One of the most complex characters in the series was definitely Lori, and i think after a sudden idea popped up in my head she would've definitely be religious. Of course not by choice, religion was definitely passed down in their family hence why it would've been a large factor on Nialls internalized homophobia—and Lori's emotional neglect.
That somehow there was always someone more important than her son, and it would've made sense if it was someone who she always relied on other than Maura.
This storyline would've also played a huge part on Niall and Lori's relationship towards one another, how Lori was willing to provide Niall money she didn't have and yet still didn't provide Niall with the emotional support one's mother would've definitely had given.
I think this could also parallel with Lori choosing her beliefs everytime over Niall, which definitely made younger Niall alot more reliant on God as a way to be closer to his mother. While older Niall would slowly decline from faith, and start doing "sins" as he got older which just gave him more self shame over himself.
Though Lori gave him love and care, it was in her own way and by that a prime example would be holding Nialls hand during prayer before eating, gifting him a bible on a random sunday, praying for his health when he would get a heavily bad fever and accepting him of being homosexual despite her own wretched mind thinking that she must've tainted her son with her own musk after getting with Maura.
Speaking of Maura, after they do get together I definitely would've pictured Lori in her room praying on her knees at the cast of midnight—praying that God would let her have this one thing while simultaneously apologizing over and over in hushed mutters. Niall would hear it from the room next to hers and pray himself whilst laying down that God forgives her, while he himself stares at his Indiana Jones poster with a stomach churning feeling he can't name.
But again Lori was definitely caring or loving at least in her own way, and of course it still revolved around her beliefs because she doesn't know how to be a mother. Her grief after Nialls father passed definitely took a toll, and ever since then she forgot that Niall was definitely just a child and she never really learned how to be a mother to that child who held his fathers features. Not to mention we've never heard of any friends she had, aunts Niall had or uncles—it was always just them thats probably why they both somehow managed to create this weird relationship that you could barely call a mother and son.
This family is so fucking dysfunctional I just made it more dysfunctional i dont know, theres just alot of themes that the Kennedy family can have that can make their relationship towards one another alot worse while also managing to get even closer.
When Ruben fully comes into picture, he is definitely the atheist type—never the one who had the gall to believe in a man from the sky. Thats why he gets so off about this whole praying before eating, the whole cross on the wall opposite to the bed or ontop of the bed, the bible laid careful on the pillow, another on a desk and sunday church that he can't wake up to. Unfortunately for Niall they still get close after this, Ruben just prys him further from his faith, corrupts him and for that he punishes himself when Ruben is sleeping. He prays silently and rubs his knees raw on the floor from how long he has knelt until the sun comes out. Weeps silently when he would get hard from Ruben, would weep even more when his interest towards Alby grows and he has to hold the cross necklace Lori gave him before dropping him off to Uni.
Nialby's first kiss Niall had wept for God, chafed his knees even more raw and then he knew how his mother felt. In a strange piece of comfort, he felt closer to her than ever.
