Should my baby be a christian or a hindu?

Question

We are based in India and have had a interreligion marriage. My husband is a roman catholic, whereas I am a hindu brahmin. With both set of parent's blessings we got married, and are now blessed with a baby boy. We are confused which religion he should follow? We dont want to hurt anyones feelings because of this..

Though we are teaching him both religions, Indian law demands a religion during his schooling . thats the whole prob.

Answer 1

Tell the Catholics you're raising him Hindu, and tell the Hindu's you're raising him Catholic. You are then free to do whatever the two of you think is best.

Answer 2

You are mistaken. Indian law does not demand a religion at schooling.

If the school you want to send your child wants it fill the column with Hindu catholic or humanity etc. And remain firm on this point.

Unless it is a Catholic school which will want you to choose, Government scvhool or non missionery school wont give you a problem.

Get a school which does not forces ypou to do otherwise. It is not legal.

May be christianity wont allow you to be a christian and Hindu at the same time. But Your child can follow Hinduism along with Christianity.

Someone above advised you to tell catholics you are raising the child as a Hindu and vice versa . That will be a good idea.

They will back off.

Answer 3

I'd recommend you both do some research into the history, reputation, and creeds of both religions. Once you've made a decision you will be well informed and well prepared to give good answers for your decision to either side of the family.
I'd further recommend you find which religion suits you both and both follow that religion. Your home will be much happier if you are all on the same page ethically, morally, and traditionally.
The idea that you should teach the children about both religions is assenine. Your children rely on you to train them up and the more stable their home environment the more stable the person. An environment of fractured belief systems create instability, incongruity and confuse the children about basic instructions coming from differing moral, traditional, and ethical standards.

Answer 4

You should definetly teach him both. Teaching him a single religion is unfair on both of you. I foyur husband demnads that the baby should be a christian, u definetly need to talk- he should be liberal and more sensitive to your feelings. Give ur child a name with two parts- one hindu n one christian. Whatever, u do, plz don't teach him only one religion. My neighbours had the same problem and this is what they did. The reasuly, the boy who is now 10, attends the church NAD goes to the temple. He believes in God as one and he is not confused. He feels that one way to look at God is thru Jesus while the other thru Shakti. Incidentally, both contain 'the holy trinity'. Congrats n good luck!

Answer 5

I agree with what's being said so far. A person cannot make an informed decision without knowing his options, so it is probably best if you teach your son both belief systems with as little bias as you can. The only caution I would put on this is maybe holding off on the Christian baptism (and any Hindu ceremony that is its equivalent) until your son has chosen the religion that he will follow so as not to cause any problems with him being accepted into the religion at large.

Answer 6

Being a Christian, of course I would say Christian. But, as a Hindu, are you beliefs based more on the worship of particular deities or on being a good person and doing your best at your station in life? If it is the latter, and your husband is a practicing Catholic who believes you MUST believe in Jesus to go to heaven, then I would raise my child Christian with an understanding and appreciate of his mother's Hindu beliefs. This is a question that only you and your husband will truly be able to answer. Good Luck!

Answer 7

Definitely teach both. My parents were two different religions. We learned both and were given the choice to make up our own minds. Everyone went their own way as adults.

We have an agnostic (my sister) married to a Spanish Catholic; an Anglican (my brother) married to a Jew; a Buddhist (my other brother) married to an Irish Catholic. You know what? It works just fine! We grew up to be very tolerant from the experience and I love my mixed family!

Answer 8

dont teach hime both then he will think that is a religion then he will go against both of your religions i am a christian but i am not chaolic so i like dont know may be you should decide on on religoin in your relation ship even if your parents dont agree because you have moved out of the house everything except taking over the world you can decide to do.

Answer 9

Teach him both religions and let him choose when he is old enough to do this. (I don't know much about the Hindu religion, so I'm not sure what your views on the afterlife are...) You shouldn't be worried about hurting peoples feelings, this is about YOUR childs salvation and eternal soul, not thiers. Good luck, and may whichever God you serve bless your family.

Answer 10

Why can't you give your child the benifit of knowing both religions. If both you and your husband work diligently and loveing then your child can understand the best of both worlds. And when he comes of age to choose which religion he will believe then you both will have to stand behind him. No matter what the grand parents want.

Answer 11

Christian