Religion ( ducks behind couch!)

It is so nice to read a thread where people give opinions and it is done in a thought provoking manner, and people are not foaming at the mouth and going all freak about it.

This thread made me feel all warm and fuzzy today - there is peace in the world, even if it is just in this corner of Moomie Land.

RM I think a healthy dose of sceptism and curiosity is exactly what is needed to foster an interest both for one's religion (its good to know why you CHOOSE to believe in something rather than just do it cause it was handed down) and religious tolerance. I too schooled in only Christian schools (denominational like Catholic and non-denominational ones). I feel it made me more aware and tolerant if other belief systems as opposed to my sisters who went to a Muslim school and were exposed to one ideology, one kind of people etc. It also made me want to understand my own religion more.

Milou when answering your daughters questions do you feel the need to answer from a particular religious framework? Would answering from a non-organised religious but spiritual framework not work for you. Like for example, there is a God, a Creator who created everything (you can teach the concepts of Heaven and hell if you want), who sustains us and is merciful and asks that we strive to do good (instil what values you think are good), who answers our prayers etc.

Anthropologists have done cross cultural and cross racial studies have found that children identify with the existence of a higher Creator/God before they identify with w
whether to call him Allah, Jesus, Eloha, Krishna etc.

I will support whatever religion Dylan decides to adopt one day. I am the parent and should guide him but ultimately he needs to choose such things in life. I will however want him to adopt tolerance above all else.

I changed religion every other Sunday depending on which guy I liked that month and which church he went to. Not ideal, but I got to experience many religions as a result.

Our dog died earlier this year and while I am agnostic I felt that it gave Dylan comfort knowing that his dog hadn't just dissapeared so I told him Murdoc went to doggie heaven in the sky and he was okay. He still looks to the sky and calls for Murdoc at times.

Some very interesting and great views from everyone.

DH's family took it really bad when he converted to Islam. The thing is he did it before we were even dating and because he learnt a whole lot about it and saw that Islam answered a lot of his questions. Then the family found out and they were really really upset but once they also got to know a bit more about the religion, they understood why he changed although they were still hurt by it. Now 6 years later, they all know so much about Islam and they have embraced our Islamic traditions as well which is great.

I will be honest with you all and say that if Kamilah one day chooses another religion, I will be very very hurt by it. I will never disown her but it will not sit well with me. To be honest I will be dissapointed. I wish I could say that I will be fine if she chooses otherwise but the truth is I wont. Even DH will be really hurt by it. I do not think I am intolerant of others and their religion since I myself embraced some of the Christian traditions that my DH grew up with.

I grew up christian and we are still christain. my kids will be raised christian and I pray they would not choose to change later on in life

Claudia_B wrote:

As a young child I think its important to make sad events easier on children, so although I might not sibscribe to that school of thought people go to heaven - that happy place when they die (so do dogs, cats, hamsters etc...)

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_Bridge_(pets)

We lost our little yorkie a year ago and I found this and, despite being agnostic, I told my daughter about it and I think it's lovely..

RM, I was raised catholic, and my parents although not practicing come from very strict catholic backgrounds. I always remember my mom telling me that her grade 1 teacher (a nun) used to make them stick thorns into a bust of jesus when they were naughty (because their sins hurt jesus) - your story reminded me of that story:(

I probably fit into the category "athiest", because I believe in science, evolution and that when I die my body decomposes into plant food. My husband is a christian and because most of my family is James will probably grow up exposed to those beliefs. We even have a childrens bible and James is going to go to a catholic school.
As such James will probably grow up christian.

As a young child I think its important to make sad events easier on children, so although I might not sibscribe to that school of thought people go to heaven - that happy place when they die (so do dogs, cats, hamsters etc...)
If James asks about other religeons I will explain, but honestly as long as he realises that people are different and we should respect everyone I'm going to leave any complicated discussions till he is much older to understand why mommy doesnt believe in heaven.