Here is the much overdue parenting thread that needs to be started, so we can discuss the different issues raised by being an atheist parent. I know some(including me) are married to religious people, and the conflicting viewpoints can cause frustrating problems. This is the place to discuss and vent about all issues that arise from trying to keep your kids from being infected with a mind virus.
My wife recently told my nearly four year-old son that he was a Christian. The topic came up because of the discussion about holidays and he had seen some things on Hanukkah. I just looked at her and said, "Uh, no, he's not." She said, "Sure, he is," and when I tried to argue about it, she said we'd talk about it later. So, later that night, as she was going to bed, I told her to never tell our son that he is a Christian again. She got extremely upset and tried to tell me that I had agreed that what she had done was okay in a previous conversation. Having not remembered the conversation, I told her that there was no way I would agree that she would be allowed to raise our son as a Christian.
Apparently, she got the idea that "yes, you can take our son to church" meant "yes, you can raise our son Christian." I told her that what I meant was that she was allowed to take him to church and show him what she believed, not that she could just unleash Jesus upon him. I explained to her that our beliefs need to be treated on equal ground as parents and that both of us need to ensure that we approach our son with our viewpoints as beliefs, not truth.
The really frustrating part was that she had this look on her face the whole time like I was telling her that I just ran over her puppy in the driveway, and even though she knew I was right, there was resistance to having her religious beliefs treated as equal with mine. Just like Christians everywhere, she expected her beliefs to have special privilege.
Anyways, the next morning after the fiasco she apologized, and we haven't really discussed it since. I expect more turmoil to come, which is partly why I wanted to start this thread.
Feel free to comment or discuss your own situation.
My wife recently told my nearly four year-old son that he was a Christian. The topic came up because of the discussion about holidays and he had seen some things on Hanukkah. I just looked at her and said, "Uh, no, he's not." She said, "Sure, he is," and when I tried to argue about it, she said we'd talk about it later. So, later that night, as she was going to bed, I told her to never tell our son that he is a Christian again. She got extremely upset and tried to tell me that I had agreed that what she had done was okay in a previous conversation. Having not remembered the conversation, I told her that there was no way I would agree that she would be allowed to raise our son as a Christian.
Apparently, she got the idea that "yes, you can take our son to church" meant "yes, you can raise our son Christian." I told her that what I meant was that she was allowed to take him to church and show him what she believed, not that she could just unleash Jesus upon him. I explained to her that our beliefs need to be treated on equal ground as parents and that both of us need to ensure that we approach our son with our viewpoints as beliefs, not truth.
The really frustrating part was that she had this look on her face the whole time like I was telling her that I just ran over her puppy in the driveway, and even though she knew I was right, there was resistance to having her religious beliefs treated as equal with mine. Just like Christians everywhere, she expected her beliefs to have special privilege.
Anyways, the next morning after the fiasco she apologized, and we haven't really discussed it since. I expect more turmoil to come, which is partly why I wanted to start this thread.
Feel free to comment or discuss your own situation.
Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own - Bertrand Russell
