Line Between Being Honest or Disrespectful Towards Parents?
I'm scared that my parents are going to resent me if I am honest about my religious beliefs. I understand that I still live under their roof (I am a college student), but I can't help but feel isolated and judged and pressured to please them when I try to speak out. I am respectful towards my parents, but I know that if I voice that I want to stop going to church, it will create a wedge in our relationship. What should I do? I just feel like I'm in a constant state of anxiety lately.
@maddicee Unfortunately many people (not just your parents) see "honesty" as "disrespectful."
This can be blurry, but with something like your own religious beliefs is definitely something that is up to you and you alone. I mean, if you beleive that you should sacrifice all kittens to your gods because that will bring peace to earth then that might be a bit much but your religious beliefs are personal and yours alone.
I'm sorry you're going through that.
I guess the way they'll perceive this will depend a lot on the relationship between you, and on how they see religion. But you have the right to be your own person and have your beliefs. Respect should be abotu acknowledging everyone's idea and beliefs and accepting them even if we don't share them, so it's not disprespectful of you to just be who you are and believe in what you believe. If you feel like telling your parents about your religious beliefs, I guess you can try to find some common values that you still share, which could be altruism, solidarity or whatever, which are universal values that are independent of religion. And happiness is very personal, it can be found in many ways, and if your parents truly care about your happiness, sooner or later they'll acknowledge that you have the right to be happy in your own way!
