Will you raise your children as Atheists?

[Jenny A]

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My son is 27 and my daughter is 24. My wife is the type of Christian that doesn't attend church and doesn't care to talk about religion. She believes in the non-biblical all good and all loving God/Jesus that she remembers from her youth. I think it gives her bedtime prayers an imagined destination.

We never took the kids to church. There were no prayers before dinner and no indoctrination. The only time religion came up is when the kids would come home with a question based on some influence from outside the home. Before this morning I couldn't honestly say exactly what my children's specific thoughts were about religion. I still can't tell you what my son thinks although I know he doesn't attend church. It's simply that inconsequential.

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This morning, my daughter affirmed that she doesn't believe. This came out as a simple matter of fact while she was sharing her frustration with extended family members pressuring her to baptize my 10 month old granddaughter. Knowing me, she preemptively told me that telling them all to fuck off wasn't an option for her. I told her to get the Methodists and Presbyterians involved to discuss this with other family members that are Pentecostal and Baptist. She should only consider the proposed baptism once they all agree on the course of action. Problem solved.

My kids aren't baptized. It wasn't a problem on my husband's side of the family because Baptists don't believe in infant baptism. On my side of the family I simply pointed out that the baptism ceremony requires a promise on the part of the parents or other sponsor to raise the child Christian, and that that wasn't happening and that if the kids wanted to be baptized later, they could. The girls are in their late teens and show no inclination.

It is funny though. Infant baptism bothers my husband because of his baptist upbringing even though he is no longer Christian. I just lack superstitious beliefs that make it matter one way or the other. If I didn't have to promise to do anything, I wouldn't have cared what words a pastor or priest said over the babies. Empty words and ceremony won't contaminate a baby. It's just words.