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The first half of my life was made awesome by my parents. The second half, by my children. I've got two incredible sons that make me wonder every day how I got so fortunate. Both of them were exposed to religion. Both rejected it and are independent critical thinkers.

How many of you have children? Grandchildren? Have they been exposed to religious dogma? And, do you know what their thoughts are in that regard?

Duke 8 Dec 22
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Yes, you have been fortunate. So have I: though my parents were church-goers (in a lethargic sort of way) and I went with them, and to Sunday school, it was never a major part of our lives. My mother was disappointed when I left the church. If it bothered my father, he didn't say so.

The woman I married was (is, sort of) religious and our two children went briefly to Sunday school. Our son hated it and is now an atheist. Our daughter — not too sure, but definitely no longer into organised religion.

Our first grandchild (due in April) will not be exposed to religion much, as our son his wife are both atheists. I'm not sure about her parents but they don't strike me as the religious sort.

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My kids were exposed, they had a religious mother, grandfather and 2 grandmothers, remaining grandparent worshiped the bottle. My kids are devout atheists as are almost all of their friends, some of them quite vocal about it.

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I was raised in a catholic family. My oldest sister became a nun to escape the nightmare of our home. My parents were horrible in many ways. I rejected the catholic church as soon as I ran off. I had a horrible childhood. I never talked about it with my son. My life is wonderful, my child is amazing , loving and bright. He questioned it on his own and is an atheist. I believe in God. God is only between Me and God. He totally gets where I am at, and never judges me. I understand how he has come to his conclusions. We have a great life.
I'm so glad that your parents made the first part of your life awesome. I have tried to make my sons life awesome. It has made my adult life so very wonderful. I hope to have grandchildren someday that my son will have joy in sharing with me.

@beaner44 Thank you for your candor. I feel that anyone has the right to believe anything they choose n the spiritual arena. And you are correct. It's between you and God. The only time I take issue with it is when someone puts their God between me and them.

Thanks for your thoughtful reply and, thank you for allowing your son to choose his own path!

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2 grown kids...raised mostly by me and like Me freethinkers...even though I was raised catholic never imposed that on them...just like my mom and dad...

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I have three adult daughters. They did grow up going to church, dad is a conservative christian. Two have outwardly rejected the church, one goes to church to make daddy happy.

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Lots of kid, grandchildren galore, and a couple of great grandchildren.

Now that we've settled that, I have a question for you, @Duke -- How do you think you'll do with the third half?

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I Truly Believe My 3 Adult Children Are Waiting for My Passing Before Having Children. They Know I Got Dirt on Them. But I Really Like How Your Life Turn Out.

I don't have any grandchildren yet and I realize that I may never have them. One son has been married and divorced and he swears he will not do it again. The other is bisexual so, there's a possibility depending on which gender partner he ends up with. But, right now he has other interests and really isn't even pursuing a partner at all.

@Duke yeah, I got a bisexual daughter she may make the best mother!!!

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This is a nice shout out to your family. I was exposed to religion as a kid, forced to go as a teen and again after a situation that caused me to have to move back in with mom as an adult. I do not believe in any god. It was an issue.... My two kids have been exposed and forced to go by my ex, their dad, after the divorce. When my teen was old enough to defend her beliefs, I supported her not going any more. My son who is 11, has started to say he is going back and forth with believing and not. I worry he won't be strong enough to stand up to his dad if and when he decides to stop going. I tell him all the time he has a very good brain and should use it to decide on his own and that I would support him either way,

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I'd say 3/3 of my children are agnostic. It wasn't this way from the beginning, however. I learned that I wasn't comfortable going to church for the sake of going, or for tradition when they were small. I had felt like that since my teens. I thought I needed to give my children a base of belief, why, I don't know. Either I was delusional or trying to find my own way. I stopped going to church when they were small because I couldn't believe any of the BS anymore and wasn't getting answers for myself. I did NOT want my children to grow up being puppets and conditioned to believe in something other than fact. Now, they know to ensure doing research before spewing on subjects. That involves knowing both sides to get the facts right, and for countering. I think one of my sons might like the sense of community that a revealed religion offers, and he is the only one I fear may inspect dogma. I do, however, regularly remind him of facts, and basically say when he's 18, he can decide... 😉

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I have 2 daughters very different from each other. Becky was born with cp and her father and his family are very tight with their churches. She was given a Hebrew name in a temple to please my parents and was baptized behind my back by her father and his family. Her religion of preference is New Age and Wicca. Jesse was born to two non-religious parents and believes in nothing. Rejected learning anything about Jewish culture. Her decision.

I can imagine that the baptism of Becky infuriated you. I also imagine at this point though, you're probably still irritated but, pretty much over it?

over it thanks for asking. Grudges are wasted energy.

@sassygirl3869 I totally agree. I've had a few times in my life where it took me a while to get past something but, eventually I did.

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I imagine you're the envy of many, including me.

SamL Level 7 Dec 22, 2017

Thank you!

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