Do you have children?

Question

How do you discuss religion with them in a way that lets you be truthful but doesn't lead them into trouble with peers? For example, them going to school declaring God isn't real (I did that with Santa).

Answer

I expose my kid to all religions and of course my atheism. 🤷‍♀️ he knows about Buddha and Jesus and Allah. He knows what I believe and that i don’t want it to dictate what he should believe. I’ve told him it’s up to him to choose his beliefs and that there’s no rush.

Answer

Yes I have children, I have never lied to them, they have always known that... I'm the tooth fairy, santa is a man in a suit hired from the costume shop, the easter bunny will kill your pancreas and give you diabetes, Christmas is a day for business to make money, churches are cults, and all religions are detrimental to mankind. My kids have deep respect for people, the environment and boundaries, they lovvvvve nature and mathematics is their favourite subject + art and humanities. World 🌎 history and geography are up there too with their favourites. Religion is obsolete and redundant, religion causes farm more harm than good so why bother mentioning it at all, especially to kids, kind of seems like a no brainer approach, just don't bring it up unless it's in regards to HISTORY

Answer

don't discuss religion with them. if they ask you can just tell them what others believe, and tell them that it's ok to believe that. And if they ask you what you believe be honest but inform them that just because you don't believe something doesn't make others wrong in their beliefs.

Answer

I don’t have kids but I plan on raising my kids to be accepting of all religions, and that they can choose what they believe. I’ll let them to go church with my parents, or stay home, or go with their friends who might have differing religions. I want them to be exposed to as much as they can, so they can be more openminded and tolerable of other mindsets.

Answer

When she's old enough I'll be explaining that some people believe in things that aren't true and that God is one of those things.

Answer

Joseph Campbell is my inspiration. Myths To Live By is a great resource, it really ties all religious beliefs together as early humanity's attempts to understand and pass down stories orally. if you don't want to read it i believe there are YouTube videos of him talking about it. Carl Sagan's Science as a Candle in the Dark is also really good at explaining how much more knowledge we have now because of technology, making religion obsolete.

Answer

I discuss it thoroughly with him. He’s 8. I want him to understand that not everyone is going to believe what he believes, and that his religious foundation doesn’t matter half as much as how he treats other people. Respect and compassion are key. My bf is Baptist so he is growing up with a moderate Christian foundation, which I did too so, that doesn’t matter that much to me. But I don’t treat him with the traditional guilt, fear, and punishment that comes with Christianity. And I explain to him that as he gets older, he can explore any religion he sees fit to help him understand the way things work, to help him find his place in existence.

Answer

I have a very religious family so there is no way to avoid talking about it. We’re planning on talking about all religions and mythologies as things some people believe but not your parents and here is why. Age and stage appropriately 
As for Santa we are planning on describing him as the spirit of giving that some believe is real

Answer

My son is still too young to really understand anything yet, but MIL is extremely religious and keeps trying to push it...so I think when he’s ready I will educate him on all the religions of the world ranging from Viking gods to the Christian one and beyond to let him make his own judgement call. That way he will know all of the stories and what each of them say. I want him to feel comfortable discussing any topic so I’m happy to trade info when he’s ready.

Answer

I’ve thought about this a lot as I’ve been struggling to have kids. If I do, some people including their grandmothers will tell them they are a gift from God. I will tell them they were made with love, hard work and science. It would crush them to have my child tell them there is no god.
I think my approach will be to approach it as a cultural education. There are great kids books out there on all the worlds big religions and on evolution (Grandma fish for example). If you expose them to everything they will have an understanding you can build into respect. Kids are smarter than we give them credit for, and I think the average kid can grasp some people believe this and others don’t. If they are taught to be kind to those who follow religion they should be ok.

Do you have children?

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