Boobaloo, I do not believe that my religion is the way, the truth and the life. I believe Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. I do not believe that my christian denomination is the only way to Jesus - I place myself in that denomination more so because I believe it holds closest to the core truths of christianity without (to my mind at least) too many non-biblical extras.
I can't see how I can tell my child it's ok for him to become atheist, pagan, hindu or buddhist, etc, when my beliefs are that the only way to be saved is through Jesus. How can I go against the grain of my faith and values and tell my child it's ok for him to remain unsaved?
I will admit that I can see where you are coming from in cases like the Duggar family - but they are only bringing up their children with the beliefs that are important to them. Just because those beliefs are different to yours doesn't mean their children have no right to be taught them. For you to have the right to teach your children about freedom of choice and respect, other families need the right to teach their children what they hold dear - whether that conflicts with your freedom of choice or not.
We all want what is best for our children. If anyone has a deeply held religious faith they will believe that holding that belief is what is best for their children and that if their children do not hold these beliefs that they will not be so happy as if they did hold them.
Most parents of faith would believe that raising their children without faith would be a profoundly unkind thing to do to that child. That doesn't mean that we should teach them to disrespect other religions in fact in my religion respect for other religions and their buildings is explicit. If we insult another person's faith and they in turn insult ours then that is regarded as our fault.
So yes, I intend to raise my children in faith but no I don't wish to raise them in intolerance.
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