How to tell my Mom I don't believe in her religion?

You need to find a way to talk to her that won’t lead straight into a row. That will be the biggest issue, I think - she will want to know the truth but may react very badly when she first hears it from you. Once she’s had a chance to calm down, so long as the issue hasn’t escalated into a huge argument, I think she’ll be able to talk to you about it calmly. So it’s the first approach that matters here…

Be prepared to speak to her briefly but very non-emotionally. You need to be very mature about this and not blame her for anything. That way, she’ll listen to what you’re really saying instead of getting emotional about the way you feel. Maybe you just need to begin with:’ I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the way I feel about church has changed. Can we talk about how I feel some time, please?’

If you leave it at that, maybe she’ll be able to prepare herself for a mature conversation about it later. Try not to prolong the first conversation - really you’re just ‘flagging up’ that you want her to prepare for a longer conversation later.

I’m writing this to you as a Christian mum, by the way. But I really, really want my sons to grow up knowing that the truth is more important to me than any false expectaions I have of them. We love our children for who they are, not for who they pretend to be for our sake. So I totally agree that you need to be honest with her about this.

Very good luck…