Based on someone I just gave best answer to, *ATHEIST PARENTS*, will you expose your children to religion?

Question

I'm an atheist, my wife is Christian (but she cheats on me at UNO and monopoly and believes in reincarnation, so go figure).

Point is, shes going to teach Thomas that she believes in god and why,

We both take our son to the zoo and show him animals and explain how one animal became another.

I just gave best answer to someone who said that unlike atheists religious people allow their children to be exposed to other ideas.

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My question to the other atheist parents who use Yahoo Answers Regularly is, will you be allowing your children to be exposed to religious ideas,

I for one would love to teach my son about the worlds religions and why all the different people believe different things,

you know why?

ITS THE ONLY WAY HE'S GOING TO FUNCTION IN MODERN SOCIETY

Answer 1

If I had a kid I'd teach him or her to think for themselves not what to think. Kids naturally want to know "why" about every thing, I think that should be encouraged. Question everything. I'm fairly sure any kid of mine would be an atheist as a result.

Answer 2

I think your answer guy has it backwards. Atheists are the ones that expose their children to religions. But not just a favorite one. That is probably why their kids can see them as equally illogical.

The religious people expose their kids with the her is the truth (our way) and here is the nonsense other people believe kind of approach.

I might be stretching the point but there would clearly be a bias and you only have to look at how many people take on the religion of the parents to see how strong that influence/bias is.

Answer 3

It is almost impossible not to expose children to Christianity in America.

Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc. is a bit harder.


When you say 'expose' what level of exposure is valid.
Awareness that the religion exists?
Understanding of the basic tenants?
Reading of the religious texts?
In depth analysis of the texts?
Taken to a place of worship - once - yearly - weekly?

There is a lot of leaway in the word 'expose'.



Since when did all religious people expose their children to other ideas? I think some may well do so, but again to what depth? However others clearly do not and actively discourage the kids learning anything that contradicts their belief system.

Answer 4

[Not a parent]

I'm willing to wager, per capita, more atheists expose their children to religious ideas than Christians who expose their children to the teachings of Islam, Buddhism or Hinduism.

As an atheist parent, at the very least I would want my child to be biblically literate. It's a valuable in dissecting art and literature, and it means my kids would get more jokes on The Simpsons.

At the most, yes, I would like my future kid to understand as much about all the major faiths as possible, at least from a social science stand point.

Answer 5

I'm a skeptic and am raising my son to be one as well. This requires that he be exposed to ideas and learn how to rationally discriminate. He is learning to ask about not what some one believes, but why they believe it.

He attended church several times while at his mother's and I left open the chance for him to go on his own. The few times he has gone was for a girl. That's my boy!

I don't want him to grow up with second hand ideas. I want him to have his own, and know how to rationally change and improve them. He'll be out there without me soon enough, and I can't teach him enough doctrine to guide him through life. He'll have to stand on his own.

Answer 6

During the course of their growing up no doubt they will encounter various mythologies in literature, history, etc. Christianity and the bible is, and will be presented as just another one of those mythologies. It will be dealt with as neither more important nor less then other mythologies.

The most important thing I will teach them is the following questions: Why? How?

I will try to reinforce their ability to ask tough questions when presented with beliefs and to critically analyze those questions and the answers given. Belief and faith will be relegated to insignificance. When they become an adult, I hope to leave them with a fully functioning, mature mind that is not vulnerable to irrationality. At that point, their beliefs will be their choice, subject to their decisions and analysis, not parental indoctrination.

Answer 7

LOL, Oh it's you again! hehehehe. YA R&S addict you! (takes one to know one though, LOL)
And yes I have let my son learn about christianity and other religions. He's been to children's church and regular church services a few times, and I'm proud to say he's asked to not have to go ever again. But, I agree, it is important to understand what other people believe, it gives a person a well rounded perspective on life and lets you have a keener focus on what it is you believe or don't. Kudos, good question! Carry-on

Answer 8

yea, what they believes in is their choice not mine. They could choose what ever they like and I will support that decision even if I don't believe in it. Also I don't know how true it is that religious people allow their children to be exposed to other ideas. They let them but then they tell them they are evil and don't do them.

Answer 9

I would have no problem exposing my children to religion. I would explain my position and explain others', but ultimately it would be up to them to believe whatever they want.

However, I wouldn't send them to a religious school or take them to church. I suppose some mild persuasion is inevitable, but I would never disown or be mad at my kid for choosing a different path.

Answer 10

I do and have done, i can't not in todays world and they think the same as i do BULLSH!T though prehaps they don't use that word, i hope they don't because i havn't been saying it infrount of them but my girlfriend and i who are atheists and refuse to get married in a church if we decide to tie the knot then its going to be a civil thing not religious big party though, but our kids are having the chance to learn about the bible i explain it to them as best i can and allow them to decide