HW 10/05

For my research I want to write about the hardships of being forced into a religion that a child doesn’t necessarily relate to therefore enduring religious trauma. I can definitely relate to this and I can personally say that it had caused a huge gap between my parents and me. Once I was old enough to sit in the service on Sunday mornings I often found myself disagreeing with most of the things being said and thinking to myself that I was a horrible person for defying “God’s will.” The teachings never truly aligned with my personal beliefs and I would think to myself how disconnected I was from the church I grew up in. Often being told by the preachers to get into the “presence of God” but I never quite did, I didn’t know how, and therefore it led to me not wanting to go anymore. In my research, I want to truly dig into the religious trauma that can often lead to the breaking off of families and the irony of religion and how it’s supposed to unite families through faith.  Although I want to write about this I’m not so sure how to go about it and what specifically to focus on (what my research question may entail) because it’s such a controversial and diverse topic to talk about. There are many religions that can probably prove me wrong and defy how religions break apart families, I’m sure that for some it can actually be the one thing that does bring families together instead of breaking them apart. I’m still not sure where I stand when it comes to religion personally but I can say that leaving that environment has impacted the relationships I have with my parents now, it feels like taking a break from that part of our lives made us bond more than ever before and encouraged us to actually talk for once without the fear of being punished for it.