I’m an atheist and very against religion and my parents know this. My brother is having his confirmation in 2 weeks and all of my relatives are coming to visit to attend the ceremony. I’m not sure if I should attend the church due to my stance on religion, or if I should go to support my brother and be with my family. Any suggestions?
logicel
As a known atheist, it is great if you attend a religious ceremony. Theists needs to see more and more happy and joyful atheists at religious familial celebrations who know how to share good times with their families! You are not keeping your atheism to yourself which is very admirable. I attend religious ceremonies, despite being a known atheist.
Religious ceremonies abound in our culture. As long as you can be outwardly atheist (and if you can’t be outwardly atheistic in your immediate family, then you have other problems than wrestling with attending religious ceremonies or not), there is nothing to be gained by avoiding familial religious celebrations. In fact, make it a point if the topic of religion comes up, that though being an atheist, you want to be part of this familial celebration despite its religious nature because you are part of the family.
Dave Hitt
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Do you intend to stay away from every wedding conducted in a church? Will you boycott the funeral of a friend that’s presided over by a minister? Will you leave the room when there’s a Halloween lunch at the office?
Refusing to have anything to do with religion, under any circumstances, is going to make you and those around you miserable. You’ve got to strike a balance and develop some flexibility.
George Locke
I’d consider just going through with it. Not attending would be a strident rejection of your family’s values. I don’t know what they’re like, but if they’re at all religious, you may attract a lot of negative attention by making such a loud statement. All you have to do to avoid that grief is participate in a meaningless ceremony.
You may feel a little “dirty” for contributing to an institution whose central purpose is the propagation of nonsense, but it’s possible to be too rigid in maintaining your intellectual integrity. Your family expects you to be there, and maintaining your family relationships is important.
SmartLX
Forget your family, think of your brother. Is he happy to be doing this? What’s the best thing you can do for him?
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