In recent times, there have been a numerous amount of teenage suicides which have been pinned on the result of religious intolerance. Many of the GBLT youth who become suicidal in their thoughts are members of churches, or have a family which is heavily aligned with one. My comments about these tragedies have pinned responsibility on both the teenagers and the church, as well as their families. Whilst suicide is no one's actual doing but the one who commits it, the psychological triggers which cause suicidal thoughts can be targeted to chemical, biological, and emotional causes. We see suicide occurring in other high stress situations: Prisons, after the loss of a love one, and when children are repetitively rejected from their peers as to feel isolated.
One of the prime factors I have been able to identify by studying suicide and absorbing the information available upon it is that suicide is largely the result of an individual becoming isolated from their regular peer support group; whether that be their family, their friends, their co-workers, significant others, or church related affiliations. Once a person feels completely isolated, like they have no one to discuss matters with or anyone to support them with a particular emotional issue that is troubling them, the suicide-risk rate skyrockets.
We can see, then, how in the case of a homosexual teen in the midst of religious family might easily be consider a 'high-risk' individual. They may have the support of their family and church until their sexuality is discovered; they will either be shunned or efforts will be made to coax them out of their self-identity to become 'straight'. While at first, it may occur to work, the youth eventually feels more and more isolated from their peers. Either they can continue to live as straight individuals continuously suppressing internal desires, or they can admit that the treatment isn't working and risk becoming even further alienated from their family, church related affiliations, and peers.
This is not only the case with homosexual teens, though in their case the results may be more extreme. In any minority group within a church that is opposed, suicidal risk will skyrocket.
The reason why we cannot allow any church to embody and teach hateful and discriminatory jargon such as anti-homosexual ones it not to suppress freedom of speech or religion, but to prevent child endangerment. I entirely belief that a family which subjects young children and teenagers with underdeveloped minds to beliefs which oppose and objectify their inner self are putting their child in a dangerous situation which should be considered against the law.
Unfortunately in our country, our laws do no protect children in religious situations which may endanger them. Being told to change your sexual orientation or you are inferior or 'broken' by family members as well as people from church is not considered emotional psychological harassment to a child- nor any of the other abusive, dangerous thoughts that religion indoctrinates into children. I believe that in order for any church to truly teach whatever they believe and also retain the ability to say 'Well if you don't like what we believe them don't believe it, leave the church', we mustn't be allowed to teach children religion. We must not be able to mention beliefs that could put them towards a suicidal rampage; the same can be said for political beliefs and so on.
We must trust the children of the future to educate themselves when the age is appropriate- and we must assist them only when they are of at that age. Children and teenagers have very fragile emotional and psychological components that can easily be manipulated and damaged by the cunning adult, and we must take cautionary to acknowledge and protect them.
One of the prime factors I have been able to identify by studying suicide and absorbing the information available upon it is that suicide is largely the result of an individual becoming isolated from their regular peer support group; whether that be their family, their friends, their co-workers, significant others, or church related affiliations. Once a person feels completely isolated, like they have no one to discuss matters with or anyone to support them with a particular emotional issue that is troubling them, the suicide-risk rate skyrockets.
We can see, then, how in the case of a homosexual teen in the midst of religious family might easily be consider a 'high-risk' individual. They may have the support of their family and church until their sexuality is discovered; they will either be shunned or efforts will be made to coax them out of their self-identity to become 'straight'. While at first, it may occur to work, the youth eventually feels more and more isolated from their peers. Either they can continue to live as straight individuals continuously suppressing internal desires, or they can admit that the treatment isn't working and risk becoming even further alienated from their family, church related affiliations, and peers.
This is not only the case with homosexual teens, though in their case the results may be more extreme. In any minority group within a church that is opposed, suicidal risk will skyrocket.
The reason why we cannot allow any church to embody and teach hateful and discriminatory jargon such as anti-homosexual ones it not to suppress freedom of speech or religion, but to prevent child endangerment. I entirely belief that a family which subjects young children and teenagers with underdeveloped minds to beliefs which oppose and objectify their inner self are putting their child in a dangerous situation which should be considered against the law.
Unfortunately in our country, our laws do no protect children in religious situations which may endanger them. Being told to change your sexual orientation or you are inferior or 'broken' by family members as well as people from church is not considered emotional psychological harassment to a child- nor any of the other abusive, dangerous thoughts that religion indoctrinates into children. I believe that in order for any church to truly teach whatever they believe and also retain the ability to say 'Well if you don't like what we believe them don't believe it, leave the church', we mustn't be allowed to teach children religion. We must not be able to mention beliefs that could put them towards a suicidal rampage; the same can be said for political beliefs and so on.
We must trust the children of the future to educate themselves when the age is appropriate- and we must assist them only when they are of at that age. Children and teenagers have very fragile emotional and psychological components that can easily be manipulated and damaged by the cunning adult, and we must take cautionary to acknowledge and protect them.