Overlooked Hypocrisy
- Samantha Bluhm
- Jan 12
- 2 min read
I grew up in a semi-Catholic home.
My parents sent me and two of my sisters through Catholic primary and high school — uniforms, Mass, sacraments, the whole deal.
We celebrated Christmas and Easter and ate fish on Fridays during Lent to symbolically unite with the poor and hungry.
We appeared to be as normal as our neighbors. Then something shifted...
It became clear that our youngest sister was wired differently. Born a free spirit, she gravitated toward people and projects that quenched her curiosity.
That included the poorest, messiest, and “hardest to love” kid in her class — the least among them.
She befriended him and learned that his mom was ill, his dad worked long factory hours, and most days he was left alone to hold himself together the best he could.
His restless mind often disrupted his focus and spilled out in behavior he couldn’t control.
When he struggled, my sister watched how the teachers and “good Catholic families” treated him. She noticed the whispers, the side-eyes, the dismissal ....
Eventually the school expelled him — not because he was beyond reach — but because it was easier to blame him than understand him.
At 12 years old when the rest of her class was preparing to become "adults" in the church, my sister sat our parents down and announced she wasn’t getting confirmed.
“If that’s what faith looks like, I don’t want it,” she said.
She wasn’t rejecting God.
She was rejecting hypocrisy.
She wanted something aligned — authentic, inclusive, and rooted in human dignity.
Her choice wasn’t rebellion for rebellion’s sake.
It was a survival tactic.
Let’s Unpack It! 💼
Religion as faith and philosophy creates belonging, courage, compassion, and community [above the line].
This is the spiritual side that lifts people above the line into acceptance, gratitude, curiosity, and love.
Religion as an institution has doctrine that creates rules, hierarchy, and gatekeeping.
This is the side that pulls people below the line into fear, shame, judgment, and exclusion [below the line].
My sister didn’t have the language — or the model — at 12, but she felt the difference. She sensed the misalignment.
She recognized the gap between what was preached and what was practiced.
Here’s the truth: That same gap shows up everywhere — often in positions of power.
But real leadership isn’t about titles, positions, or institutions.
It’s about the courage to see clearly, speak honestly, and act with integrity — even when comfort whispers, “Let it go.”
Strong leaders elevate humanity. They don’t just manage people or process — they embody what they say they value.
My sister didn’t reject faith.
She rejected misalignment.
That’s where the leadership lens sharpens — not in theory, but in practice.
Because leadership is revealed in three places:
1️⃣ Who we include.
2️⃣ How we treat the least among us.
3️⃣ Whether our actions match what we claim to believe.
Leadership above the line begins when we disrupt the behaviors that keep people surviving instead of thriving.
Comments