Your question: I'm coming out as an Atheist
Dear Mookychick,
I don't know what to do now; I came out to my mother as an Atheist. I had told her my beliefs in the past but she had "smartened up" since then. She is a polygamist and I was baptized as a polygamist when I was 2 years old, but I have never been able to make myself believe in the religion.
I base my beliefs on fact, though I wish I could believe in magic and the supernatural, I cannot accept it without seeing proof for myself. I have nothing against other religions or religious people. In fact, I love the study of different cultures and religions as well as the diversity and simple beauty I see in the world.
But despite this my mother was furious even though she has not practiced her polytheism since she was 16. She has associated Atheism or another religion that dose not believe in the same good as she as the cause or horrors such as school shootings, terrorism, and suicide. She always said she respected other beliefs and I have even herd her question the existence of a god.
Now the real point I wanted to get to with this is that she violently refuses to accept my beliefs and is now requiring me to start attending church on Sundays until I am 18, endure counseling sessions with a priest, and force me to write either Polygamist or Christian on my collage applications when it becomes time for such things. I am only 15 right now and I will not be able to give up what I have believed my entire life. Thus far the only alternative I can see is to ask my aunt if I can move in, yet that comes at the consequence of putting my future, as well as the ability to afford collage, at stake.
Love, Anonymous Me xxx
The Mookychick answer to your problem
Ashley says...
First of all, don't tell anyone you're a polygamist. It's illegal in
most countries and will either get you looked at funny or groped.
Actually, first of all figure out what religion you were raised in.
Polygamist means you want multiple spouses. Polytheist means you
believe in multiple gods. Christian means you believe that Jesus
Christ of Nazareth was the son of god and the savior of mankind.
Second of all, atheism is not a religion, it is the lack of one
(though interestingly, when Christians were in the minority they were
called atheists). Sounds like you need a good stack of books. Flip
through the following online:
Dawkins
Harris
Hitchens
And as for your mother, does she not know that even Mother Teresa was
"tormented by questions of faith"?
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article2321124.ece
The bad news is, until you're of legal age, you sort of have to live
under her rules in her house. If she's being violent as you say, by
all means alert the police or at least tell the chap you've got to
have counsel with. Seeing a priest for a good exploration of your
faith or lack thereof isn't a death sentence. At best, you can see it
as a proving ground for what you really believe in. Of course, you'll
want to get some reading done to bone up on the historical precedents
for why you believe what you believe, as he'll be an expert on his
side.
One thing is definitive - she has no say on how you fill out your
college applications any more than she can tell you to list your
weight as 300 pounds on a doctor's form. And what sort of college apps
ask such a thing anyway? Just put Not Applicable or decline to answer.
I'd say your best recourse is just to ignore the topic with her until
you get out of her house. Just don't discuss it. If she wants to argue
about it, don't join in. It takes two to have a knock-down brawl.
Don't join in. It'll give you good practice for the years of holiday
dinners to come in which you bite your tongue, anyway.
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