u/MuesliButCooler

(Censored by AI, because I honestly wouldn't be surprised if a family member or someone from the congregation found this post and I ended up getting ostracized or punished for it.)

I'm 17 years old and I live in [COUNTRY REDACTED]. I was raised in [CHURCH NAME REDACTED], which, as far as I know, is one of the largest churches in my country.

I wouldn't have a problem with it if it were just a normal church community. The problem is that, in my experience, it isn't. It feels like a full-blown cult built on fear, social pressure, and constant indoctrination. Even my school is connected to this church. What bothers me the most is that they don't just preach about God—they practically idolize certain people within the church itself. It genuinely goes against my conscience. Imagine having a lesson about a biblical topic in school and, instead of quoting the Bible, the teachers quote people from the church organization.

My parents divorced about a year ago, and I believe this church played a major role in that. My mother had been part of this church since childhood, and her parents were even pastors within it. Eventually, she had enough and decided to leave. But in this church, they teach that if you leave the church, you're leaving God Himself. Since my father is deeply involved in the church, this led to constant arguments and fighting between them.

I still remember listening to my parents argue. My mother would simply suggest that maybe we should visit other churches as well, and my father would respond by opening the Bible and explaining how leaving would lead to hell and eternal damnation.

Another thing that really disturbs me is how they treat criticism. Whenever someone speaks out against the church or says something negative about it, they are either ostracized or rumors are spread about them. I find that absolutely disgusting.

The problem is that I grew up here. My grandparents, my school, and almost all of my friends are connected to this church. However, some of my friends have also started realizing that something isn't right. My best friend, whom I've known for 11 years, was actually the first person who started questioning everything. He's already emotionally and socially distanced himself from the community, aside from school. We both still attend the church-affiliated school because we have one more year until graduation.

I want to leave this church, or at least distance myself from it, but I don't want to lose my relationship with God. If possible, I'd like to find another church community that isn't [CHURCH NAME REDACTED] and doesn't operate like this. The problem is that every church I've visited so far either reminded me of this one or felt exactly the same.

Has anyone else gone through something similar? How do you leave a community that has been your entire world while still keeping your faith?

Spotify put this weird ass lyrcs for the Live in Paris intro

Main menu for my game

Main menu for my game TIER

How do I leave the megachurch/cult I grew up in when my entire life and family are tied to it?

Robot Dies a horrible death

At what point is ai unacceptable?