Religion and children

[fr0d0]

Fundamentalism is brutality wherever it occurs.

Fundamentalism isn't what's being discussed here. Just everyday christer bullshit that just happens to be harmful.

Nonsense

[TubbyTubby]

Fundamentalism isn't what's being discussed here. Just everyday christer bullshit that just happens to be harmful.

Nonsense

It's only nonsense if you believe in god, and deem it acceptable to pass that belief onto your children.

To the rest of us, indoctrination of children with false belief is child abuse. Indoctrination need not come from a fundamentalist.

[Bob Kelso]

Fundamentalism isn't what's being discussed here. Just everyday christer bullshit that just happens to be harmful.

Nonsense

Right, nothing inherently harmful about Christianity's beliefs, fundamentalist or otherwise. Move along.

[fr0d0]

I believe fundamentalist anything is an abuse of truth. I know some atheists who restrict what their children do for poor reasons. That just as much abuse as fundamentalist religion.

[FatAndFaithless]

I believe fundamentalist anything is an abuse of truth. I know some atheists who restrict what their children do for poor reasons. That just as much abuse as fundamentalist religion.

I think you're going to have to be much more specific if you're going to compare "some things some atheists I know do" to religious fundamentalist upbringing.

[fr0d0]

Are you so indoctrinated that you can't see the dangers of your own beliefs? I teach my kids to be open to different viewpoints not my own. I let them make up their own minds rather than force my views upon them.

[FatAndFaithless]

Are you so indoctrinated that you can't see the dangers of your own beliefs? I teach my kids to be open to different viewpoints not my own. I let them make up their own minds rather than force my views upon them.

You have absolutely no idea what my beliefs are, or my ideas about other beliefs. The hell are you talking about.

[Mudhammam]

Fr0d0, is this what non-fundamentalist Christians tell the young, inquisitive mind?

"Yes, I take very seriously the idea that if you reject Jesus as your Lord and Savior you will burn in hell for eternity... now run along and study alternative point of views."

[Willow Blackbird]

Hello, I was pointed in this thread's direction in order to post my newbie question. I am new to this forum and I hope cross-posting, in a way, is ok.
*****
I've been a confirmed atheist for about 6 months now, left the church a year ago, but really been on this road my whole life. I was raised in an evangelical Christian home by a minister. Always was taught that going to church was the way to avoid hell. Fear of hell has kept me going to church into adulthood and ultimately to raise my children in the church too. I have 3 kids - 18, 16, and 13. Recently we just left a fundamentalist Christian church after 5 years of indoctrination and abuse. Going to that church just pounded the last nail in the coffin of my faith. Upon leaving that church, I formally shut God out of my life for good and became true to myself.

It's been a rough transition for my kids. They've been raised to believe in God. They don't understand why I can turn my back on it. My two oldest children are really, really struggling. My oldest is an adult and as far as I'm concerned, he's on his own path in life. However, he's decided to start attending a church-type group for college kids. My middle child is frustrated, angry, and missing church. I have not forced my unbelief on my kids in any way, but I've challenged their thinking. When they say religious things, I ask them gently why they believe that and where it comes from. I ask them to think about whether there is evidence for such belief. It makes her very mad when I do this. So I've gone silent. She's 16 and confused. I recently agreed to attend a Unitarian Universalist church in my area with her. I have tremendous anxiety about stepping foot in a church of any kind, but she's searching and this seems to be a good compromise in a way. My youngest has embraced agnosticism and says she firmly believes in fairies. She's my little free-spirit and I love that about her.

So I guess, my question is: What do I do about my kids who keep holding SO TIGHTLY to their Judeo-Christian upbringing and refuse to even open their minds to other thoughts and ideas? Their indoctrination from the fundamentalist church is hanging on for dear life. At times it makes me a bit weepy to know I've done this to them by taking them to church. Should I just let it go? Just accept that they are all on unique paths and only answer questions when they ask me? I don't want to alienate my children.

I'd love some genuine and *KIND* advice about what to do here. My kids are good kids. They are smart. But I've confused them in a major way and I'd like to help repair it.

Willow

[Jenny A]

@ Willow Blackbird

I don't have any magic bullet, or perfect advice for you, but I can tell you what we do with our kids. I am atheist and my husband is deist in such a vague non-personal way that it's irrelevant. But both sets of grandparents are Christian though not evangelical. So various things have always made their way into our household: Veggie Tales; bible story books; little cross pendants; etc. And when the kids visit their grandparents alone, church is an inevitability. Further, many of our kids' friends come from very religious backgrounds.

Like your children, mine are intelligent. So we talk at the dinner table and elsewhere about what other people believe about god and more importantly, why we don't. We also talk about religions other than Christianity, and why they aren't real either. Conversation about why you are atheist and what that means is the answer.