Do you think a 13 year old should be forced to go to church

Hi jacosci, I think that definitely he should not be forced to go to church, surely at 13 or even younger a person is intelligent enough to know their own mind and not have others beliefs imposed upon him. Rather than following the pack your cousin has thought things through for himself and that is to be admired, it shows that he has an enquiring mind. To be expected to blindly follow something he has no belief in is counter productive and shows lack of respect by his parents for his choice.

You are destroying the reputation of Christianity if you force someone to attend church services. What would other people think about Christians if they encounter something like this? To be honest, it's a huge turn-off! I think this is one of the reasons why people turn away from churches. And the bottom line is, beliefs should not be forced upon someone.

I dont think anyone, child or adult, should be forced to go to church or practice any religion...For starters (in the case of a child) it will create issues in the family (assuming the child isnt interested) such as resentment..it will also create issues with how that person (child) views that religion and its believers later on in life which of course could snowball into a big bad hateful scene AND I think its also a form of disrespect to that particular religion, the church and its believers.. I'm a firm believer that a child should be taught the basics of numerous religions (should or when they begin to show an interest) and then they have the starting point to explore and decide for themselves when they are ready..

This is a tricky question because I believe we should choose our own beliefs & shouldn't be forced into anything. But then the other half of me says they are his parents & probably want their son to have what they have. After all this is a 13 year old kid we are talking about & he does still live with his parents. When I lived under my parents roof, I had to obey their rules & if we had church on Sundays, then we all went. I also went through a stage about being an Atheist around 12 & 13 years of age & to be honest, it was just to be different from the people around me. Maybe a cry for help or maybe just me wanting attention. Teens don't know what they want & grow out of these different stages. I'm sure he will & if not, once he is out & on his own, then he can stop going to church with his family if he chooses to, but I see it like this, if he is living under their roof, show respect & follow the rules.

no,i do not. if he is that against it,it will only cause problems. granted he is a minor,but there are some things children should have some input on. at the very least the parents should be open to discussion with him about it.

i think your cousin is not yet ready to make that kind of assumption. faith towards a certain religion is something that is built over a long period of time and experiences.instead of forcing your cousin to go to church, the parents should ENCOURAGE him to understand the Christian faith and give him options to explore other religions.

I am going to relate my own story and do not intend to show disrespect to anyone for their beliefs. I was one of those that was forced to go to,not one but two seperate churches in my youth. My Mother was cathelic and my Father protistant,this at that time caused an almost war between the families,as I was the first and only son,it was me they fought over. one sunday,I had to go to catholic church,the next protistant. this basically started when I was 2 years of age untill I was old enough to tell them to shove it where the sun does not shine. Once I was able to get away,I became what I believed was an atheist,later,while I was in the army at war (Viet Nam),I realized I was actually agnostic. Years later,I found my own belief,I am now and have been for some time,a witch,and am very happy with my choice. In my opinion,forcing anyone into a belief not of their choosing,is nothing short of brainwashing and should be stopped. Thank you for the thread.

At 13 he is not able to disobey his parents wishes. However I understand where he is coming from. I am not an atheist but I was forced to go to church 3 times each Sunday of my childhood days and ever since I have not been a churchgoer and do not subscribe to organized religion. I have very strong faith and worship in my own way and have a wonderful close personal relationship with my God.

so long as he is living under their roof, he needs to obey his parents - and I can understand that they don't want to leave him home alone at his age - a 13 yr old boy can get into a LOT of trouble in a short time left alone My roomie was about that age when she started going to the blind school, it was then basically a live on campus boarding school, she quickly proved difficult to force to church, tho her mother listed that she should be. After a year her mother removed that from her rules. small suggestion from an old timer to a newbie - don't select best responses for a few days

In the short response, yes I do. When he is of legal age than he can do what he wants. Religion is no different than anything else, he is still a minor. Do I think it will help to force someone, No, but than again it opens up more opportunities than him sitting at home online or playing a video game or worse if he is on the streets.

It is a form of child abuse I would say. The parents are definitely crossing boundaries they shouldn't.

No one should be forced to do anything that they do not want to do....HOWEVER, he is only 13 years old, a child & lives at home with his parents. His parents have every right to make him go to church cuz they are doing what they think is best for him...if he has any questions about being an athesist maybe he should talk to the pastor directly, maybe he maybe able to reach out to him & help him to sort out his feelings & thoughts on the subject.

Does his parents feed him? Does he have clothes they bought for him? Do they pay for a house he lives in? Do they buy him things he needs? Did they teach him how to talk? Did they wipe his butt when he was a baby? Did his mother feed him milk at 2 AM in the morning? You, and him, both owe your parents for EVERYTHING you have. You owe them for putting up with you when you acted like a brat. You owe them for providing for you when you had nothing. You owe them you very life. They could have killed you in an abortion. They could have put you up for adoption and who knows what kind of people you would have ended up with. You could have been deserted and ended up in foster homes or orphanages, tossed from one house to another for years on years, never having a father or mother who really gave a rats butt about you. So given how much you owe your parents for your life, for them loving you, for them providing for you..... Do you really think a few hours on Sunday is oh so horrible a price? Look, when he moves out on his own, he can do whatever he wants. If he loves his parents at all, he should just go to church for those few little hours, and really shut up about it.

No I dont believe anyone should be forced to go to church. I think if you force a teenager your only going to have a neg experenice and the child might decide to not have faith in anything cause it was forced on them

I don't think anyone should be forced to go to church. Religion is something someone should pick on there own. People should be about to do what they want to do and worship who they want to worship. It's not right for his parents to try to force there religion on him. If they are going to do that he should be about to force his beliefs on them also.

Hi jacosci, If he were my child, yes he will go to Sunday School and church. He would live by my rules as long as he lives in my house. My home is a Christian home and I would pray with him and for him everyday. I would do my best to instill godly moral values in him and teach him about Jesus and the way he should live. That would be my responsibility as his parent. Children are given to us by God. They are His and He is entrusting us to take care of them and love them the way He taught. God bless! ~Spring

No one, not even children should be forced to worship a certain way. At 13, I serioulsy doubt the child completely understans what an atheist is, and could not give you the reason why he believes that way other than he was forced to go to church and is rebelling. The parents need to be talked to about what is going on, and why this child does not believe in God. Forcing him to go will not change his mind, but I will say alot of this could spark from the 13 yr olds parenting skills.

Hi jacosci,I would like to know why his parents are forcing him to go to church. I expect it's because they want to look good in the eyes of their pastor and friends at the church. Forcing a child to go to church is wrong and cannot help the child. It will only make him bitter and probably turn him against his parents as well as the church. Blessings.

I think at 13 what he believes is not fully formed and he should go out of respect for his family and their beliefs. Atheism is not a reason to disrespect others though many do. 13 is still a child and they should go because they are expected to. I know it sucks. I had to go when I didn't want to at that age as well. But now years later the people who I have relationships with are the people I met in church. Only one or two of us go to services on a regular basis now some do not go at all, but we are all very close and would do anything for each other. Some times we have to go and do boring things but in the end they are the things we tell stories about and remember with fond memories.

No one should be forced to go to church. As a matter of fact, I don't think any children should be taken to church at all until they're old enough to evaluate what they're getting into and choose for themselves. Good luck to your cousin.