@Hephaestos:

ok sorry, i didn't know catholics drank wine from a spoon, here (france, so not that far from rome) we only take a little piece of special bread when we do communion, we don't also try to get 100 diseases by licking the same spoon (no offence meant, i just think it's an incredibly dumb health hazard ^^)

People over here aren't Catholics, they're Eastern Orthodox. Catholics don't drink wine during communion, only the priest does. And the ideea is that the wine is the blood of Jesus, so it "purifies" the spoon.

and yeah if your parents are not just practicing closely religion but also somewhat extreemist (saying protestants are cults is extreem, sorry if it's blunt), then I don't think i can really gasp your situation.

This is probably due to the lack of religious diversity here in Romania. The fact that relgion teachers would tell us how terribly wrong Catholics and Protestants are during religious class certainly doesn't help.

Your only way might really just be to say: "Mom, Dad, I love you guys and you know I really do, but I just can't follow your faith, this is not something I believe in anymore". I see no other way than the blank truth for you.

Well, continueing with my charade can still be an option.

Oh and it'd do that 1 hour before leaving back for university.... otherwise i'd be afraid to sleep ^^...

I live with my parents, not at the dorms. The University is in my hometown (which is the biggest city in Romania BTW).

My parents are godless Scandinavians, i was lucky haha.

My parents are godless Scandinavians, i was lucky haha.

dude! i thought you were from US, not romania, then my remarks are probably ill placed.

solution -> get a part time job and your own appartement.

LOL, how exactly could I pay for an appartment with a part time job? I'd need a ful time job, and in that case I could kiss Uni goodbye. Anywas, due to some circumstances that I will not mention, I cannot move out.

well in Paris we have these tiny appartements student use (just a  tiny room really, it used to be the housing for service people in the 18th 19th century). you can get off with 400 € a month and part time job is like 600€ at minimum wage. A lot of students work in Paris.

last option... act as if you're crazy and think you're now a donkey, that'll keep you off mass (though not the hospital).

So last year I made a thread about my wanting to come out to my parents... as an atheist. After reading hundreds of posts so carefully written by the very supportive vgchartz community, I decided to wait till I move out and I'm on my own before I tell them. In the meantime I've been able to live a peaceful existence without having to pretend too much to be a Christian (prentend to pray every night before I go to sleep, making the sign of the cross before I leave for Uni, if my parents are watching me etc.).

But alas, all good things come to an end. Easter is near (it's actually this Sunday), the Easter bunny is getting ready to spread joy and chocolate eggs to all, and my parents have had the great ideea that since it's been a long time since I went to confession and gotten communion (it's probably been 3-4 years), I should practice absitence for at elast a week (from food, though it also means abstitence from sex, not that that's an issue for me right now ), go to confession next week and get communion. Now, since the persona I have in front of them is that of a good Christian son, I couldn't find any logical reason why I'd disagree with this plan.

My problem: while the rituals of confession and communion mean nothign to me, I jsut find it unethical to take part in them now that I'm an atheist and don't believe in them anymore. It would jsut be very low of me to keep this act up. On the other hand I'm not ready to tell my parents that I'm no longer a Christian. Comign out as gay would probably be easier for them to handle than that, and I don't want to be around to face the aftemath of coming clean to them (which is sadly not an option, as I still live with them).

My carefulyl constructed web of lies seems to be breaking. I was thinking of just telling the priest I'm an atheist when I go to confession, but the problem is that I don't know what to tell my parents. You can't get communion if you comited a very serious sin, but my parents would get curious, especially 'cause they won't be able to imagine me doing something so terrible that I can't get communion, which will mean that I'll have to come up with even more lies.

Another option would be to find soem way to avoid going to church alltogether, like breaking my leg or something.

Oh benevolent vgchartz community, lend me some of your wisdom and help me get out of this mess. Should I come clean, or continue lying? What would you do if you were in my situation?

All help is appreciated.

Funny how you called me a coward yesterday for not wanting to express my beleifs to the people...