This thread stems from another in the christian sub-forum, and I have taken the idea here to avoid going off topic in that thread. (This thread debated the merits of allowing your child to believe in Santa).
Here is the question / debate:
Is it right / fair / meritious to raise your child in a particular religion as the one true religion? For example, to raise your child as a christian / catholic / buddhist ONLY, and not introduce or teach other religions. To clarify, the opposite of this would be to attempt to educate your child about all religions, and allow them to choose for themselves when they are older.
Please stick to the topic! This is not about which religion / faith is right.
Essentially I think it is important that whatever path you choose, and whatever religion you choose to be 'the one true religion' that you preach tolerance to others and their choices...
Meaning it is all fine to educate your children that Islam is the one true faith, but you must also teach that others have different beliefs and are entitled to them. I think this is really vital to ensuring that religion doesn't become a devisive issue in your child's mind, environment and social interactions.
I was raised a Christian, a Catholic, went to an Anglican school, but we were NEVER taught that anyone following another religion was 'evil' or 'unworthy of our friendship and respect' or 'our enemy' iykwim.
I went to this Anglican school with so many different religious groups being represented. We were taught in RE about other religions, and went into a great deal of detail. We werent taught to compare the truth of each of them, but rather to understand the differences in them and how and where these differences affect culture, society, politics...
I have a JW Kingdom Hall around the corner from my house at the moment, and every few weeks I have this one particular man who comes to my house and talks to me, brings me their little magazine newsletter thing. We have some excellent conversations, and went into a lot of detail last week abut how I as a 'pagan' am viewed by JWs, how they are taught to 'deal' with us. I was amazed at his understanding, I must confess, I had expected much less.
But it was plainly obvious that he was taught that although he knew what was written in the Bible about my beliefs (he showed me lol) he was quite happy to talk with me. He understood I had no desire to be converted and couldn't be, but wanted to explore other faiths, and he agreed that this was a major step on the path to respecting humans for themselves, no matter which faith they follow.
I know that he believes I am going against the 'only true Word' - but he gave me his respect, asked questions and tried to gain a better understanding of what it is that I as a Druid believe and what that means for my world. He actually invited me to their service a few months ago, knowing full well I wasn't going to convert or be changed, just that I wanted to understand.
I think with blinkered religious education there can be a tendency to unwittingly blind kids to other thoughts and in doing so you actually stunt their understanding of the world.
So many things in the world are affected by religion and culture - politics, economics, legislation, media, diplomacy... By only offering one school of thought I think ultimately you end up with children who don;t learn any other ways of thinking, approaching problems, dealing with moral dilemas both in their own lives, those of friends, and those in any other place in the world they choose to visit. So whilst they may always follow that religion they have been raised with, it is likely that they will not have any understanding of how other people function in their lives.
In terms of basic developmental aspects, learning to appreciate and evaluate other peoples motivations can seriously affect kids' problem solving skills, their communication skills, their reasoning and ethical comprehension. If you are always blinded to those around you then you will never learn to understand them. This can only ever be to the detriment of the child I think.
So whilst they may always believe they are on the 'one true path' understanding and being taught that others believe their path is the 'one true path' is vital.
At the end of the day, there is no proof for one religion that another doesnt claim to also have really. Most single deity religions believe they are the 'one true faith' and we will never know which is which until we meet our Makers...May as well learn and love as much as possible while we are here.
Charlotte will be raised with many religious beliefs around her, and I hope that I teach her to appreciate all of them and make her own decision about which path to take - and that that path is the one that gives her joy, love, comfort, energy and hope.
I also hope that she chooses a path of tolerance and understand, respect and love for all - to do this I wholeheartedly belief that I must lead by example.
She will have the Easter Bunny and Santa, because they are social norms....but she will be raised with Rituals, and Faery stories, and the knowledge of those who have gone before her. She was blessed under the full moon and will celebrate many events most of her peers will not even comprehend.
I hope at the end of thise when she is old enough and well enough equiped to make a decision on her path she will make a choice that is best for her, regardless of what we as her parents believe.
I would love her to embrace my religion lol make things easier But at the end of everything, the core of that faith is love, balance, understanding and respect - all the qualities I would want her to retain whether I was Muslim, Pagan, JW or Hindu.
Last edited by LimeSlice; June 23rd, 2009 at 08:10 AM.
: title
Liebling is being raised a Christian. The one true faith in this house! But that doesn't mean that he should hate others or shun them or not talk to them - we are told in the Bible to love everyone. So that's what we should do.
I do think it is fair to raise Liebs to know that Christ died for him as the truth, because it is so (please note this is my opinion). BUT I will also raise him to know about and respect the beliefs of others because to do otherwise is to close off a large part of the world. I find the faith and beliefs of others facinating, even if I don't follow them or believe them.
I agree with Limeslice - teaching tolerance is far more important than whether or not you riase your child with religion or which religion you teach.
Having said that many people who follow a particular religion only do so because they KNOW in their hearts (i.e. it is true for them) that that religion is the one true faith in the world. So it's a pretty big ask for a parent who knows the bible is true and christianity is the one true faith to be expected to teach their kids it's just another option, kwim?
With DD i am honest. We are not religious, but we are respectful. I value humility, i will not pretend i have answers that i don't or offer her guarantees i can't deliver on. We talk about what other people and groups believe and i tell her honestly that i don't know what the truth is and that everyone has to decide for themselves. I can tell her what *I* think the truth is, but i acknowledge that i am working off my gut, not any kind of fact. She knows she can say she agrees when i don't (the issue of wearing all-pink is one over which we currently have a difference of opinion!). I don't necessarily think that it's very important to raise children with relgion or not, but i do think it's important to raise them with honesty about who their parents are. Hiding religious beliefs, IMO, would be ill-advised. Everyone needs to start from somewhere on their journey into the world, and knowing where you come from is the first step in figuring out where you are going.
B - I hadn't ever really thought of it before, but I am glad that my parents 'started somewhere'. Neither was overly religious anyway, but I had a huge journey and I think that it probably would have been a lot harder to explore different paths if I hadn't have been already put on the road first.
We have decided to teach Jazz about the fundamentals of all religions, as I believe that religion is a horses for courses kind of thing, and deep into each religion they are based on the same thing, love, respect, tolerace, acceptance, and that the differences in religions are the practices, 'prophets' and the stories.
Basically I want her to know that every religion is based on the same values, and they are the important things to always hold true, no matter which path you choose, and then let her choose whichever practice she is drawn to.
This is one of the things my parents did with me that I will do with Jazz. My mum holds Christianity, my dad holds Pagan beliefs, and when I decided Buddhism resonated with me, it was celebrated. They always encouraged religious discovery, and I never felt I needed to hide or silence any belief or questions that I had. In that way, they were very open-minded and tolerant. Ironic really....
OOO good topic indeed. Personally I am an athiest and that's what I will always be. Ava's probably a bit young at the moment to even understand religion anyway but when she is at the age to comphrehend it then she is more than welcome to follow whatever religion she wants to, because that will be her journey.
I'm hereditary and will be passing my religious information etc onto my children, but in saying that, when I do have kids, they will learn about ALL religions. More so so they can make an informed choice about which path they choose and also have knowledge of other religious.
Debate - Raising your kids with religion
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ETA: Another rant from Alexis lol
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