In this Reddit post, a 15-year-old shares his dilemma about being forced to participate in a mission trip to Costa Rica. Here’s the full story.
He Grew up in a Religious Family
The Original Poster (OP) is a 15-year-old who grew up in a religious Christian family.
OP’s mother, who is a devout Christian, believes that all children should be raised with the same philosophy of Jesus’s love.
He Became an Atheist
OP used to be a Christian but stopped believing when he was younger due to personal issues.
OP mentioned that he has religious trauma from things he was told as a child.
Kids Shouldn’t Be Raised in Religious Environments
OP firmly believes that kids shouldn’t be raised in religious environments and should be able to make their own decisions, or that religious content should be kept to a minimum and not drilled into their heads.
The Missionary Trip
The story begins when OP’s parents announced a few months ago that the entire family will travel to Costa Rica to serve at a children’s center this summer.
OP wasn’t sure how he felt about it, but once they went to the first meeting with the group, he says he understood that the trip was essentially intended to persuade kids.
We Need to Let “Them Know Jesus Loves Them”
The leader of the missionary group said, “The most important thing is that we need them to know that Jesus loves them.”
He Felt Annoyed About the Whole Situation
OP says that might not sound too horrible, but after they got on the planes, it became obvious that the real goal was to convert the children rather than help them.
Everything Was About Jesus
OP says every activity throughout the day—from eating to playing to crafts—was about Jesus and God in some way.
It Was Against His Principles
He shared an instance where you might bounce a ball while playing and then recite a line from the Bible, or the crafts might clearly discuss God’s love.
Not Comfortable Indoctrinating Children
Since literally every step of the process was spent indoctrinating children instead of helping them, OP felt he was going against his principles.
He Is Not Opposed to Helping Children
OP says he has no problem helping children, but he went on to question how he can do that at this facility where everything revolves around indoctrinating youngsters with Christianity.
As a result, OP has been vehemently opposed to the whole situation ever since that first meeting.
Plus, OP mentioned that he is gay and an atheist and felt uneasy about the whole trip. He had to go as his parents forced him to go.
He Questioned Them About Religion
During the whole trip, OP was annoyed and was questioning his parents about Christianity and their beliefs, which made his parents furious.
He Should Focus on the Children
They believe OP was being disrespectful and self-centered and that he should focus on children and “their eternities with God” rather than OP’s “petty grievances.”
OP says he wants to help children, but not in this way, and that, in his opinion, this is harming rather than helping.
Shouldn’t Be Forced Against Will
OP took to Reddit to ask if he was wrong for what he did and several Redditors sided with OP and said that he was not wrong.
One Reddit user wrote, “So sorry you are in this position. Unfortunately, you have to hang on until you graduate and can move out. Your parents are brainwashed too and will not understand your thinking. They will likely constantly try to undermine your efforts to be a free thinker as they will believe you will go to hell if you are not a believer.”
You Can Volunteer Outside of the Church
Another Redditor commented, “I also left the church of my parents, and both my sister and I are part of the LGBT community. I know it’s hard, but honestly living by your truth is going to be worth it. You should look into volunteering program that helps the locals and does not provide religious propaganda, volunteering is a great feeling, it changed my life”
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The post Ethical Dilemma: He’s Not Comfortable ‘Forcing Conversion’ on Kids on a Religious Missionary Trip, but His Family Are Forcing Him to Go first appeared on Mama Say What?!
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / Roman Samborskyi. The people shown in the images are for illustrative purposes only, not the actual people featured in the story.
Source: Reddit
