DEAR ABBY: I'm 15 and my mother makes me go to church every Sunday. I don't like going. I believe in God, but I feel awkward when people ask me about it. My mother makes everything bad until she gets her way. I have tried talking to her about it, but she doesn't listen to me. I don't know what to do. -- DILEMMA IN TEXAS
DEAR DILEMMA: Your mother isn't listening to you because she is convinced that she is doing the right thing for you. Not knowing how fervent she is about her church and her religion, it's hard to predict how she would react if you tried to turn this into less of a power struggle and more of an adult conversation.
As it stands, you are a minor, and as long as you live under her roof, she makes the rules. When you are 18 and can live on your own, the decision of whether you want to continue going to church every Sunday will be yours. This may seem hard, but if your mother is unwilling to talk this through with you, you will have to be patient.