Raising children with my disbelief of religion...

[Ub3rB0ng]

I can totally relate to this as my wifey is religious and im not. with our kids we teach them about the meanings of the holidays like xmas and such and we will do so until they can make up their own opinions. Just have to show your kids they can be good people without all the religious non sense they may find out there.

[dichlorvos]

I am also a non believer but sometimes have wondered if people aren't better off believing in something, even if it's bullshit, if it makes them happier. Should I deny my children the comforting delusion of heaven? Man, I liked believing in Santa, I'm no better off now. I struggle with it, I wish there was more, but I don't think there is, but when my little guy tells me his gramas dog went to heaven, how do I tell him no? Life is suffering, and death is inevitable, but they haven't seen any of that yet. How long should we shelter the ones we love?

Of course there's still a chance that one of them crazy religions is actually right!

[Born To Stone]

I think that they might eventually find the same inconsistencies that you found in religion by themselves. Otherwise, like someone else said, educate them about both sides: religion, athiesm and let them decide.

I typed inconsistencies into google to check spelling and the first thing to come up was 'Bible Inconsistencies: Bible Contradictions?' haha

[IrishViking]

My kid's know that im a non-believer.However when discussing thing's like death...I Will sometime's admit that i may be wrong.I try to explain that my belief,does not have to be their's. It's a tricky thing to discuss with kid's becouse i dont want to take away the "hope" that we may meet again in another place.Education is the key,show them both side's an let them decide what's right for them.


Dive:stoned:

You took the words out of my mouth.Very well said!:smokin:

[Chronic Chrissy]

I haven't read previose posts

I would suggest you read the Da Vinci Code by dan brown(yes the movie one), it gives reader alot of information in the direction of the true origins of current and past religions. Give them the facts and opinions from all sides as you learn them yourself and let them decide which religion(or lack ther of) reflect what they feel. Teach your kid well and give them a buffet of choices to suit their needs.

ETA
As I read through the book I google as I go and evaluate the credibility and addition information out there that I read about.

[RedLocks]

not going to get into it much, just one thought i want to post...Personally I think religion helps children deal with Deaths of loved ones, much more comforting to think that loved ones have gone someplace good instead of thinking that loved ones no longer exist and their corpses are rotting and being eaten by worms. My stepson never really learned about religion as a youngin, and after his Grandmother died.. he got some mental damage from that, and sometimes I wonder if he would have been better off had he a education in religion. Actually had a conversation with a psychiatrist about this and he seemed to agree with the idea I was having.

[mugenbao]

I am in a similar situation. I was raised Baptist, but am now agnostic with deep respect for (though not strict belief in) Buddhism. I do my best to respect all religions, and try to convey that respect to my children, but they don't have any doubt as to what I believe.

When opportunities present themselves, I do my best to explain what other religions believe and what it might mean to those people while trying not to interject my own opinion of the topic too much.

My kids know with absolute certainty that I do not expect them to believe as I do, and I will not be disappointed or resentful if they choose another path. Religion/spirituality should be a deeply personal and private issue and is absolutely nobody else's business.

[BlueBlazer]

We raised our kids to believe what seemed most right to them. One is an Atheist, one is Agnostic, and one is a believer. Sort of the "Three Bears porridge" of religion I guess.

We exposed them to the Christian religion through church and Sunday school and discussed the other world religions and spirituality in general with them. We always encouraged them to study world religions to get a rounded view. Then we left it up to them to choose, but we never hid our own views either.

When a question of death comes up for children, how you approach it depends heavily on how old they are. However, telling them that no one really knows what happens after death and explaining that death is not necessarily the end worked for our children and didn't make us compromise what we believe either.