A TikTok video of an unmarried young woman being forced to seek forgiveness from congregants for getting pregnant has sparked outrage on social media.
The clip shared by TikToker @lifenwithmeek featured the text overlay that read, "Virginia pastor make young lady apologize to the congregation for being pregnant," and showed the woman being handed a handheld mic.
The pastor then instructs her to not touch the communion table but to stand "right in front of the congregation" to make her statement.
She begins, "Um, I want to apologize to everybody in here. Because I am pregnant."
The woman takes a moment to maintain composure and wipes her eyes after stating her confession.
During the pause, a congregant is heard telling her, "It's alright it's alright."
She wipes away more tears and continues:
"I'm sorry y'all."
"And I just hope that y'all forgive me and hold prayer for me."
As she restores the mic to the stand, the congregants rise to their feet and applaud.
When everybody takes their seat, the minister preaches:
"They say, uh, I assume she repent. You never wait later to repent."
"If you sin, you don't wait no two, three...you don't wait 'til the baby come to repent. You repent now."
You can watch the clip, captioned with, "This pastor is running his church like a cult," here.
The video drew scrutiny from viewers, starting with a commenter who observed it as an example of why religion was getting an increasingly bad rep in the country.
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People empathized with the woman in the video.
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The pastor continued his sermon, saying:
"You don't wait 'til the baby come to repent. You repent NOW."
"You just don't do it again. But you got to repent I don't care how you look at it. Y'all already know what time it is."
"I told her. It's not what you think it is. But the church praying for you."
"We don't condone your sin, now," the church leader stated. "We ain't gonna do that."
He also asserted that when "you have a baby out of wedlock, ain't no baby showers, and nobody at this church better attend one."
The pastor also advised the woman's mother not to plan a baby shower, because the consequence of the woman's "sin" was that "you lose all the prize and glory."
@lifenwithmeek/TikTok
@lifenwithmeek/TikTok
Church attendance has declined primarily due to an increasing number of people who choose not to be affiliated with organized religion.
A common factor includes a massive cultural shift with younger generations citing a lack of personal and cultural connection to traditional practices and values of religious institutions.
Numerous scandals tied to the church have also called into question the legitimacy of the church, leading to much disinterest and disengagement.
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