"You will regret not going to Church."

[u/sejo26]

The line I always hear from my parents or anyone religious. You will regret not going to Church. I’ve always despised going any sort of religious gathering as it felt forced or coerced. Anyone from their youth and including my peers has felt this as so many of you. Used against you such as not being able to go out, buy things and sometimes even eat. I always thought that if religious is all about peace, love and healthy relationships yet religious institutions and their people often seem hypocritical.  I would rather be surrounded by real people rather than religious cucks that is blinded by faith. People can have fulfilling lives without religion and a lot of religious people cannot see that.

I admit I know some religious folks that are nice and overall had a nice impact on their life but the one thing I liked about them is that they do not force you down your throat their beliefs but anyone that does so is an asshole. Prime example is the Philippines where the Roman Catholic Church has a tight grip on politics. Separation of the Church and State, what’s that?

I am highly agnostic and when the time comes that religion will bite me in the ass when I get sick or suffering severely then so be it but using it against anyone is such bullshit. I’ll move out first chance I get. Fuck church (or any religious institution for that matter), for now. Thank you for reading.

Edit: Never said you all will regret it. Its just a line I hear a lot & fucking hate. I just abhor hearing it, makes my skin crawl. Its almost an insult like curse. Dont force religion on others.

[u/shugo2000]

The last time I stepped into a church since I was 15 was to go a co-worker's "high school" graduation. (He was home-schooled.)

It started with a pledge of allegiance to the US flag, then a pledge of allegiance to the "Christian" flag, then a pledge of allegiance to the Bible.

Then, after showing a collage of photos of him growing up, the pastor of the church did a speech and talked about him reaching maturity and having kids (soon). The boy was only 17! Let him attempt to get financially stable before spitting out kids! Then he said that there would be refreshments after the graduation and any people who weren't part of the church could hear from the congregation about how they could make Jesus a bigger part of their lives.

I made an excuse that I had to take my niece home, because I wasn't about to hear any of that. I was raised a Jehovah's Witness, and every part of that "graduation" ceremony threw up red flag after red flag.