There are people who really believe in religion so strongly that they behave this way. My ex-step-brother is completely throwing his life away through drugs and stealing and many other illegal actions, but since he only lives with his mom occasionally she doesn't have enough influence to help him. His dad let's him do whatever he wants saying "the devil is trying to attack him, but it's all part of gods greater plan." It is extremely sad to watch.

his dad's a retard. look I'm not religious hell I'm far from religious but even i know humans can stray from God's "plan" these arguments are stupid and irrelevant

There's actually a whole religion based around shunning modern medicine in favour of "faith healing," they believe sickness is an illusion that can be solved with only prayer. They literally don't seek medical attention or treatment for anything, even things like cancer, because "god will heal them," they just have to pray and believe hard enough. And I think if they don't get healed, they believe either it's "God's will/plan," or they "didn't have enough faith/pray hard enough," or whatever. Really messed up and backwards, look up Christian Scientists, that's what they're called.

That's really interesting. Thanks for sharing.

There was a documentary on a radical church in the UK encouraging this type of thing - telling girls they shouldn't take their anti-retroviral med's because God would cure their HIV. And that when they saw their friends dying it was because their faith wasn't strong enough. Frankly I consider that to be manslaughter (I think that's second-degree murder in the US). It may not be your intention that they will die but it's an easily foreseeable consequence of your actions.

Oh right yeah because it's OP's fault that the parents are neglectful religious idiots.

Chances are, OP thought they could trust their parents to NOT be idiots blinded by a faith they evidentially picked up as part of their late-life crises. Because their parent raised them, and apparently didn't have this illogical idea when they did so.

it's called trusting your parents. you know, the people that raised YOU.

I was thinking the same thing