I am interested in people's stories of going from a believer to non-believer or vise versa.

[No Vested Interest]

25. Creationism- I don't know of any Catholics

who believe in it, because the Church doesn't preach that. I don't know what "fundamentalist belief" you're referring to regarding the Vatican.

"Schools and monasteries came over from the old world" ? Catholic schools in the U.S. were begun early in the 1800's by Mother Elizabeth Seton, a widow with children and a convert from the Episcopal Church. The schools were strongly supported by Catholics because in that period the public schools taught from the Protestant Bible, which teaching continued well into the end of the 19th century in many places.

As for sending their kids to Catholic schools - you bet they do, because most understand that the education and structure their children get is well worth the cost, and the education is usually balanced and superior to public school, at least in urban areas.
The only problem is that tuition in many parochial schools has become too expensive for many to afford, without nuns offering their services for low pay. Therefore, some Catholics now send their children to public grade and high school in order that they'll be able to assist their children in paying for college.