Religious Parenting... Yes, No/ Which religion?

[Echo]

For the first like.. 5 years of my life i had no religion. My parents weren't religious. So i had no reason to be. BUT The neighbors were, adn I grew up with them. And after several experiences with the Craft, I declared paganism my religion.

It is to this day, DH is also pagan so are my daughters. They both had Paganings shortly after birth ( Sort of like a pagan Baptism) And were both raised, and continue to be rasised in this faith. They are aware that there are many other religions out there, but that they are pagan. And when they get older if they feel strongly towards another religion they are free to follow that path, but I will raise them pagan.

What about everyone else? Are you raising your kids religiously? In any respects? If so, what religion? And why?

[spiralgirl]

hmmm havent really decided on this one yet!

I am Buddhist and hubby is not really any religion ( he was raised Catholic but probably more interested in buddhism , but no real religious following)

I am unsure as to how we are going to approach this - I think she will have an understanding of Buddhism, and I would love to educate our kids on all religions, but really the choice is hers ( will not be having any kind of ceremony to bring her into a faith...if you know what i mean)

However we are vegetarians, and that is our strong shared belief, and we feel so strongly about it, that it kinda is our religion in this house! We will be raising Tahleya ( and other furture bubs) vego and should she choose different when she is older that is her decision

[evesmum]

Dp was raised in a very strong catholic family and is now atheist, I was raised with no religion as such, though we would discuss the belief in god, my mum believes in god dad doesnt. I am very devout athiest. Interestingly enough, considering dp and I are both atheist, religion is quite a hot topic for us and I think that our children will be well aware of religion as a part of society. We do not welcome religion into our family but are tolerant and respectful of other peoples religious beliefs (like anything really).
I want our children to be aware of all religions as well as the ability to believe in a god/goddess without being part of any religious following iykwim? I think it is important to understand different religions, as much as I disagree woith them, simply because they exist, people we meet will feel strongly connected to a faith and also for the fact of not being ignorant and therefore be able to show respect for our differences.

[Clover]

I started out a Catholic, but am currently an athiest. I don't believe in anything at this time in my life. Maybe when I have children I will feel differently.

[mummabare]

My husband was raised a strict catholic (catholic school etc etc) he now leads mainly a rasta life (diet etc).

I grew up with catholic influences thanks to my grandmother, but rejected it really early (about 7 I think) and it was source of constant friction between my grandmother and my parents. I grew up in an aboriginal community and mostly took on beleifs and spiritual practices from that community, then when we moved to Perth I met an aboriginal woman who was wiccan as well. I loved how she was able to marry the too and became involved in it myself.

These days I tend to swing from wiccan practices to indigenous influences (mainly nyungar and bunuba these days). I have 3 indigenous spiritual guides (two living) who I consult.

My son will be growing up with indigenous and wiccan influences. We are very nature based, on a spiritual level. I encourage my son to talk to the land, to the animals around him, to reflect on what his totem is telling him and we talk about old dreamtime stories that carry important lessons about sharing, following the law of the land and the importane of maintaining a relationship with land and its people.

I reckon maybe Ive gone on enough tho, but you get the gist. I expect alot of resistance from my mil who is catholic (although I dont say strict because her behavior is less than the christian ideal) and also my grandmother who is strict catholic. I also expect resistance from some of my mothers family who feel strongly about us celebrating our indigenous spirituality and culture ( they preferred we didnt) so I am preparing my son in that respect to learn to advocate for his own right to and our family right to celebrate our roots.

My husband will be teaching him aspects of rasta and christianity in general but we have agreed not take him to churches etc and not focus on "god" as we as a family focus more on nature and creation than a one and only god.

[Jasper]

I have no religeon. I was born to two agnostic/atheists and have not been christened. My girls arent and wont be christened. I guess I may sway towards paganism more than any other religeon, but strictly speaking I guess Im agnostic. I know no religous stories, I no nothing about any of it so I just cant pass it on even if I wanted to. I am interested in passing on stories and morals from the pagan religeon to my girls as I love the nature aspect of them and I want to give them that knowlege but I guess until I find out what that is exactly I cant do anything about it. Anyone care to enlighten me via pm? I love telling stories to them.
My DH was christened Catholic and his family are Catholic although not practicing at all. His uncle is a catholic deacon, but thats about it. He believes in God in a general sence but thats it.
If my girls later on in life find a religeon that suits them then thats fine but for now I guess its none for them either.

[~*Nile*~]

Hubby and I are athiest/agnostic so our kids won't be brought up in a religous environment. But in saying that, I actually do believe in a lot of the ideals of Christianity (treating others how you want to be treated, being charitable and being a 'good' person) I just reject formalised religion.

So I guess our kids will be raised with more spiritual beliefs than religious ones.

[Echo]

Well that's good, raise them with good morals and such. Good plan!

[Jakaluma]

I am a Bright and my hubby believes in a god, but not really any particular religion. We talk about different beliefs, and often have some wonderful philosophical conversations about meaning of life and morals and ethics.

[hanabi]

Is it possible to 'believe' anything like it is our choice to do so? Is it an intellectual decision to 'believe'??