my family is catholic, im not, my mom thinks she's let me down "PLEAS HELP"?

Question

in an 13 year old secular huminist, but my hoal family is catholic. my mom thinks that she has let me down because i don't bealive what i was raised to bealive. i've made up my minde and my parents know it, but thear still macking me go to religion class when school starts next fall again. i have no clue what to do anymoar and it's totaly stressing me out because my mom feals like she let me down on religous reasons when i feal no sutch thing and i'm happy with my religion. "PLEAS HELP ME"

Answer 1

Show this to your mother : )


Khalil Gibran once said :

Your children are not your children.

They are the sons and daughters of

Life's longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you,

And though they are with you,

Yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love

But not your thoughts.

For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies

But not their souls,

For their souls dwell

In the house of tomorrow,

Which you cannot visit,

Not even in your dreams.

Love & Blessings
Milly

Answer 2

Your a smart kid who either doesn't know how to spell or is just a bad keyboard typist.

Most people grow up being told what to believe and then when they grow up (starting at around age 13) they begin to get a mind to decide what they really want to believe. That's normal and natural, and during adolescence, your ideas and beliefs will change like the weather. Today you're a secular humanist, tomorrow your a Christian; the next day you're a Buddhist. Enjoy it To keep the peace and your sanity, keep an open mind, don't wear your beliefs on your sleeve (you don't need to "defend" them or be in other people's faces about them), humor your folks and try to find meaning in your own way in the family's Catholic traditions, and remember that sometimes people can tell you what to do and you'll have to go along, but they can't really tell you what to think. Your mind is your own personal space.

Answer 3

First let me say..wow! This seems like a very hard situation to be in. If i were you, I wouldn't lie about what Fred told you and stand up for what is true. Stay away from your mother for a while until she realizes how strong you believe in what has happened. Now, it may take a very long time for her to understand your feelings but it is the right thing to do. Not only should you spend time away from your mother, but take your sister with you to protect her. It is also the right thing to do. Next, listen to your therapist because she is educated with helping you cope with situations. Is your mother educated to do this? The answer to that is no. Your therapist is the best person to talk to. My one question for you though is where have you been living since you and your mother separated? Its a good idea to have a plan of where to go when something is wrong. Take your sister and yourself to a kind friend's house to stay if they allow you or ask you therapist of places you could go. I hope you find a solution to this problem and end up living a better life without Fred and with someone who you truly can talk to about anything. Let me know what you decided to do and where you will try and end up going! ~ Sammylammy96

Answer 4

I don't know of any 13 year old - Catholic or not - who really WANTS to go to religious ed.

Being that you are 13, you're stuck with your parents' house and rules. You are not, however, responsible for how your Mom is reacting. Many Catholic parents feel an obligation to raise their kids in the faith and she probably thinks that if she keeps making you go to classes that you'll change your mind.

Are you generally a good person? No lying, getting in trouble, violence, etc. etc.? If you are being a "good kid" (forgive me for calling you a kid), then maybe you can work something out with your Mom. Tell her you'll go to church with the family on Sundays without raising a fuss if you can stop going to the classes. Or if not that compromise, maybe something else.

Please don't stress out about it too much; you'll make it harder for yourself. If you have to go to the classes, you might as well learn what it is that your parents believe. Toss it around in your head and see why it is that you prefer your chosen religion.

Answer 5

Your mom has not let you down. She seems to be an active Catholic, attending Church weekly with her family.

God wants volunteers, not conscripts. I think maybe your mom took for granted the idea you would embrace the Faith without question. Sometimes this doesn't happen, and it's not always a parent's fault.

God has not given up on you, so your shouldn't give up on your either. So long as your mom doesn't give up praying for and hoping on your conversion, she has nothing to feel guilty about, regardless of what happens to you.

Do your mom a favor and show her what I have just typed out here.


Now, about you:

You're 13 years old. I hate to burst your bubble but, you're still a kid. Your secular and your religious education is incomplete. With that in mind, you decide to abandon Catholicism via a judgement call you made based on less than all the information available to you.

Legally speaking, at the age of 13 your parents are still entirely responsible. This means, so long as you are living under their roof, you obey them, period. This means, among other things, if they want you to go to Church, you go. It also means, if they want you to go to religious education, you go.

You claim to be happy with "your religion". What religion is that? You know, there's no such thing as "your religion", "my religion", "his/her religion".

There is only God's Religion. There is only one God, and He knows best how we are to worship Him. You will meet Him someday, whether you believe it or not. Whether that meeting is good or bad, is entirely up to you.


Want a taste of what it's like to be Christian? Prioritize your mom's feels; her hurts; her guilts; her alleged failure ahead of all your own feelings. You will begin to feel what she feels. I hope this feeling will compell you to do the right thing.

Answer 6

^That's a hard one, I don't follow the religion I was born into either, it took a long time, but I think my mom understands or at least she has accepted it. I'm not going into my reasons, but you should examine yours, just to make sure this is what you believe in. Maybe you can compromise, and agree to take a couple of classes or maybe a week or two of sunday school. Good luck, I hope this helps.

Answer 7

I am a Catholic convert but the rest of my family thinks I'm really weird. They make references to the Catholic Cult etc. Even my son thinks I'm nuts for my conversion. You don't have to be Catholic if that is not what you are about but do yourself a favor. At 13 you need to keep peace in your family. At my age I do not. Learn what they want you to learn about their religion so you know it better than they do. Then when you are out in the world on your own in a few years you can do whatever your soul demands and argue your position effectively to them. It can work for you!

Answer 8

Based on your incredibly bad spelling, sounds to me like you haven't been paying much attention. "huminist?" You mean, "humanist?"

Secular humanism is a pretty sophisticated weltanschauung, and if you're not really able to spell common words, such as "believe," yet, I'm not convinced you're prepared for the intellectual heavy lifting when it comes to philisophical and religious choices.

Why not hang in with the family religious preference for now -just out of courtesy- and then when you're able to declare your independence and support yourself, THEN look at the other options.

Meanwhile, leaning to spell simple words like "making" instead of "macking" will be a big help to you in getting to that point.

13 years old and can't spell "feeling." Go figure.

Bon chance.

Answer 9

I really understand this one. I guess i was about your age when i started questioning everything about God and religion. I'm catholic too. Have you talked to the priest yet. They are trained for this, not just to make our lives miserable for a hour every Sunday. Talk to the priest he should help some, maybe point you in a direction.

Answer 10

What a wonderful person you are -- so young and yet you are on track looking for what is right for you. Doesn't hurt to go to the Catholic school. Just keep an open mind throughout your life and you will be OK.