See I never understood the effects of growing up in a religious home until I became old enough to realize that it was “ God “ that was tearing my relationship apart with my family. These are some of the trials and tribulations of being raised by religious parents…
We live in a society where sex has become a primary marketing tool, the Internet rules our lives and we watch alcoholics as amusement on MTV. Just reading this opening sentence could land a religious parent grabbing the Holy Water and blessing the computer screen. Religion has been used as a parenting tool to mess kids up since the beginning of time and this is how:
The only thing I want shoved down my throat is food (good food…preferably steak), not a book that you worship
Anyone who has grown up in a religious home that hasn’t felt the same way about the Holy Book can relate. Having a religion shoved down your throat isn’t going to stop you from acting the way you want. If anything it is going to drive you to want to do everything in your power to piss “GOD” and your parents off. God wanted his followers to spread the word of his love for them not force his thoughts into the unwilling. Plus by constantly preaching the word of God and not allowing a young person to explore and learn about other religions you are just setting a child up for resentment. That or they will become a bible thumper and we resented by half of society
Using “God” as an excuse for your parenting actions
Using God as a reason for punishment when you’re child misbehaves. Religious parents love to pull God into an “disobedient” action a their child does. (*Insert the classic “We are all children of God” line here.) This has made children of religious parents around the world being to hate religion with a passion. Taking away my phone and banning me from the world, as well as forcing me to go to Church is not going to make me love Jesus. If anything I am going to hate Jesus and blame him every time I get in shit.
Sheltering from the real world: Remember Adam and Eve? We always want what we are told we can’t have
Not allowing the Internet in the home, or boys/girls over isn’t going to prevent bad things from happening. This doesn’t mean you should start supplying your kids with booze and porn. But attempting to separate in order to protect isn’t logical. When your child is old enough to see what the world really is they aren’t going to know how to handle it. Religious kids are some of the biggest alcoholics and psychopaths out there when they grow up. (I speak from experience. the alcoholic not psychopath.. though some may beg to differ.) We all saw the Virgin Suicides didn’t we? This is a perfect example of what can happen when you try to shelter your children from the rest of society to protect them. IT ISNT NORMAL.
Normal, What is really normal?
Comparing is another and probably one of the most detrimental things religious parents do. Consistently comparing actions of their children to others, not only does this cause a child to feel insignificant it also causes them to believe that their normal feelings and actions are wrong or “unholy.” Just because your son or daughter is becoming interested in the opposite sex doesn’t make them abnormal or bad. It’s normal for young people to question things. Including questions God’s word. If parents insist on driving these questions out of their children they should just put their kids up for adoption and raise Jesus loving robots instead.
Just because I’m making choices that you don’t like doesn’t mean I’m possessed by the Devil
This is one of my favorites. The old “ The devil has taken you over” line. Ok just because I am doing something that the bible frowns upon does not mean you need to set me up for an exorcism. If the devil is behind me taking a half naked photo then move over Emily Rose I’m about to make millions off of my own box office hit. Just because I want to be a model and am in swimsuit doesn’t mean I need to be blessed with holy water. Also you don’t need to tell me “you’ll pray for me” because I decide to bartend in a gay bar to pay my bills while in school.
I use the name God because that’s what I am familiar with, but this applies to all over religious families no matter what name you use. If these over bearing religious parents could open their eyes to see that even God is more open minded then them they may have a more open, honest relationship with their children. Growing up in a religious home caused me to be secretive and dishonest. (& Turned me into a crazy person, lies aren’t easy to have on your conscience.) Being fearful that if I opened up about my personal beliefs I would be shunned or disowned. We live in a society of freedom of speech and opportunity we shouldn’t be scared to tell our parents who we are. What molds us into who we are, are the choices we make on our own, not the ones that we are told “God” has chose for us.
If there is a God (or whatever name your religion has for him) , parents let him speak for himself.
