<p>My parents are extremely religious. They emphasize their religion and activities related to it hugely, and I frequently find myself spending upwards of 8 hours in church-related activities every week. If I miss any of these activities, they call me sinful and take away my electronics.</p>
<p>The largest issue I’m having is that of the early morning church classes they expect me to attend every day. These classes last 45 minutes and conclude a full hour and 15 minutes before school starts (effectively setting back each of my school days by 2 hours and robbing me of precious sleep). Furthermore, I have little faith in the religion, so I feel like I’m squandering time that could be better spent on getting a good rest. Last week was the end of the quarter, so I had a multitude of projects and assignments due. These projects kept me up well past 3 AM a few nights, and I just couldn’t bring myself to wake up at 5:30 AM on three of the days. Accordingly, my mother promptly took away my laptop (which I purchased from working over the summer) for an entire week. This is just one example of the stringent measures put in place by my parents regarding religious involvement.</p>
<p>I would understand if my parents were restricting my access to electronics in response to some drop in performance at school or behavior. However, I currently have straight A+'s and work very hard on a consistent basis. I feel as if I’m being totally cheated and unappreciated, as they frequently remark that “Academics mean nothing in the eternal scheme of things.” They essentially devalue everything I work for and accomplish, which really doesn’t help after a long night of arduous assignments.</p>
<p>What should I do? I no longer wish to attend this early-morning class (which I have expressed to them) and feel that it is simply a waste of time. I envy my friends who are able to sleep until 7:30-8:30 AM every day. However, my parents threaten such harsh punishments that I can’t just refuse to attend. I recently told my father that I never want to go to the class again. In response, he argued that I’d also never want to live without electronics and friends for the rest of my high school career. It’s just awful! </p>
<p>Does anyone have a suggestion for me regarding what I should do/say? Keep in mind, I’ve already expressed most of the above opinions (except for the lack of faith), but my parents insist that none of my complaints matter because their religion is far more important than anything I could be concerned about. I just wish I could truly have the freedom of religion and choose not to practice what they believe in.</p>
<p>Tough call but I guess my best bet would be for you to follow parents. It does no good to argue with them b/c they have a degree of power over you and they have strong opinions.</p>
<p>once you get to college, though, they’ll back off, right?
i mean, i don’t advocate getting bullied by anyone, but they are your parents and they probably just want the best for you. if you can, you should try to wait it out. maybe they’ll come around to your point of view</p>
<p>@CSIHSIS: They would pressure me even more so to attend, because they’d want me to boost my “spirituality” or whatever. </p>
<p>@vitamin: They’ll definitely not be able to control me once I get to college. But in the meantime, I’m supposed to submit to them, lose hours of sleep every night, and attend a class that I don’t believe in?</p>
<p>I like floridadad55’s suggestions. Perhaps there are some retreats and extra service projects during weekends and school breaks that can help make up for not going to morning classes? Or can you go to the classes in the morning maybe 3 times a week instead?</p>
<p>While I side with you, StudiousMaximus, I have a couple of questions. How are you approaching your parents about this issue? Are you clearly delineating your high school goals - all As and a sufficient amount of sleep each night - to your parents? Are you addressing your parents respectfully? I’m sure you are doing all the above, but it is always good to be actively conscious about how we should approach parents with tricky issues. </p>
<p>I also agree with floridadad55. If you have been reasonably conveying your wishes to your parents, then it’s time to find a third-party mediator, such as the leader of your religious activities. He, or she, will help you and your parents reach an acceptable compromise.</p>
<p>That sounds kind of interesting. if you get someone religious to stick up for you, or someone they respect, then your parents might be more open to listening to that person. </p>
<p>This is really making you unhappy, so why don’t you tell them that. Try to get them to sympathize with your situation. Don’t say * they * are making your life difficult, say the classes are. If they feel like you are blaming them it will be hard for them to be sympathetic. </p>
<p>How do they take away your electronics? do you have a laptop? what if you held on to something - would they take it from you forcibly? do your parents get angry? how well can you reason with them? what do they think about science?</p>
<p>Is there any way you could not go to the class but still save your electronics from their clasp?</p>
<p>I second the idea of trying to find a different class to attend. Is there something on the weekend, or during the summer that might be a suitable replacement? </p>
<p>I understand how unmovable parents can be sometimes. It can be horrible. I’m sure you’ve presented your case respectfully, but even then. Do you use your laptop for school? Could you say you need it for that? It really is yours, not theirs. What are their plans/goals for you in the future? Maybe you could explain why its so important, for all of you, that you do well in school. The amount of sleep you’re getting is atrocious. Also, could you get work done in the break between the religious class and school?</p>