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Would you raise your children religious just to fit in?

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406 comments (151 - 175)

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1

NO. What an abdication of intelligent living that would be - as well as a complete denial of your being-who-you-are. Apart from being a terribly destructive role model for your children.

Pedro Level 3 Oct 28, 2017
0

Never, just to be conscientious of other faiths but to not allow themselves to be fooled by them.

0

No way. Religion, if at all meaningful, should not be steeped in hypocrisy, despite what some others do. I might consider pretending in public if death were the penalty for not.

0

No, because for one, I'm not religious, but I don't really care about what my kids do outside of killing goats. So, I'd let them do whatever they wanted to, outside of killing goats.

0

Ugh. Never.

On the other hand, many people are in situations where they have important jobs (teacher, lawyer, doctor, soldier, politician, et cetera) and being an open atheist can be a huge disadvantage, especially given that they may very well be trying to improve things----and they certainly 'play the part', sometimes asking their families to do the same. And those are very morally ambiguous situations in which the niche they've carved out for themselves seems to require a certain pretense. But I personally couldn't do it, and it's a privilege to be able to say I wouldn't. I have no idea how I'd answer if I hadn't been raised where I was, but I hope I'd still say I wouldn't.

1
0

Absolutely not.

0

I didn’t. But I mad3 sure they learned about what their friends believed.

0

fuck no! that being said I wouldn't force them to be non-religious either. they can make that choice on their own when they're old enough.

0

Never! There's a reason I stopped believing, and I won't brainwash my kids!

1

Absolutely not.

Cmy3 Level 2 Nov 3, 2017
0

Religion is simply a social institution. If I raise my children it will be to surpass the primate level of intelligence so common in humanity. FItting in with the herd is a necessity, as there is no enlightened society on Earth.

argo Level 4 Nov 3, 2017
0

My three boys are already adults and all call themselves atheists. I never crammed it down their throats, but when they would come to me with questions that they had I would ask them questions back so that they could think through both sides of the proposed religious issue. I never had to sit them down and try to convert them to anything. I just valued their curiosity and questions with more to think about. They came to their own conclusions, and interestingly can hold their own in any discussion or argument.

0

ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!!!!!!!! My son is grown up and is agnostic/atheist. His father was a believer, and I'm glad that he was closer with my side of the family and had good enough common sense not to follow in his father's tracks.

0

Absolutely not! My child is his own person and he can make up his own mind. I will support him no matter what (unless he is a serial killer or sumpthin. Then I think I may have to speak up).

1

NO

0

No, but as a single parent for most of my child's developing years, I allowed her to attend church with her grandparents, friends, and other relatives. I also clearly stated my beliefs and let her decide whether to accept a god/religion or not. She is well into adulthood now and seems comfortably agnostic, which is what I would have called myself at her age.

4

My kids chose for themselves. I have a daughter who's an atheist and a son who attends church regularly. They are both terrific people. I focused on teaching them to think for themselves.

JimG Level 8 Nov 6, 2017
0

Nope. My kids have had questions, I answered them honestly. They're 13, 11 and 5. The 5-year-old doesn't seem interested yet, the other two don't believe in any kind of God.

1

Absolutely not! I am aware that kids are sensative about not being like other kids. My famous words to my kids are "Don't follow the heard". They are in their teens now and are just fine.

0

NO, religion is a destructive force, anti science and anti-sympathetic to the needs of man kind.

1

..to fit in to what?

My child is very confident in herself & knows she NEVER has to pretend to be something she's not comfortable with - just to fit in!

1

Never

0
0

No way, but sadly, that is not my choice.

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