It's Sunday, at I-Shouldn't-Be-Up-Right-Now o'clock, and I have a dilemma. I've for a while been a freshly deconverted atheist, which is super awesome in my opinion except for one issue: my parents are Southern Baptists. They know I'm gay, aren't too "comfortable" with it, but are tolerant--with exceptions. However, their faith--which they believe I share--is even more important to them than wanting the world to be hetero; I fear whatever their reaction to my newfound atheism may be. I've grow up as one of the most theologically-inclined people I know, with what others would have described as a great amount of faith; My parents might become overwhelmingly shocked at my religious revelation and I wish to not see that. So surely the eucharist is coming around, almost undoubtedly assured upon easter. Should I lie--should I indulge the flesh and blood--and upkeep the illusion of my faith, or else should I hold true to my conviction of authenticity and deny that which I no longer need?
It's a tough call for sure. To be honest I'd say be true to yourself and don't do it. You'll just have to deal with your parents wondering about it, asking questions, but you won't have to feel guilty for not standing up for your own beliefs and convictions....
Or tell them you have had impure thoughts recently, haven't had time for confession and therefore aren't in a state of grace that allows you to receive said eucharist. At least that's the way I think it used to work, has been a while...
I'm not sure how it is for Baptists but as a former Catholic, you don't necessarily HAVE to be in a state of grace to receive the Eucharist. At least I never thought so....
Word of warning: conflicting religious views can be a huge pain, and cause a lot of pain for all concerned. I remember all too well my mother in her 40s and 50s dealing with issues coming out of the fact that she was no longer the good Presbyterian that her mother was... Perhaps you can find some middle ground somewhere. The most daring middle ground might be the fact you are gay. I assume the church is not LGBT friendly (it's Baptist, after all), and so you could simply say you don't feel it's right that you, a group they don't like, should participate in communion. That neatly sidesteps the atheist issue, although it may still set off fireworks... Or you might go through with it, and just tell yourself Easter is once a year. I personally am not wild about communion, but...it does matter to some people, and it's over in about five minutes. (I timed it. Other churches may vary, of course.)
I'm agnostic and my parents know that, but I participate in the celebrations of Easter etc for the sake of tradition. It's not too bad, after all. Maybe you can do the same.
For me, it depends how YOU view the taking of the Eucharist. As an athiest, you may accept the person of Jesus, but not the divinity of Jesus. You may believe that Jesus was indeed a good man, but not the incarnation of God. I don't know. If you can reconcile your mind to that way of thinking, it may be possible for you to receive bread/wine (in remembrance of Jesus sharing supper with his friends), rather than taking the body and blood (as a memorial of your redemption). If you reject the person of Jesus, then I think you will need to remain seated.
I'm a former southern Baptist myself, later converted to Catholic. From what I recall, at our church was either on holy Thursday or easter the tray of tiny cups of grape juice would be passed along with the bread. The assumption was that we have a personal relationship with Jesus and have already asked forgiveness for sin. And it was never called communion, it was remembering the Lord's supper. So to the question of taking part, I sense the deeper issue you are facing is that your family would likely ascribe you atheism to being a further indication that your being gay is sin taking hold of your life and now you have turned your back on God. It's complete b.s. but probably what they would think even if they wouldn't say it to your face. Imagine that, religious types not having the decency to be honest about what they say behind your back. I've always felt the most hypocritical collection of people can be found at any church on Sunday morning. So let me put the question to you this way... do you measure your self worth through the acceptance of others, or by your own personal integrity?
