. I was always a so-called somewhat Christian, but at the same time, I had never left
my own set of denominations. Since the Catholics are frequently characterized by the very
different expression of worship, formal worship, ritual worship and strongly tied to
traditionalism, I chose to attend an online Catholic Mass as my immersion experience. I picked
the 11 AM live service of the church of St. Gabriel Catholic Church on November 23rd, which is
publicly available on the church website.
The purpose of this assignment is not just to witness a new faith practice but also to consider
how the experience may break assumptions and assumptions, develop empathy, and enhance my
spirituality knowledge. The paper will present what I observed, what I learned, how I
experienced the service and how this experience relates to the concepts of William James
theories of religious experience, ritual practice, and empathy role in interfaith understanding.
History: Catholicism vs. Baptist Tradition.
The oldest branch of the Christian religion is Catholicism, which is founded on the sacramental
worship, a structured liturgy and apostolic tradition. Southern Baptists on the other hand are
centred on Scripture based preaching, individual conversion experience, and a less ceremonial
type of worship. Although both traditions hold to the belief in Christ, read the Bible, and meet
every week, their methods of worship frequently indicate the various perceptions of what is
meant by experiencing God.
The basic structure of Catholic Mass is similar to that used all over the world and it includes:
• The Liturgy of the Word
