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Q&A: A Child Who Has Left Religion

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A Child Who Has Left Religion

Question

Hello, 
Sorry for the personal question, and I will completely understand if you don't answer.
I have a daughter who has left religion, and it's hard for me to accept it. I'm going through a pretty difficult time because of it. It's hard for me to work out a way to cope and how to relate to her. 
Do you also have a child who has left religion? If so, how do you relate to it? Is it hard for you? Does it pain you? What's your relationship like with that child? Did you try to convince them to come back? How did you cope? What went through your mind when it happened?
 
 

Answer

I actually have two. I don't agree with them, and I'm sorry they chose wrongly, but I completely respect their choice and accept them as they are. Usually, pressuring a child to come back leads to an even worse result both in terms of becoming more distant from religion and in terms of personal estrangement, so I don't recommend it except in very unusual cases where you actually have a chance. Usually, after the decision stage, it's already hopeless, and it's not right to keep going with it. By the way, in my assessment, in most cases this pressure is applied more for your own sake and less for the child's sake, and in quite a few cases to compensate for your own feeling of failure and for how you are perceived by your surroundings.
As a rule, if the child chose a different path, in my eyes that is a kind of success, as opposed to a child who remains on what I see as the right path out of inertia because it's their comfort zone. If they just drifted there and it wasn't a deliberate decision, then that really isn't a success, but you can't always know whether it's this or that; in most cases it's a combination.
If you're worried about the World to Come and her eternal fate, in my opinion we can trust that the Holy One, blessed be He, does not make unreasonable demands of His creatures. If a person is not wicked and isn't doing this casually, but truly thinks this way, or at least it seems reasonable to them, then they are under compulsion and are not punished, and certainly they are not lost and will have repair in one way or another.
As for your public image, that's a common consideration, but it's really not legitimate. The child is not supposed to act in order to protect your image, and you are not responsible for their decisions. If you accept things and respect them, and don't try to hide it or evade your surroundings, because every person makes their own decisions and you are not responsible for them, you will feel more whole and less pressured, and you'll be able to act more properly.
To sum up, I very strongly recommend, both tactically and substantively, respecting your child in whatever path they choose. They are a different person, and they are the one who has to make decisions about their own path. It's hard to get used to it, and of course you don't agree with their path, but that is the situation. Good luck.

Discussion on Answer

Michi (2020-02-25)

If you want, you're welcome to talk with me on the phone or meet up. It's very important to resolve this situation and not go on living like this. And under no circumstances should you give up on the relationship between you. 052-3320543

Sinai Ve'oker (2020-02-25)

I don't know if it's okay to ask, but what is their point of disagreement with you?
After all, they were presumably exposed to the arguments of the trilogy in full, and even more than that.
Do they disagree with one of your lines of argument? Do they prefer a different value system over the religious one? Do they admit the case against themselves but choose a different path because of pressure (psychological/social/moral/other)?

Of course, it's not certain that even you know…

Again, I apologize for the somewhat out-of-place question. If necessary, ignore it or delete it.

Michi (2020-02-25)

They know the arguments only partially. I don't know exactly what their reasons are. In the end, quite a lot is left to a person's own judgment. The arguments don't bring you all the way; only together with an overall assessment, of the reliability of the tradition and the premises of the arguments.

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