Why Parents Force Their Children To Go To Church

Church is a great place to take young children in order to keep them in line. Although there are some churches, where everything is allowed, in general, however, the Sunday schools and the youth groups do a pretty good job at keeping the young children and teenagers out of trouble. For this reason, church is a great place to take them.

However, there are many children and teens who do not want to go to church. Either they find it boring, they see the hypocrisy, or, they are embarrassed to be seen in church when it comes to their secular friends. For whatever reason, they have a very strong force behind them, which causes them to rebel against their parents.

Parents, however, believe that they have total control over their children, and therefore think that they have the power to make them do whatever they desire of their children.

Perhaps Deuteronomy 21:18 has something to do with it. The verse basically says that if a son is disobedient after he has been punished, that he is to be stoned. Christianity, however, no longer believes in stoning, nor in the Old Testament. And the New Testament does not give such a command. As a matter of fact, Jesus even said that He came to cause division in the home. (See Luke 12:53). But I do not believe that this was the type of division, although it might be.

In Acts 16:31 it states: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”

Perhaps this is the real reason why parents force their children to go to church. For if the verse is true, and the parents are believers, then all the children would want to go to church. (Provided that they are in Godly church, which is highly unlikely in this day and age.) But the children would be happy to become preachers and deacons, and youth leaders and youth pastors; they would sing in the choir, and play musical instruments, and so on.

But when the children are disobedient and do not want to attend church, it now (in light of Acts 16:31) becomes evident that the parents are not saved. So in order to make themselves look good, they now have to force their children to go to church. But the children see no point in going, and so they continue to rebel, regardless of the fights they have to put up against their parents.