# Advice on dealing with teenager's professed religious belief **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 4, 2010, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-dealing-with-teenagers-professed-religious-belief/556048 "2010-10-04T20:41:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-dealing-with-teenagers-professed-religious-belief/556048/21 "2010-10-05T00:51:23Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > > [@alphaboi867](#): > > > > Take him to a cliff or the roof of a tall building. Hold him over the edge and ask him whether he thinks this “higher power” will save him from falling. If he says yes drop him. Then you and your wife get with the fucking and start over with a new kid. > > [Asked and answered.](http://bible.cc/luke/4-12.htm) Well duh. If you were making up a fairy tale about a magical, all-powerful God and prophets and all the other B.S. that goes with it, you wouldn’t want people to test it either. That’s kinda the point of blind faith. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-dealing-with-teenagers-professed-religious-belief/556048/22 "2010-10-05T00:59:05Z")
He’s thirteen, which means that Saturn The Master Of Spirituality is in opposition to its position on his birth chart. What did you expect? This kind of thing always happens around that age. (I kid!) ---
**Author:** ![akennett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee59a6/32.png) [@akennett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akennett)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-dealing-with-teenagers-professed-religious-belief/556048/23 "2010-10-05T01:23:02Z")
> [@sisu](#): > > athiesm is not the only answer. True, just like ‘4’ isn’t the only answer to ‘2 + 2 = ?’. ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-dealing-with-teenagers-professed-religious-belief/556048/24 "2010-10-05T01:34:56Z")
Make him watch Notre Dame football… he will quickly see the ill of his ways. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-dealing-with-teenagers-professed-religious-belief/556048/25 "2010-10-05T02:18:32Z")
> [@akennett](#): > > > [@sisu](#): > > > > athiesm is not the only answer. > > True, just like ‘4’ isn’t the only answer to ‘2 + 2 = ?’. Not to be a nitpicker or anything, but 2 + 2 = 4… in base 10. There are other correct answers. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-dealing-with-teenagers-professed-religious-belief/556048/26 "2010-10-05T02:20:32Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > My 13-year old son announced this weekend that he is fairly sure that he “believes in God.” > > I am an atheist, and am appalled. What can I do to compell this teenaged smart-aleck to abandon his religious beliefs and be an atheist like his mom and me? > My son is essentially completely ignorant of any scientific thought. > > Any advice would be greatly appreciated. > This is a parody of the IMHO thread about the opposite problem–the point, if you need it spelled out, is that advising the OP here to STFU and MYOB would be just about unanimous advice on the SD, even from atheists, agnostics, and Pastafarians. I actually no longer have teenaged children, thank Whoever. Thank you very much for your support. There is only one way, tried and true. You must get him to confess the wrongness of his thinking under torture, and then burn him at the stake to save his “not soul”. It’s the only way. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-dealing-with-teenagers-professed-religious-belief/556048/27 "2010-10-05T02:23:42Z")
> [@sisu](#): > > actually the best way is: > > Explain to him he wont get laid untill he is married if he becomes a christian! That would have worked for me at 13. Excellent! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-dealing-with-teenagers-professed-religious-belief/556048/28 "2010-10-05T03:02:07Z")
> [@HazelNutCoffee](#): > > And I don’t know where you got the idea that the SD is “absurdly polite” to religious types. Generally, people IRL are much more respectful of religious beliefs than on the SDMB. I’ve never heard the idea that believing in God is equal to believing in aliens or Santa Claus IRL, but it seems to come up in every SD thread about religious belief. Seriously. You’ve been around here long enough to have seen the threads excoriating religion. If you need some reminders, do a search for magical sky pixie, or invisible pink unicorn. Although if your position is that it’s unfortunate that (some) dopers try to have reasonable discourse with ideas they disagree with, I’m not sure I can get behind that. And believe me, you’re preaching to the choir (heh) on the religion thing with me. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-dealing-with-teenagers-professed-religious-belief/556048/29 "2010-10-05T03:26:54Z")
What a shitty parody. Of course you would have been ridiculed, you asstard. It’s not because people bend over backward for religionists, though. It’s because the OP you’re theoretically parodying was a thoughtful, respectful post whereas this one is militant and hateful. I mean, suppose we take it seriously. “Appalled”? “Compell”? That’s an asshole talking. Aside from the few militant partisans on the board, for most people here it’s not about what beliefs you hold or don’t hold. It’s about how civil and respectful you are. You’re putting a confrontational attitude into your OP that isn’t present in the IMHO one. That’s what people would respond to. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-dealing-with-teenagers-professed-religious-belief/556048/30 "2010-10-05T03:59:08Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Offer him $500 to shut up about it. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-dealing-with-teenagers-professed-religious-belief/556048/31 "2010-10-05T06:22:27Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > > [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > > > Any advice would be greatly appreciated. > > Offer him $500 to shut up about it. But you have to let him welsh on the deal if he has second thoughts. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-dealing-with-teenagers-professed-religious-belief/556048/32 "2010-10-05T14:30:52Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > The point, again, is the absurd degree to which the SD is kind, considerate, and polite to religious types, like the OP in INHO. > [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > With a religious obnoxious, officious nutball, the standard response seems to be “What a poor fellow…” So, let me get this straight: a guy who, in that [other thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=580659), self-identifies as [QUOTE=robby] As for myself, my beliefs are somewhat muddled. If pressed, I would say that I do believe in God, or at least hope that there is a higher power and some point to life. I do not believe in the literal truth of the Bible. I might have some Deist beliefs, and have recently been attracted by what I’ve read of Unitarian Universalism. Perhaps I’m an atheist or agnostic, too, but just don’t want to admit this to myself. [/QUOTE] is described by you as, not only a “religious type,” but a “religious obnoxious, officious nutball.” And you’re upset that the SDMB isn’t showing sufficient hostility toward him. Really? ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-dealing-with-teenagers-professed-religious-belief/556048/33 "2010-10-05T15:00:38Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > What a shitty parody. Of course you would have been ridiculed, you asstard. It’s not because people bend over backward for religionists, though. It’s because the OP you’re theoretically parodying was a thoughtful, respectful post whereas this one is militant and hateful. I mean, suppose we take it seriously. “Appalled”? “Compell”? That’s an asshole talking. This needs to be repeated. From the OP of the original thread > [@](#): > > My 13-year old son announced this weekend that he is fairly sure that he is either an atheist or at least agnostic, and that instead, he “believes in science.” > > On the whole, I guess I’m OK with this and > [@](#): > > I’m somewhat torn between dropping the subject entirely; or telling him he can believe (or not) in whatever he chooses; or encouraging him to keep an open mind; or to start taking him to church (which he doesn’t want to go to). I have tried to talk to him about my own beliefs, but muddled as there are, I’m not really getting much across to him. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-dealing-with-teenagers-professed-religious-belief/556048/34 "2010-10-05T15:32:47Z")
This OP gives atheists a bad rep. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-dealing-with-teenagers-professed-religious-belief/556048/35 "2010-10-05T15:41:28Z")
**prr** , is there any chance you had a bad experience as a teenager “coming out” as an atheist to your own parents, and you’re projecting that onto the thread in question rather than taking it at face value? ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-dealing-with-teenagers-professed-religious-belief/556048/36 "2010-10-05T16:12:21Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > > [@Voyager](#): > > > > I’m not quite sure what is getting pitted here. > > The Pit is where parodies go. > > The point, again, is the absurd degree to which the SD is kind, considerate, and polite to religious types, like the OP in INHO. Put the shoe on the other foot, and everyone on the SD would be lining up to shove it straight up his sphincter, and laughing as they shove. I’m happy whenever people are kind, considerate, and polite to anybody. It doesn’t happen enough, IMO, especially on message boards. Rather than complain that we were not rude enough to the OP, you should complain that we are too rude to the people “on the other foot”. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-dealing-with-teenagers-professed-religious-belief/556048/37 "2010-10-05T20:27:58Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Shoot and kill the poor kid now for it’ll be better he’s dead than to grow up to be a raging asshole like you are. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-dealing-with-teenagers-professed-religious-belief/556048/38 "2010-10-05T20:34:43Z")
> [@Tahssa](#): > > > [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > > > Any advice would be greatly appreciated. > > Shoot and kill the poor kid now for it’ll be better he’s dead than to grow up to be a raging asshole like you are. Still feel appreciating ? ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-dealing-with-teenagers-professed-religious-belief/556048/39 "2010-10-05T20:37:45Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > > [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > > > The point, again, is the absurd degree to which the SD is kind, considerate, and polite to religious types, like the OP in INHO. > > So, let me get this straight: a guy who, in that [other thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=580659), self-identifies as > [QUOTE=robby] > As for myself, my beliefs are somewhat muddled. If pressed, I would say that I do believe in God, or at least hope that there is a higher power and some point to life. I do not believe in the literal truth of the Bible. I might have some Deist beliefs, and have recently been attracted by what I’ve read of Unitarian Universalism. Perhaps I’m an atheist or agnostic, too, but just don’t want to admit this to myself. is described by you as, not only a “religious type,” but a “religious obnoxious, officious nutball.” And you’re upset that the SDMB isn’t showing sufficient hostility toward him. Really? [/QUOTE] Of course he’s a religious, obnoxious, officious nutball–in the passage you quote from he admits that “I do believe in God” and further admits that when he’s not thinking about his childish belief in some foolish sky pixie, he’s been avoiding “admitting to [him]self” that such thinking is absurd. But that’s just him, and I wouldn’t have bothered with him if he’d limited his OP to his own dumbass self—his OP is devoted to asking for help in meddling with the beliefs of another person, his son. My advice, given early and firmly in that thread, was STFU and MYOB, and I’m critical of those Dopers who offered enabling advice suggesting that he may indulge in actions not quite so extreme as those I’ve suggested. Unless he’s willing to accept his son as an autonomous thinker (by SingTFU and MingHOB), then what he’s asking for IS advice on how to compell his son to be religious and IS expressing extreme disapproval (“appalled” in my version) of his son’s autonomy. Who the fuck does he think he is in seeking to influence another person’s belief system? It never works, for one thing, and is morally disgusting for another, especially coming from a mixed-up muddlehead who seems to switch his own religious thinking every time a light switch goes off in his field of vision. People believe what they want to believe–so leave them to do their own thinking, and keep your own stupid thoughts to yourself. The only way to influence someone to think the way you’d like them to is to live a life that they’ll want to emulate, and if they ask, explain what your core principles are so they can emulate them better. Apart from that, you have zero influence on what people think. For those champing at the bit to accuse me of hypocrisy here, btw, let me point out that I have never tried to persuade anyone to embrace atheism–never did, never will. I couldn’t care less what you believe, though of course I may hold you in contempt if you belief in silly shit that most intelligent five-year-olds have questioned and most intelligent ten year olds have rejected on intellectual bases, and I may admire if you think for yourself. But there are enough freethinking sorts for me to associate with, so I have no need for more atheists at this time, and as explained, converting people’s thinking (towards rationality and understanding, certainly) is just about impossible. My advice to the OP in the other thread would be to consider the log in his own eye before condeming the speck in his son’s eye, but hey, that’s just me. ---
**Author:** ![The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-dealing-with-teenagers-professed-religious-belief/556048/40 "2010-10-06T00:52:08Z")
[QUOTE=pseudotriton ruber ruber] I have never tried to persuade anyone to embrace atheism–never did, never will. I couldn’t care less what you believe, though of course I may hold you in contempt if you belief in silly shit that most intelligent five-year-olds have questioned and most intelligent ten year olds have rejected on intellectual bases… [/QUOTE=pseudotriton ruber ruber] Ridiculing a opposing view this way _is_ an attempt to persuade, **prr** , and so is the clumsy parody essayed in the OP. So what the God, huh? You seen to have an expressible argument. Go where the dispute is and make it. What’s _this_ hypocritical crap for? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-dealing-with-teenagers-professed-religious-belief/556048.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-dealing-with-teenagers-professed-religious-belief/556048.md?page=3)