May
with Christian family members. I think it is important to grant a child to “try out” more then one faith based lifestyle, whether it meshes with my beliefs or not. My kids have also attended a Jewish centered preschool and we’ve all gone to Temple with a few of our Buddhist friends, among other denominations and belief systems. So we’re not secluding it to Christian beliefs.
How many other Atheist, Agnostic, Christian, Buddhist, Jewish etc. parents here feel the same way. Why or why not?
Would you grant your child to decide not to attend church?
Answer:
As in answer to your question, yes i would allow them to STUDY different religious cultures/ traditions. however i would NEVER EVER allow my kids to go unsupervised into a church, temple, mosque, etc.
Ask any Christian parent if they would allow their child to “explore” the Church of Satan…or a Muslim if they would grant their child to explore a Catholic Mass.
If it's in an educational curiosity they’ve sure, i'd grant them to explore the reasons behind the traditions and beliefs, but i will never grant my children to be influenced by these (what i deem to be irrational) beliefs w/out my supervision.
I liken it to brainwashing. kids are very impressionable. by throwing them into a situation where everyone around them says [This is the “true” faith”]… i would be setting them up to become believers through force or fear. (as was i when i was young).
If set down in an educational way they have the ability to learn all the want about any religion and still keep an objective perspective.
As to whether or not they choose to “believe” in any of the religions out there…that’s absolutely up to them. By allowing them the knowledge of what is out there, and what i believe i've done what i can as a parent. They have to decide on their own.
Answer:
I grew up with atheist parents and was always told that I could pick what I wanted to believe. I selected to become an atheist. My grandpa is Christian, my future parents-in-law are Irish Catholic, my godparents are Jewish and my fiance's godparents are Buddhists. My kids have been to religious ceremonies with all of these people if they wanted to and that's how we want it to be. If they select not to be religious, that's fine and if they want to be religious, that's fine too. They are my children no matter what and I will always respect their beliefs.
Answer:
I’m a Pagan. My extended family (parents, grand parents, most of my siblings) are Catholics. My children always have the ability to go with them to Mass if they select. They’ve attended Synagogue with Jewish friends as well. They’ve not attended a Muslim Mosque but they have Muslim friends in school and are learning that philosophy. I’ve nothing against kids being educated in different philosophies. One size does not fit all souls.
Answer:
GREAT QUESTION…I’m kinda the same as you, I'm not atheist but I dont have a particular “religion.” I wouldn't let them decide whether or not to attend a church until they developed a “belief” I am 23 and havent decided. Keeping their option open is great decision! I would have them attend whichever ya'll go to that particulaar day, instead of just staying home..That way they won't “fear” their religion…(I have to believe in God)
Answer:
i'm agnostic and my husband is atheist. i do discuss different religions with my children but i have not sent them to different services yet. i personally think it's fairly confusing for a young kid to be presented by lots of different adults claiming to be talking absolute truth but contradicting one another. to me, that seems easier to process and make sense of when a child is a tiny older, sometime in their teens.
Answer:
Agnostic, and if my kids want to go to church I’ll go with them. I will teach them about as many religions as possible. All people should do that, sadly religious people refuse to. It is a by product of the old times when religion was a main tool to get people to do what you want. As we can see with the suicide bombers, it still is. This isn't a bash at religion specifically, but the blind dogma and people who use it as a weapon.
Answer:
my husband is wiccan and im agnostic (was christian when we met though). we decided that when the kids are old enough to VOICE that they want to go to church or are interested in another religion, then it is their choice. until they can state they are interested and actually WANT to go, i wont be sending them off to any churches
Answer:
I suppose I fit into the agnostic group. We let our daughter go to youth group with a friend of hers for a while. The hardest part was when she'd come to me with questions. I didn't have answers for her. But, I do concur… Just because I choose not to worship or believe in god doesn't mean my children have to feel the same way. If they want to go to church, get baptized… all of that… I support them and I'll be there at their baptism.
I think we owe it to our kids to let them find their own ways.Answer:
My family and I are Wiccan. However, my husband and I were raised Catholic. When our kids were born, we decided to get them baptized Catholic, that way when they’re older and they decide that Wicca is not for them, they’ll have something to fall back on.
Answer:
It's a good idea, even if kids decide a religion/belief that's against your own, it's their decision.
Answer:
My son can choose to live his life and believe in whatever he wishes.
He’ll always be loved.
Answer:
I feel the same way,I’m an Atheist and my husband is a non denominational christian.I’ll grant our kids to go to church with him or with family anytime,he really isn't into the whole church thing though,but if he were they are more than welcome to go,I just won't be attending with them.I feel that it is important to let kids experience different things as long as it isn't physically harming them.When they are older they have the choice to select which way they want to go and that is the way it should be in my thought.Also on the flip side I think it is wrong to make your child go to church if they don't want to.I’ve seen this many times with my friends growing up.They would get grounded if they asked to stay home from church and they ended up having to go anyway,I think it is wrong to MAKE your child do this sort of thing if they don't want to.
Answer:
I am an eclectic sort of person. I don't put all my stock in any one belief system, because I don't believe in “all or nothing” approaches to something so serious. Sometimes written-in-stone doctrines for one religion or another absolutely clash with my own empirical evidence and I refuse to believe those things just because a religion says “If you believe one part of this, then you MUST believe all of it or you don't really believe any of it at all.”
As such, I have no strict guides for anything I want my son to believe, other than empathy for others and the sacredness of life. So when my family wants to take him to church, fine. If my friends want me to bring him long to a pagan solstice celebration, fine. If my community is sponsoring some sort of cultural party or other, this is fine too. He will, hopefully, learn from this variety and choose whichever talks to his soul the most.
Answer:
If you really want your kids to make their own choices about faith then you should expose them to religion, so going to church with relatives is great exposure, you should also allow them to go to church with friends and always honestly answer their questions about god and religion. It's great that you have taken them to such diverse religious places of worship, I have a foster son who was Atheist when he came to live with us , i'm a Christian but I also believe in exposing children to other faiths, my foster son has since became a Buddhist, i'm very happy that he found something to believe in, religiously that’s.
Answer:
Yes, they are allowed to explore whatever they want. At this age (2 and 3), they’re too young to go on their own. We take them to church with us each Sunday, and ALL of my family is Catholic, so they really don't have anyone to take them elsewhere just yet, but when they are older if they want to go with friends, that's fine. I did try to get them into Jewish faith based day care (because it's a great school) but they were already full the first year I tried, and we couldn't wait. Although I’m a devout Catholic, I’ve no problem with them being exposed to other religions, and making the choice to choose another when they’re old enough to do so.
Answer:
when i have kids they will be taught what i believe, (in Christ) and will attend my church with my husband and i. i would hope this is the faith they choose, but there gets to be a point in ever child's life where they get to make desicions for themselves, (somewhere between being alowed to stay home alone, and moving out i believe) and when that time comes my child won't be any less loved, as disapointing as it might be for a parent to have their child choose a different belief system. i won't be encouraging them to explore other religions though. we might talk about it because i think it's important to educate ourselves on other religions, but not to the point where they practice a tiny of everything. based on what i believe and how i plan on rasing my children i would hope they grow into happy adults with a similar belief system.
Answer:
I’m a christian..We go to church and I will have my children in church as long as they are younger and under my roof…when they get older its their selected but as of now they go with us!