So every religious holiday I have the same pondering. What do I believe? Do I believe in God? Do I believe in religion? Do I believe in church? Than I start going into the when we have kids are we going to baptize them? If we do, than we should go to church, send them to Sunday school, etc. But if I want our kids to be “churchey” it’s going to be a Liz thing cause Mike is totally not interested in it. Is it worth that battle? Are the kids going to pull the same thing Mike did in third grade with his Mom and convience her to stop taking him since his Dad didn’t go?
Any comments or suggestions?
- Mood:
thoughtful
2 responses so far ↓
My dad took me to church while I was a kid despite the fact that my mom didn’t go. I think the Catholic church that my parents married in made them sign a pledge saying that they were planning to have kids and that all of them would be raised Catholic. Creepy stuff, but my dad stuck to it, and it worked… until I turned sixteen, realized just how much Catholic politics turned me off, and refused to go any longer. So you see where that got him.
In the end, if they’re good kids who lead good lives, they’re going to come to believe what’s right for them almost independently of what you tell them growing up. I will say that the idea of putting on a face of piety to your children when in reality you aren’t sure what you believe squicks me a bit, but on the other hand it’s pretty common and possibly ubiquitous, so you’ll have company either way. But if you go that route, you do run the risk of having a devout Christian kid who eventually discovers your own misgivings and turns into a devout and very resentful atheist kid.
If it were me, I’d probably go with the old standard, “Well, many people believe there’s some form of higher power out there who created us, and people have different beliefs about this power. Me, I’m not sure what I believe. Your grandma and grandpa believe this…” etc.
I hear from many, many people (my father included) that growing up church was ‘their mom’s thing’. My dad’s whole family was catholic, went to catholic school and everything, but in the end, Grandma was the only one going to church twice a week.
So, my thoughts are: Don’t worry about having the whole family at church. However, if you’re just going to church to ’set a good example’ - why go? Religion is personal, and personal philosophy does not require a social organization. In my opinion, the only reason to get involved in a church is to get that social interaction - pot lucks, saders, bingo night, what have you. If you’re getting that already in a secular activity, well, just make time for your religious observances at home.
Okay, you probably didn’t want such opinionated diatribes, sorry- but you asked.