My mom is forcing me to go to church...

I am sixteen, and my mom wants to force her religion on me.

I was a christian until eighth grade. up until that time, I had been going to church and I was pretty into it. around eighth grade, I became agnostic, and in high school, I became an all out...

strong atheist.

I tolerated going to church for about a year after deconverting, and then I told my mom that I wouldn't go anymore. I told her why I don't believe and asked her to give me some reason to believe that she was right about religion. she told me that I had to go until I moved out, and I told her that she would have to physically force me to go to church if I was to go.

that was last sunday, and after that she took my car away and told me that I was grounded until this sunday. if I go to church, I get my car back. if I don't, I'm grounded for another week. I decided to draw a line in the sand here. if she won't let up, neither will I.

what should I do to convince her that it is wrong to force me to go to church at this age when I have obviously put a lot of thought into what I believe.

please don't try to convert me to christianity. please don't tell me to suck it up and go to two more years. just give me the advice I am looking for, please.

HI Endy, Tell me the reason for not believing in God. It may look harsh when your mother send you to church forcefully. Below Bible verses tells you why your mother is doing so.
1. Pr 22:6
2. Pr 23:13-14
3. Pr 29:15
It is the responsibility of a parent to train the children in Godly way. This is what bible says. if more clarificaion required pls write to

screw your mom. You are your own person and you can belive what ever you want to belive. just say mom I dont wanna go to church, im not a christian and you just cant make me. and if you want your car back just don't go to church until she gives up. you dont give up. and eventually she will not care.
I hope.
well I hope I helped
-c

Your m0m n0 l0nger counts for what you do...0nly s0methngs she still do...but ur16 n0w so she shouldnt do that..U should be able to do what you feel..Its like this she cant make you be 'saved' if you kn0w what I mean?!? Kinda like tellin your child they cant be gay..Its their life so let them live it..U kn0w what I mean? If there are any consequences to be delt with there all 0n u...I
Think your old enough to make your own decision...Look at it this way ask her or just think about it. Say your grown and already moved out what would she do then? She wouldnt be able to ground you or anythng...how/what would she do? Ignore or get angry because of your belief? Well I hope this helps

My typical answer to this type of problem, is that you go ahead and go to church. But do something horribly embarrasing during the service so your mom won't ever want you to go again, like just start laughing out loud and saying how ridiculous you think it all is.

She has no right to force her religion on you. I have never gone to church and never will cause I just dont believe in that stuff. tell your mom straight up that she is not going to force you to do anything and that if she keeps trying its just going to push you farther away from her. have a big discussion about it and that might help.

***what should I do to convince her that it is wrong to force me to go to church at this age when I have obviously put a lot of thought into what I believe.***

It's quite simple... you CAN'T convince her...

Seriously - you are an atheist, you don't go to church. Enough said.

Just because she is your mum does not mean she has the right to force *her* beliefs on you!

Stick up for yourself and for your beliefs. Wait until Sunday. Although it sucks to be grounded, at least you proved your point.

***...you do not know the implication of you decision on your eternal destiny.***

...neither do you.

I can totally relate

my mum tried to enforce this dictatorship like rule: You go to church as long as you're living under my roof or you move out and go live with your father

wtf? I told her in the most respectful way I could that I didn't like going to church and that if she made me go, it would be against my will, therefore, it wouldn't be genuine, it'd completely be phony, and I wasn't gonna hide it.

I usually always listen to my mum except when it comes to things concerning my beliefs, opinions, and religion. I recently discovered that I didn't like religion. Why can't I just believe in God and leave it at that? But my mum just can't except that I'm obviously not who she wanted me to turn out to be...in that field anyway

So, I was prepared to actually rebel. I was gonna wear dark make-up and nail polish, wear regular clothes, slouch and not smile all the time, or whatever other rituals and stuff that goes on, just to get my point across. I'm not an atheist, I just wanted the choice to go to church. Frankly, at this moment in my life, don't want to. If it's wrong, it's my choice. As long as I have that liberty, you know, of free belief

So...hang in there. Hopefully your mum will lighten up like mine (before I resorted to what I thought was rebellious...how pathetic lol). I mean, she still gives me an earful every Sunday and those looks like I did something to her, but whatever. Try telling your mum how you feel. don't know what to say if she doesn't listen, but I don't know, make her listen, in a subtle respectful loud way...for the record, I am in no way an advocate for incorrigible teens...

I don't think you need 2 suck it up, just believe in what you believe, and I don't know, if your mum happens to not be so...what's the word...reasonable, then comply. maybe she'll see your mature enough to make your own choices from that...but, yea, I've heard that one a few times and think sometimes its bull. let's just say, it wasn't an easy battle over this matter of my going to church. when I stopped, it actually strained the relationship I had with my mum a bit, b/c she's sorta traditional, so I'd consider that. you know, maybe do it for her, but when you get tired of making other people happy, give urself a much needed VOICE

that's all...^_^

Tell your mom that you are in a stage in your life when you need to figure out things on your own. Tell her you are sorry for not being exactly what she wants, but it isn't something you are willing to change. You want to be your own person. Explain to her how your beliefs are just as important to you as hers are to her. When you speak to her stay calm no matter what. Maybe eventually she'll let up.

I was never raised in a house of faith, so I can't really say that I've had this happen to me. For me, my father and step-mother are church goers, and they didn't like it at first, but they learned to not let it bother them. We don't talk about religion when we are together, but that isn't a lot since I don't live with them.

If your mom loves you she will accept you for who you are, and not try to change you.

there's no point in going with the way you feel about christianity. plus, going makes you a hypocrite. right? don't go. it's not going to help you.

by the way, your mom taking away your car because you're not wanting to go to church...wow...way to teach your child about the importance of materialism. I think that, based on the way she's acting, she's just confusing you further about christianity. she doesn't understand it herself. that punishment was NOT fitting at all. and who says there should be a punishment? you can't FORCE someone to believe something. ...well...you can...it's called BRAINWASHING.

try to respect that your mom has her own personal beliefs...just like you do, and never treat someone the way she's treating you in this matter. I think that's the best you can do in this situation.

well sometimes you will not get the answer that your looking for and I am going to tell you like it is the bible says to obey them that have the rule over you for they watch for your soul she could be saving you from the lake of fire. that is the place that I don't want to go if you can't stand the heat on this earth you shol' aint going to stand it in HELL the devil is a lier and he is standing there laughing in your face, he don't care for us all he trying to do is make us fall and as soon as we that he gone laugh right in our face he knows that if we follow God we are going to be in a better place.

... So you can take heed if you want to but just remamber the devil don't care about you or me and I don't care about him...God bless I will be praying for you...

Ok plain and simple if you dont believe the service will do nothing for you. Talk to your mom again or if you don't think that will work or if your not sure you can keep your temper thru it, try writting a note. Start by saying that you really want her to understand and that her trying to change you is hurting u. Mention that your a teen and that it is the stage of your life where you start making your own decisions and being a teen your likely to stick to them even stronger with no chance of compromise if your parents punish you without reason or reasonability.

If that doesn't work go to your school couns. and tell them your problems and ask them to call your mom and tell her that you came by and seemed very upset by her not sitting down and talking to you about it, they dont have to mention religion at all

Good Luck

forcing someone to go be saved is wrong. God is very big on always giving us a choice. We are different from animals because we make choices, we have free will, we think. Just because there are rules, doesn't mean we can't break them. When Jesus died on the cross he died for everyone's sins. but did God say You're all going to Heaven when you die now no. You have to believe it, you have to accept it, you have to repent. Being saved and going to Heaven is a choice you make. You're not supposed to force anyone to do it. When the spanish came here to North America, they tried to force the indians to convert to christianity. This was wrong, and they later payed for it when they lost most of their control of North America. The British took over most of it from them. You should get saved. You should go to church. It's the right thing to do, but it's your choice. If we did not make choices, we would be no different than animals. Tell your mom everything I just said, and see what she says. If she agrees that it should be your choice, good. If she doesn't, well she's being a bit like the spanish to the indians

Going to church will strenghthen your relationship with your family. Just do it - it's only an hour. Think about your week or listen. I am surprised how often the sermon's can be appreciated by athiests as well. You will be better educated and more interesting than someone who never went to church.

go...just in case : )