Brea Jones/ Contributing Writer
From a young age, parents tend to take their children to church and teach them how to practice their religion. As a result, children tend to pick up the habits, thoughts, and practices of their parents through observing their ways. But what happens when a child goes against the family religion and starts to experiment with others?
Through an online survey for FIU students, all of the students surveyed said they belonged to a religious household. Thirty percent of those students said they felt forced to practice that religion while 60 percent said they would be hesitant to tell their parents if they were interested in practicing a different religion.
Junior Larissa Nivard, a hospitality major, believes that most parents won’t accept their children if their child were to convert religions.
“I feel as though my parents would be extremely upset,” said Nivard. “I think they would see it as a slap in the face because I’m going against the way they taught and raised me and my siblings. They would think their way is the right and only way.”
There is a thin line between teaching and forcing a child to be religious.
Although guiding a child isn’t bad, the child should ultimately be able to make the final decision on what they decide to practice. Parents should be more accepting and lenient toward the decision their child makes when it comes to religion.
Fifty percent of students said that their parents would be upset if they converted. One student said that they fear their parents would go as far as disowning them. No child should ever feel unaccepted by their family for choosing a different religion nor should they feel forced.
No one likes to be forced to do something they don’t want to do. Forcing a child to practice a religion they don’t feel committed or connected could damage the child’s overall outlook on religion and can make them resent their family.
As the saying goes “A family that prays together, stays together,” but no one ever said that you have to pray the same prayer or pray it to the same God.
DISCLAIMER:
The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of Panther Press Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.
Photo by Brea Jones.
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