so my mom dragged me to church today...

[oceantail]

basically my mom dragged (metaphorically) me to church with her today (Easter) and I went and sat in the building, and just sat there the whole time, doing nothing, saying nothing, not questioning, nor commenting. When we left she seemed pretty damn mad. Not abusive mind you, nor verbal, more of the silent treatment. I don't think I did anything wrong, the only time I disobeyed her was during the whole "god be with you..." "and also with you..." handshake thing. (mainly because I thought Lady, or Athena might slip out. So what should I do? give it time or try to talk? she doesn't know I am pagan (I think), just that I am not Christian, and I tell all the people I don't want to have to deal with that I am agnostic. The only way I am going back in that church would be if she becomes a nun, or they put her in a box. Save a direct order from the gods.  

[Alureah The Protector]

My mom does the same thing with me. Her pastor apparently knows me personally, so if I go in there he'll give me the 'God-finger' (*wags finger* You shouldn't be doing that, you're going to go to hell.. BUT GOD LOVES YOU.) type of ordeal.
But uh, what I do is just ignore the entire thing. I eventually let my mom know what's going on (mistake in my mind, but at least she knows the truth) so now she doesn't force me to go to church... But she still says 'I'm very disappointed and ashamed of you..' bladdy blah. But you eventually get use to it. =)
Uhm. Anyways, just give her time to breath and if you do tell her you're pagan, then just be quiet for awhile until she understands you're still you no matter what your religion is. ^_^''  

[Daearen]

My parents found my books and stuff a while ago biggrin they just pretend that its not real and drag me to church.  

[[-Erik-]]

Haters gonna hate.

Having a different faith in a society like this is such a challenge.

Heads up brothers, they are just as deluded as we could possibly be.  

[koudelkaW]

My mum threatens to drag me to church all the time. Apparently since I was baptised, as a baby with no way to talk for myself, means I accepted God. But I was never confirmed so I tell her to stuff it.

Maybe you should try and talk to your mum about it. Tell her that you have your own thoughts about religion, and you respect her religion, so ask her to respect yours.

It's funny, but I'm more at ease with Christianity now. A few months ago, I was looking around in a charity shop when I found a pretty photo frame with a quote from the bible in. I wanted to buy it because of what it said. It said: 'Sister. I thank my God every time I remember you.' I thought that I didn't want to buy it because of that, but then I really read the quote and realised it said 'my God.' To me, my God, doesn't have to be the Christian God. The frame sits on my bedside table now.  

[KatsumiBatei]

lCobaltl

My parents found my books and stuff a while ago biggrin they just pretend that its not real and drag me to church.

Same thing happened to me, your mom throw a fit, mine did  

[Undead Honey Cake]

my mom knows she was a little unhappy at first, but after talking here and there she's let up, she rather laid back about the whole thing now.

I would say start to drop hints that your of a different religion before you tell her, that way it's not a total shock.  

[Sparky the Panda]

My mom has always encouraged me to be all I can be. Also all I naturally am. She said to me when I was about 12 "If you are gay or an athiest or anything else like that, feel free to express it. I'll always love you." I have the best parents in the world. I told my family about me being Wiccan, and they accepted it with tolerance and curiosity. Everyone in my family is a different religion, so this is no big surprise. I love my family.  

[Phoeona]

I told my parents when I was 12 that I was exploring new paths. My mother was scared and uneducated on the Pagan path so naturally she tried to get me away from it.

She is now a Reverend in the Methodist church and has done reading and research on my path as a Hellenic Pagan and is fully accepting of it. She knows I'm not doing anything wrong and we discuss religion a lot together to get different points of view. She's not one of those "You don't like Christ you're going to hell!!" she's more of what Christians should be, accepting of other paths that are obviously not doing anything wrong to other humans.

But I'm guessing your mother is just first of all sad that you do not share her faith as well as scared because she doesn't know what you believe and once she finds out, she probably isn't educated enough to make a sound judgment on you for it. I'm all for children telling their parents that they are following a different path and for sitting down and discussing it with them. Asking them if they have questions and try to get their misconceptions in check. It's not easy at first, but it does help.

If it makes you more comfortable, you can keep telling her that you are not Christian and are Agnostic. But it might eat you up to keep this from her. Just proceed with caution and knowledge and answers to her questions ^.^ ::hugs::

)0( <3  

[Renkon Root]

[-Erik-]

Haters gonna hate.

This pickled vegetable...

What about that made you think "hate"? neutral

Its more likely the mother was just peeved that when she tried to share her religion with her child, when she tried to share a deep-rooted and meaningful part of her life with her child, said child sat in polite silence but didn't share in any of it with her. It was most likely disappointment, not anger.

Children drift away from their parents when they reach their teens and parents try to reconnect with their children and are likely to become frustrated when their attempts fail. I see nothing wrong with this story.

... could kick your a** !!

 

[zainith666]

If it means anything Renkon Root, yes, teens tend to drift from their parents for some time out of rebellious nature. However, at adulthood they tend to want them back in their lives. It is very typical.
And as for the whole mom forcing religion on you, you can try what I've done. Let her think that their game is working, that you are not straying from her religion, and "do" as she wishes to humor her. But you can practice you religion in secret on your own time. Thus letting her "think" what she wants is what you want, even if it isn't true. But look at her religion closely, for you might find little pieces that speak to you and maybe even inspire new ideas for you. I always take everyday as a chance to learn something new and maybe you can try that too. If not, then maybe you can try to talk to her about it, but I am quite sure that she feels as strongly about her beliefs as you do, which makes it a hard topic to talk about sometimes. I wish you the best of luck and hope that all goes well. Blessed be in your heart.  

[Periwinkle_the_Eevee]

In general, I'm pretty open about it. I told my parents only a few weeks after I read about Wicca for the first time. Mainly because I go to the library for access to books, and they snoop in my life a LOT. I get dragged to church every week, even though I ask if I can stay home. They even drag me to church on the Sabbats. The worst is when I come home to find the church pastor sitting in the living room. "Hey, Alexis, I heard about you becoming a Wiccan, and I just wanted to talk to you." He always goes on a total monologue about how Jesus loves me, and that if I don't be a Christian, I'll burn in hell for all eternity. Last time, I blew up in his face and told him to get out of my house. I kinda regret it. But my parents are constantly looking at me like I'm diseased or something. My sister is all like, "I know deep down inside, you love God." and stuff like that. They even banned me from the only New Age/Metaphysical shop I can get to. I don't know what to do.....  

[Spade-Superstition]

My Mom is Pagan, but she married a christian (my step father). Because of this she and I went to church for a few years. My Mom would always wear her Pentacle anklet for protection leaving her amulet necklace at home. For me she'd rap a crystal necklace around my ankle, and give me a speech on how my heart is my own and that nothing they said at church could hurt me.
A funny story came out of all this though: My Mom never gave me metal jewelry because she was allergic and thought I might be, and for their birth days my step dad had given both of his daughters golden cross earrings. So, for my 6th birthday he gave me a set too. Being only 6 I wanted to fit in with my new family and proudly put them on. I few hours later an allergic reaction took place, my ears puffed up the piercings swelled and bled. A few days later I went to Sunday school with the rest of my brothers and sisters, with band aids over my ears.
You should have seen the look on the teacher's face when she asked what happened to my ears and I with a bitter face replied "It was those stupid crosses" rofl  

[anime_wiccan_chick]

Periwinkle_the_Eevee

In general, I'm pretty open about it. I told my parents only a few weeks after I read about Wicca for the first time. Mainly because I go to the library for access to books, and they snoop in my life a LOT. I get dragged to church every week, even though I ask if I can stay home. They even drag me to church on the Sabbats. The worst is when I come home to find the church pastor sitting in the living room. "Hey, Alexis, I heard about you becoming a Wiccan, and I just wanted to talk to you." He always goes on a total monologue about how Jesus loves me, and that if I don't be a Christian, I'll burn in hell for all eternity. Last time, I blew up in his face and told him to get out of my house. I kinda regret it. But my parents are constantly looking at me like I'm diseased or something. My sister is all like, "I know deep down inside, you love God." and stuff like that. They even banned me from the only New Age/Metaphysical shop I can get to. I don't know what to do.....

Ouch. Well, my family is very open about stuff like this, but maybe I can give you some advice: talk to them about your religion and set guidelines or learning points. If you can somehow convince them that you're not going to sacrifice the family puppy to a satanic figure in the middle of the night while sitting in the center of a circle painted in chicken's blood on he kitchen floor, they might be more accepting. As for the pastor, you could always apologize for blowing up, BUT explain that if you were telling him that his belief system was an abomination, he;d be pretty angry as well, and that all you ask is for him to leave you alone on the subject of religion. I am a very blunt person, so perhaps this advice won't work, but it might... if more tact is put in than I would put in.