#1
My youth pastor drank a live goldfish in a game of truth or dare, and when I began CRYING because I was a teen girl who had just seen a live animal go to its death, a church lady pull me aside and lectured me that I was ruining everyone’s fun evening.
That was the first moment I looked around and realized that church might not be for me.
IRONIC that Christians love to tell stories of Satanists sacrificing animals though.
#2
#3
No matter where you live, there’s no chance you haven’t encountered religion in some form in your life. It’s so prevalent in our society that there’s no avoiding it. We’re not saying that you have to have been religious yourself, only that you’ve either had contact with a religious person, been affected by customs set by religion, or anything of that kind.
According to Encyclopedia Britannica, Christianity is the most widely practiced religion in the world, with more than two billion followers. While this religion isn’t passed down to a person like, let’s say, Judaism, usually it is instilled in a person by their family believing in it and being raised on this religion’s values.
#5
#6
Well, it doesn’t have to be only within the family. Some parents choose to send their children to things like Sunday school (also known as Sabbath school). If you don’t know what it is, it’s classes before Sunday church service that are used to provide catechesis to Christians, usually of a younger age, but it can be for adults too.
And while for some the experience of being raised Christian is good enough that they continue practicing the religion well into their adult lives, for others, it’s not so great. The causes for this can be various, from mild to criminal ones.
#8
#9
I was 38 weeks pregnant.
We’re not going to delve into all of that today, as just a shallow discussion wouldn’t do it justice. Instead, we’re just going to talk about the things people who grew up in churches heard being said to them, something that makes up today’s list. And since we’ve already mentioned the unpleasant experiences, you’ve probably guessed that these things that people heard aren’t pleasant either.
Well, after reading these stories, it becomes clear why so many young people choose to turn away from church. Let’s be honest, some (if not all) of the experiences presented in today’s list are borderline traumatizing, and so it’s completely understandable when a person wants to leave something like that behind them.
#10
#11
#12
Granted, that isn’t the only reason why people are choosing not to practice Christianity. There are plenty of others too. For instance, they simply might not be connecting with what the church teaches, or it might be just too detached from their lifestyle, interests, and issues. Lack of relevance can quickly work as a reason to not get overly involved.
A busy lifestyle can play a part in detachment from religion too. Daily life usually includes plenty of commitments to education, career, personal interests, and social life. So, if religion isn’t among those personal interests, there’s little to no time for it. Basically, if they don’t make it a priority, it gets left out pretty easily.
#13
#14
#15
These are just a few of the many reasons why people choose not to practice religion. Each of them is just as acceptable, whether it’s a busy lifestyle or trauma. After all, there’s always a broader context to a person’s life that influences their decisions. And that’s completely OK, as long as these decisions don’t hurt others, unlike the spoken words presented in today’s list.
#16
#17
Where I sat through a sermon about how women need to be subservient to men and our hands are smaller so they fit in men’s hands.
#18
#19
Drinking alcohol was next. Or breaking the Word of Wisdom in general. I had a full on panic attack the first time I drank green tea.
#20
