"Leading a prayer in many christian circles is akin to being made a temporary priest of a coven. It's direct contact with a god you likely don't worship or like. My family often has me do such functions and I hate it every time. That being said, I doubt telling them would make them stop."
As to this part of your response , here's my thoughts on it. On some level, this can be true I agree but if it was treated as merely words with no energy,feeling and faith behind it,nothing is likely to happen and contact is unlikely to be made.
Here is a more real life example. Go up to someone and swear at him or her in a language that they do not understand while saying it gently and calmly with a smile on your face. While the words have some meaning to you and some underlying "energy" that is poured into it through millions that speak the language,the individual that you swore to would likely be unaffected.
My point being is that while words itself can have it's own underlying power and significance , it usually has little effect on it's own.
If it really bothers you that much , you can try shielding maybe so that the energy raised during it does not go anywhere?
I am personally what one can dub a "Liberal Polytheist" , in which that I acknowledge and believe that dieties exists throughout the various pantheons. While the christian diety has performed some disagreeable actions in the written documents that people have supposedly compiled , isn't that diety very big on Love and Acceptance? What is wrong with just being respectful? This question is not meant as an attack but just rather an open question. I know many other Polytheists that acknowledge dieties regardless of Pantheons but when it comes to the Christian one , balk at it.
Generally , main dieties in various pantheons have done many many disagreeable actions. The Olympians tend to sleep around and leave humans heartbroken. Zeus did not wish to give humans fire. In some accounts, Isis poisened Ra and hence found out his secret name etc. The list goes on and on and on.
@SeaGhost
It seems I have upset you with my previous posting. For that , I apologize. It was not meant to criticize anyone of their decision on coming out but rather an attempt to understand why would one even want to do so. It was also not an attempt to tell you what to do.
When I described the situation in my previous posting , it was regarding the situation where they have no inkling of your practice. If they have no inkling of your practice , why would they condemn you? Have they condemned you yet? Do they have an inkling of your practice yet? Well, you said that you were in "The Closet" in your previous posting so I assumed not.
And if you forsee a negative reaction , you can always not say anything. One of the powers of the Magus is "To be Silent". I think it can apply.
If they already have some idea and inkling of your practice and are already expressing their disapproval in a obvious faishon , then I sincerely wish you the best of luck in clearing up your situation.
I use loads of protection during the daily family devotions. And I cleanse myself and pray to my Gods afterwards. I used to be a devout Christian rather than an Omnitheist so the Christian God really likes using family devotions to pressure me back into the fold, so to speak. If my parents were made to read, recite, and pray to other, and much nicer, Gods they would whine the whole time. They say that other faiths being more welcomed is a threat to their religious freedom. In and of themselves words don't always have power, but the Christian God is very jealous and possessive, especially of those that do not belong to him. As a benefit of recovering from a surgery I at least am not dragged to church. This is the effect it has on me. I am glad it is not a problem for you because it is annoying at best. Not everyone gets affected the same way by everything. I posted mainly to offer solidarity to others who are caused problems by it. I am glad you have a good friendship with some Christians, and I do too. I think a lot of it also has to o with how staunch the Christians involved are.
Sometimes just not telling your family is not an option. Some families are very possisive and protective (will look through your history, open your mail, see who you've been talking to on your phone). And let me tell you, not being able to tell people about who you really are is soul crushing. Not being able to tell the people who you love about what you believe absolutely sucks.
I am personally in the broom closet to my family, and it is weighing on me so much. On top of all the stressors in my life, I also have to worry about being someone I'm not around my family. And that sucks because at the same time, I'm terrified to tell them.
You may not feel like you need to tell anyone, and that's understandable. I didn't feel like I would ever need to tell my family about this, but that is rapidly changing. I hate being two-faced around people I love; it makes me feel sick.
So, as advice to anyone wanting to come out about being a witch to their family: Know who you are. Know what you're talking about. Stand your ground. And be respectful. It's going to be scary, it's going to be hard, but you can only hope for the best and prepare for the worst.
