Young People Ask . . .

Why Should I Accept My Parents’ Religion?

“IT WAS punched in me when I was younger, and I didn’t like the attitude of the people.” “I outgrew it.” Those were the answers two ex-Catholics gave to Gallup pollsters who asked them why they had quit their church. Their view of things reflects the attitude of many young people today who do not feel morally obliged to adopt the religion of their parents.

Yet this does not mean that young people are necessarily irreligious. In Germany, youngsters are reportedly returning to “conservative values,” including religion. An in-depth study of religious belief in the United States revealed that “young people in America are vitally concerned about their religious faith. Some of this concern translates into sharp, persistent criticism of the institutional church.”​—The Search for America’s Faith, by G. Gallup, Jr., and D. Poling.

Valid Reasons for Not Doing So

Yet, in all fairness, it must be stated that some people have valid reasons for not following their parents’ religion. In the above-quoted Gallup poll on why Catholics have drifted away from their church, “one man complained about ‘being condemned to hell for minor infractions of the rules.’ Another objected to too much ceremony, others too little Bible.”​—The Record, October 27, 1985.

Authors Gallup and Poling state: “Teenagers reveal an abiding interest in spiritual questions. . . . At the same time, this group indicates distance from organized religion. . . . Clearly the deep spiritual hunger of young people is not being met by the established church.” By “established church,” they meant any of what they call the “main-line churches”​—Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, or Jewish.

They quote one young Methodist as saying: “Churches should try to reach those who don’t come into their buildings, and help those who don’t believe.” A high percentage of a group of youngsters who were surveyed “indicated that they would consider donating some of their time to church activities on a regular basis if they were asked.” Apparently they are not being asked to do so.

How to Decide

If many young people are interested in spiritual questions and yet their spiritual hunger is not being met by the “established church” of their parents, where are they to turn? On what basis can a young person decide whether to choose his parents’ religion or not?

Interestingly, one of the reasons given by some Catholics for not continuing in their parents’ religion was “too little Bible.” The Bible has been defined as “the sacred book of Christianity.” Yes, the Bible is the standard by which to evaluate any religion that claims to be Christian. In fact, it has been said that no philosophy can compare with the “eternal truths” found in the Bible. So, whatever your parents’ religion may be, you would do well to compare its teachings with the Bible.

“Being condemned to hell” was one objection mentioned earlier. Since after-death punishment of some sort is taught by most Western and Eastern religions, the chances are that your parents’ religion teaches that the wicked go to hell. True, many clergymen today try to cool hell down by claiming that the damned are not physically tormented, only morally tormented by being ‘deprived of the vision of God.’ But as a youngster, are you not just as shocked by the idea of a person’s being forever tormented morally as by the thought of everlasting physical suffering?

The Bible teaches that the human soul can die, that hope for life after death rests on God’s power to resurrect the dead, and that the punishment for willful wickedness is death, not eternal torment. (See Ezekiel 18:4; Acts 24:15; Romans 6:23.)a Does this not satisfy your sense of justice more than the God-dishonoring doctrine of hellfire? These are a few of the “eternal truths” of the Bible taught by Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Witness Youths Must Also Decide

What, now, about adolescents who have been raised by parents who are Jehovah’s Witnesses? Are we saying that they are not faced with the question, “Why should I accept my parents’ religion?” By no means. There comes a time in their life when they must decide for themselves whether they personally are going to dedicate their lives to Jehovah God or not.

Like other youths, they ask themselves, ‘How can I be sure that my parents’ religion is the true religion?’ And like the others, they must convince themselves that its teachings are in line with the Bible.

Ruth, who was brought up in Germany, admits that as a youth she knew what was expected of her and gave the “right” answers. For example, when asked, “What do you put first in your life?” she replied, “God’s Kingdom.” She adds, however: “I knew this to be the proper answer, but afterward I asked myself, ‘Is it true?’” She was honest enough to admit that at that point in her life her schooling was more important to her than God’s Kingdom.

Later Ruth asked herself: “With so many different ideologies, how do I know for sure that what I received from infancy is the truth?” The following three scriptures helped her: Matthew 7:15-20 (“By their fruits you will recognize them”), John 13:35 (“By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love among yourselves”), and Matthew 24:14 (“This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness”). She saw that other religions had not produced good fruitage. She observed among Jehovah’s Witnesses “an international, united brotherhood active in preaching the good news of God’s Kingdom unselfishly.” She chose to remain in the religion in which her mother had raised her.

Dorcas was likewise raised by Witness parents, in France. She now recognizes that too little study of Bible publications and too much study of philosophy at school allowed doubts to sprout in her young mind. Still, she tried to imagine what her life would be without the Bible truth her parents had taught her. She found only emptiness. So she got down to a serious study of Bible prophecies, with appropriate study aids. She states: “After finally convincing myself that I had the truth, I got baptized.” Dorcas decided to continue in her parents’ religion.

Unlike the young Methodist who complained that the churches are not trying “to reach those who don’t come into their buildings, and help those who don’t believe,” Ruth and Dorcas are happy to share with other Jehovah’s Witnesses in doing just that. All Witnesses, young and old, are invited to devote “some of their time” to preaching activities. More and more young Witnesses are becoming full-time ministers of the good news that God’s Kingdom will shortly restore Paradise to our earth.​—Matthew 6:10.

The Choice Is Yours

Apparently more and more youngsters are realizing that life without a spiritual ideal to pursue is no life at all. Yet, as we have seen, “the deep spiritual hunger” of many young people “is not being met by the established church.”

If you are faced with the question, “Why should I accept my parents’ religion?” why not compare their beliefs with the “eternal truths” found in the Bible? Write to the publishers of this magazine, or contact any of Jehovah’s Witnesses you know​—perhaps at your school or place of work—​and ask for Bible study aids that will enable you to make this check. Then draw your own conclusions as to whether you should follow your parents’ religion or not. The choice is yours!

[Footnotes]

[Blurb on page 13]

“Teenagers reveal an abiding interest in spiritual questions”

[Picture on page 14]

Young people should check to see if their parents have taught them Bible truth