Parenting without religion

I saw this book advert on Facebook

spiritualhumanist.info...


This is a great book for many people I know.


To the uber-religious out there... do you see this as a problem? Or do you see this as a way that secular folks can share some of your values without your dogma?

reply to post by HunkaHunka


It looks like religion repacked and glossed up with a few new buzz words actually. I'm not completely convinced that this is 100% religion free once you delve under the surface.

The words 'rites' and 'rituals' make me a little suspicious.

IRM

Originally posted by InfaRedMan
reply to post by HunkaHunka

 

It looks like religion repacked and glossed up with a few new buzz words actually. I'm not completely convinced that this is 100% religion free once you delve under the surface.

The words 'rites' and 'rituals' make me a little suspicious.

IRM

Ahh... that's because rites and rituals are not aspects of religion as much as they are aspects of humanity.

For example, taking out the trash is a secular ritual. Gaining access to a drivers license is a rite... etc

We're actually raising our kids without religion. Our oldest is 3. We're going to introduce religion as a cultural thing and teach him about a variety of religions. We're not atheist, we just don't affiliate ourselves with anything.

Catholic father but I was certainly raised without religion. Never one mention of it nor a single framed photo of Jesus, or a cross, etc. Most people of this generation are (I'm 18/19).

Bleh...sounds a bit..hmm to me,religion is nonsense i think we can agree on that,contradicts itself on so many levels its not funny,but most people who adhere to religion dont know that(except for fundamentalists) and think its all lovey and gooey so spread those things."Do unto others as you would have others do unto you." i think is a sound concept..unless your into weird stuff,but basically thats what it comes down to in the end in life.

I raised my first child (now 30) without religion. For many years I felt like I'd done him an injustice. In retrospect, thru my own negligence, I gave him a very open mind about it.

Child #2 (now 7) is a different story. I'm still raising him without religion, but he goes to a private school that has a heavy jewish population. He knows more about Judiasm than anything else. I cannot stop this from happening, but when he asks me about it I try to give him a "spiritual" (as opposed to religious) answer. It's a very fine line to walk. I'd rather that he didn't have this outside influence which is beyond my control, but since I'm not prepared to homeschool him or cocoon him, it's going to happen.

Frankly, when he asks about God and Jesus and angels, I really don't know what to say. It's a tough call.

www.timesonline.co.uk...

A male nurse wants to be the first “Christian” in Britain to be “de-baptised” after complaining that at five-months-old he was too young to decide.

Mr John Hunt, 56, says that he wants his 1953 baptism at the St Jude and St Aidan parish church in the Southwark diocese, south London, cancelled because he was not consulted and does not believe in God.

^Just something to think about really
I have a child on the way in a couple of months, my wifes family is highly catholic mine not so religous at all. We have had a couple of discussions about baptism so far but nothing has been resolved yet. It is something that my wife and i need to sort out shortly i guess.

Or do you see this as a way that secular folks can share some of your values without your dogma?

That's pretty much how I'd look at it, assuming that it's a good book; since I haven't read it, I can't comment on what it says. I accept that while I am religious myself, I know that not everyone else will be, but I'll be happy with anything that helps people live better lives. Teaching children to be honest, hardworking, and that sort of thing is always good, whether done within a religion or not.

I'd argue that you could instill quality values in children better with God included, but you can do it without Him if you want; I know lots of people who are proof of this.

meh, looks like organized atheism to me. "we don't need your god to tell us how to raise our kids, we've got sean curley."

as far as i'm concerned, if you need a book to tell you how to raise your kids then one book is as bad as the other.

Originally posted by ThatDGgirl
I raised my first child (now 30) without religion. For many years I felt like I'd done him an injustice. In retrospect, thru my own negligence, I gave him a very open mind about it.

Child #2 (now 7) is a different story. I'm still raising him without religion, but he goes to a private school that has a heavy jewish population. He knows more about Judiasm than anything else. I cannot stop this from happening, but when he asks me about it I try to give him a "spiritual" (as opposed to religious) answer. It's a very fine line to walk. I'd rather that he didn't have this outside influence which is beyond my control, but since I'm not prepared to homeschool him or cocoon him, it's going to happen.

Frankly, when he asks about God and Jesus and angels, I really don't know what to say. It's a tough call.

Just teach him to question everything. If he questions in the correct way that will lead him to educate himself throughout his lifetime. Spirituality is a lifetime process that should never stop. If you think you've found all the answers then you haven't found all the questions yet.

reply to post by Iamonlyhuman


I'm quite comfortable knowing I don't have all the answers. Anything else would just be crazy!! Besides, it's the neverending quest that keeps me going.

As far as your advice.....YES, teaching him how to think for himself is my main priority. Lucky for me, I figured that out early on. We all do the best we can.........