hmm
i wonder what the ethical implications of this are.
my parents know i'm an atheist but still request that i go to church on major religious holidays. originally, i confronted them about this and they said something to the effect of "we want you to attend for family reasons, not religious ones." from the way they said it and subsequent observations, i gathered that part of this consists of their standing in the church. they don't want to be seen as the parents of an atheist child. it would seem that perhaps my lack of faith lowers their social standing somehow. as though they have failed in the eyes of their peers. this is not to say that they don't also hope that attending will "bring me around" or that on some level they truly do want have me there for family reasons (whatever those might be). but it occurs to me that this is an ethically muddy situation. not that its right or wrong per se. just very, very muddy.
also, how about i just realized that it's christmas eve. go me.
my parents know i'm an atheist but still request that i go to church on major religious holidays. originally, i confronted them about this and they said something to the effect of "we want you to attend for family reasons, not religious ones." from the way they said it and subsequent observations, i gathered that part of this consists of their standing in the church. they don't want to be seen as the parents of an atheist child. it would seem that perhaps my lack of faith lowers their social standing somehow. as though they have failed in the eyes of their peers. this is not to say that they don't also hope that attending will "bring me around" or that on some level they truly do want have me there for family reasons (whatever those might be). but it occurs to me that this is an ethically muddy situation. not that its right or wrong per se. just very, very muddy.
also, how about i just realized that it's christmas eve. go me.