Do you/will you push your religion and beliefs on your children or do you want them to make their own mind up?

Question

And why? Also, if you raised your child in a certain religion and they decided to "convert" would you be accepting of their new beliefs regardless of what it was. Would you educate yourself to learn more about the new religion?

Answer 1

you assuming that proper relgious educaiton is "pushing" ones views on the child.

every child is surrounded by inlfuences, and many of them are bad. it is the parents job to teach their children right or wrong....if they don't, the children will be influenced by someone else, who may not be so positive.

Answer 2

I will.

I want to find a religion I am happy in and devoted to before I have children, and that religion will of course be based upon values and morals I agree with, and teachings that I feel are right. I believe that bringing a child up with a religion gives them a sense of comfort, and right and wrong. I was brought up in a home with no strict religion and now, at 17, spend most of my time (i'd say near constantly) wondering which is right, is there a heaven, is there a hell, am I sinning etc. I would far rather have been brought up in a home where I new from the word Go what was what and where to go for spiritual and temporal guidance, so I will give my children that in the future.

If later in life they should choose to follow a different path, that would be fine with me - but they would always have imprinted in their hearts those moral guidelines.

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Answer 3

I guess I'm sort of a mashup of the above.

I am Mormon and my wife is agnostic (we obviously believe in extremely different things). As parents, it is our responsibility to teach our children how to think, become educated, and to seek those things that are good and proper, and to be responsible citizens. There is no doubt my son will see me go to church, pray, serve people in the community, etc. I will speak to him openly about these things and will explain why they are important to me. However, I will also teach him that everyone believes differently, including his mother, and that we should respect all people. I will teach my son that we should not rely upon the ideas and beliefs of others, but should seek wisdom and knowledge on a individual level. I studied hundreds of religions, from people in those religions and by putting myself in their shoes, and respect them all. I will respect my son's decisions regardless, but will always encourage him to make decisions slow and in an educated manner (understanding however that much of religion relies upon faith). Just as I respect and love my wife I will my son. If he literally "converts" to a faith, then He will have my support and I will learn about his beliefs. Learning about the beliefs of others better allows a person to understand and love them. As I have made up my own mind, so must we all, otherwise it's for naught.

Answer 4

If I had kids, I would try to keep them in their natural state of atheism. I admit I would go out of my way to be sure that no christians could get hold of them and fill their minds with strange ideas.

I might consider raising them as some form of pagan, although that might be difficult since I'm not one myself, and I have no idea how you would go about doing it in those circumstances.

The one thing I would not do is get overzealous about it. Kids rebel. It's just a fact of life. I remember a story about Grace Slick's daughter - who rebelled against her mother by being good. So if my kids rebelled, they'd head right for christianity.

Would I be accepting if they chose christianity or some other religion? Probably not. It would depend on how far they take it and what their beliefs are specifically.

I would educate myself about their religion at least enough to get a good idea what it's about.

Answer 5

I am Buddhist and my wife an atheist...our daugther has decided to embrace her Jewish roots (from her grandparents) and is in the process of getting bat mitzvahed...our son has his own theories on God which are too involved to get into here but rest assured they settle the dispute between creationism and evolutionism...he has embraced Buddhism as a philosophy because his Buddha statue makes him feel safe and happy at night...my parents tried to raise us in the Lutheran church and we were always very active in it, but at some point...maybe 10th or 11th grade I became interested in Eastern religions and philosophies...my parents have never really accepted it or looked into it byt are supportive...what it all boils down to is that you don't have to believe in or practice a religion to be a good person and live a rich and rewarding life...on the converse ther are a lot of people who claim to be religious and are real scumbags...you know who you are...

Answer 6

Well, I'll certainly push my beliefs about teeth brushing on them as, if I leave it till they're old enough to decide for themselves, their teeth will already be wrecked.

Not the same sort of thing, you say? But is it?

When they are very young, they are the responsibility of their parents, and "guiding them for the best" will include being in accord with the parent's understanding of social and religious beliefs. Why give them what is seen as untrue or second-best?
But as well as particular understanding I would expect this to include the knowledge and skills to be able to think for themselves. And yes, that could mean they might "fly the nest" in religious as well as physical terms. That's the risk inherent in aiming to produce real adults, rather than young copies of the parents.

Answer 7

Greetings,
I would not push but I would have them raised up to recognize and understand my belief Jesus and the Father so that they would grow up knowing that there is something to look forward to after this life and would pray that this message would help to keep despair and uncertainty from their door. I think one of the biggest reasons for teen suicide is precisely that they have no hope and are enmeshed in despair and gloom. Children need to have guidance and hope that a parent can give them. Are they going to make mistakes? Yes. But as a parent we need to be there for them and try to teach them from their mistakes and be supportive instead of condemning. We can do this through our teaching them of Christ and how He wants us to live instead of how other people want us to live.

Answer 8

I am raising my daughter as an Agnostic, and it will be entirely up to her to make her own rational decision about any religion or philosophy. As long as she actually makes up her mind based upon what makes sense to her and not just what her friends or relatives believe, I will support her in any belief system she might choose.

Answer 9

I have children who are grown or teenagers. Each of them has a mind of his/her own. They have all been allowed to choose their own beliefs, and when they've expressed an interest in one, we've all experienced it together.
Of course I would and have educated myself to the beliefs of others. How else can you understand someone?
I accept all positive paths as valid.

Answer 10

Our children are being raised half Christian, half Wiccan. Meaning, they come to the church Mommy works at on Sundays and go to Sunday School while she's busy. But at home they see lots of Occult-ish things.

It works for us now. When they are older they may choose whatever, if any, path they like!

Answer 11

As Catholics we are to try our best to raise our kids in the Catholic faith -

Catechism-
2252 Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children in the faith, prayer, and all the virtues. They have the duty to provide as far as possible for the physical and spiritual needs of their children

If they were older and converted to a different faith I would accept them but not their decision. I would learn the other faith so I could evangelize to them so they may come back home to the Catholic faith. Of course keeping my children in my daily prayers is so very imoportant.