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into your belief, religion cult? If so, how much, how soon, and do they see it as something that interests them, or just because they see it as what their peers do?

I'm curious how many of you as parents, balance your belief, with family life.

Many place religion to an extent. An example would be teaching kids of Moses from the old testament, but not revealing he was a killer until their late teen early adulthood.

Giving children the basic principles should be mandatory, but telling them what is truth and what is the only spiritual way is outrageous.

*imagesinwords edit* This is an offensive post. We are not to post things that 'ridicule the philosophical tenants of any religion'- and your comment about Moses definitely does. This thread can be posted to without going 'there'.

This can only stay open if these kinds of comments are avoided.

Re: ~TCP~

"teaching kids of Moses from the old testament, but not revealing he was a killer until their late teen early adulthood."

There is a slight overlooking with this example. If the child is interested in theosophy and or theology, then they may feel compelled to ask any and all questions relating to the subjects, protagonists and storylines within the context of the bible itself, if they so chose to walk that path. They would figure out the unspoken trials of each protagonist long before their late teen years, I would suspect.

I would encourage the child to find their path, if they chose mine, then so be it. I would answer the questions that I could. But I would also ask them questions in return to make sure they felt as comfortable with their choice as possible. It can be a very eclectic choice of what their mind could be set on.

In the end, I would involve myself only when they need the mentorship, and or guidance within what they chose to do within their own belief system.

Nope never have. I believe in letting them make up their own mind.

my daughter is 10.. I encourage believing in herself first and foremost, i feel if you believe and know yourself well, then you know what you want in life and ergo.

But her school is teaching her about the Aztecs; showing her their sacrifices, with blood, and graphic images of slaughter. even children bound then thrown into a pit with a spear ready for them.
I'm not sure if this is a good idea, and she seems a bit shocked by it.
Not only that.. but teaching her and showing her my spirituality, and how many of you practice your own beliefs.. which is many different types here.

He means that he will not press any of his ideas or religious beliefs onto his children. He will let them decide for themselves what they want to believe. I happen to agree with him. Coming from a home where religion was forced on me and shoved down my throat, I can not condone persuading a child (of all people) to believe in what you believe for the simple fact that you believe it. Especially when your beliefs stem from the occult.

I am a person who likes to be free to make my own spiritual decisions... and I let me children find their footing.. They believe in Angels, and even Fairies.. that's fine with me. Recently they asked me if ghosts are real..
I said we all pass to another place, if we want to come back to visit people we love, I am sure we can. That helps them because they've recently lost a Grandad, and 3 goldfish..

I believe in paranormal, but I won't tell the kids oh yes, there are ghosts all around us.. A, that would freak them out, B) it's pushing my belief onto them.

i was rasied mainly baptist. but my mother always allowed me to look into what i was instreated in even if she was not into it. the only thing she said no to was descration or distruction of any thing religous.

i hope when i have kids i am as open minded as my mom was.

I am a Satanist, LeVayan and Theistic, I am proud of my beliefs, and would love to teach my son the Left Handed Path. But there is one thing, I want him to follow whatever he feels, I found my religion by myself, and I want my son to do the same, find what best fits him. He is two, when he gets older, when he can understand and possesses more, I will tell him about my beliefs, just so he knows where his Father is coming from...

I let my children decide for themselves.
Only one is highly active in Pagan beliefs.
I was brain washed as a kid to religion, so I won't do it to my own.

My kids know my beliefs. My husband does not agree with it but dosn't try to stop me. I have one 17 year old son who follows in my religion, my 14 year old daughter is christian and my 13 year old daughter is still searching for what fits her best. My son has tried several religions such as buddism. I think it's great that he is looking into other ways instead of just whats around him.

I haven't had kids yet but when I do i'm letting them explore what is the world and what religion they want to choose. I'm not going to be as strict as my upbringing was of having to go to church every sunday.

Being born and raised baptist my great grandmother is old fashioned in that her way of thinking is "your not baptist your going to hell" I'd let my kids decide for themselves not make it up for them.

MinxyMoon

I believe a parent has the right to guide their child's religious teachings, whether they be devout or none at all.

As to what the school is teaching your young daughter, that sounds a bit excessive in graphic details to me. They can teach the history of other people without getting into details of how they killed babies and children. I could see learning that sort of thing in college but grade school... that's just silly to frighten kids that way. I would think it'd turn many against wanting to study history at all.

i try my best.
i want my child to have an open mind to all cultures but be able to stand strong in his own beliefs.
I do believe that even if as they grow they might not share our beliefs, but when they are grown up, it is reflected through them.

I am physically a child myself.
My "parents" tried to force christianity on me when I was younger. For a time, I believed all of it. But then I woke up.
Now, I have my own beliefs- different than any I have ever heard about before- and I finally like where I stand.

My "parents" consider me aethist, though I am the farthest thing from that

I don't follow a strict religion... I'm spiritual, and in my own way.. i'm not a follower of anything to the max.

The schools are still predominantly Christian, so when the kids have questions, I answer... but I won't sway their choices i try to allow them to make their own.

I am an atheist, and my children attend a Christian school.. They ask me questions all the time about God and Jesus which I find very hard to answer. I will not however tell them that I do not believe. I do not ignore them when they tell me the stories about what they have heard. I do find it quite interesting comparing what I heard from school. They also learn about Buddism and other religions which again, I have no interest in but I will listen.
I encourage my children in learning about new things and hope they figure out what if anything to believe in just as I did.
My two children are so different so I see they are already sort of finding themselves in some sense. My oldest is like me. He tends to like the dark side of life while my youngest is into sports and the lighter side.

I think it is essential to let children deside for themselves what (if anything) they want to believe in..I have seen many people end up all physco and crazy (one best friend has a mega god issue, thinks he's god alot of the time) because too much religion (whether christianity or other) was forced on them too young.

Often times religion is forced down ones throat when young and some end up rebelling while they still live with their parents while others find themselves after they leave the nest. Parents who give their children a choice are often condemned by parents who forced religion or anything else down their child(ren)s throat.

I was raised to only believe in conventional science...

A new motto " Your parents don't mean to screw you up they just do! "

I was born and raised as a southern baptist, and left the faith at the age of ten for personal reasons. I do not believe in forcing any religious belief, practice, or dogma down a child's throat. Unfortunately it happens to far too many.

All individuals should be able to discern for themselves what they want to believe or disbelieve.


To SexySanguinarian,

I am curious as to why you differentiate the way that you do by singling out belief systems that are occult related. Why are all occult based belief systems different with regard to teaching them to your children? Why is the forcing of occult belief different or more severe simply because it is of an occult nature? I agree that neither should be forced on a child, I simply have a problem with the eluded to idea that because one may have an occult foundation, that somehow makes it worse.

All my children are grown now. I let them choose what they wanted to believe. I didn't attend a church regularly except a metaphysical one for a time other than when I was a child. They would go to church with friends. So many are Christian that it wasn't so much about the religion as their feeling left out to a degree. I went to their special events and things like that. They always knew my beliefs but I didn't dictate them to them. I think each person has to decide for themselves. I have one who is sort of born again, one who sort of stays on the outside, one who is Catholic by choice and another who is I believe attending a Christian church as well. I don't believe in that but only respond if they try to be dogmatic with me about things, other than that a person's spiritual path should be respected so I have always done that. The only time I ever said anything that could be taken as derogatory is I told them not to read the King James Bible because it has too many translation errors and get another version. If asked I would tell them what I believed.

LuciferChylde: I totally agree. In my case...My mother was into New Age stuff (still is), and all she ever did was try to force me into it. She never stopped throwing things at me, as well as demonizing all other religions. I ended up a Christian. lol So Christians are definitely not the only people known for proselytizing. Not at all. My father believed in Judeo-Christian tradition, although he didn't go to church- it was more of a private thing for him.

I don't ignore anything my son asks or says about things I may not follow (that is time for discussion), and I guess I'll be the first to say it- of course I influence his spiritual life. He's my child, I don't want him to 'stumble' into anything. But I raise him with a great appreciation for all cultures and diversity.

My son has went to different structured religions
but it is his choice in what he believes
He knows I practice Wicca
He never asked me about it
He knows he is welcome to
But he has no interest.
He has his own individuality
and he will fiqure which way when he is ready
which religion he will want to.
Being in the Army Reserves, and being on the bases
he has went to different religious services.

religion is a very important thing to choose. Afterall it determines the way you live your life. I have taught my children all aspects of every religion out there and with this knowledge they will be able to choose for themselves the way they want to live their life. I have instilled good moral and ethics and can only hope they take what I have taught them and put it to good use and to living their life to the fullest.

I am Pagan But I do not force my children to practice the way I do. My youngest is an avid church goer for a christian church. I support her in every way I can. My other 2 children have not yet chosen what they want to believe But I am not opposed to answering their inquisitive questions either. I am not biased in my answers either.

I believe children should be allowed to choose their own path. I have told my children many times what I believe in, but always point out to them it’s my belief and I want them to find what feels right for them. My daughter of 13 is a different religion than myself, and everyday I encourage her to seek as she does. I she or one of my boys asks what I believe I will tell them, but I also take the time to listen to them.

Would not teaching them all religions just confuse them?

It's a toughie for sure, to find a middle ground without scaring them or making them think religions suck in all forms.. I mean, my kids don't have to believe in any religion per say.... Believing in themselves is more important I think.

As parents, our jobs are to guide children into their adulthood. As Images stated, to expose them to different ideas and concepts, to explain those ideas in an age appropriate way so they can start forming their own opinions on them.

To me this seems like a more logical and responisble way to raise my kids. I see little good in forcing them to believe in something you believe in at a young age.

After all - a belief is a belief, which essentially is an opinion. Opinions are not fact, even if the person expressing the opinion feels they are basing their opinions on fact.

And this post, in the end, is my opinion. Not right, not wrong - but how I BELIEVE children should be raised. Hopefully if I am doing my job as a parent correctly, when my children have children they will be open minded enough to realize they have to find their own best way to raise them - regardless of what I believe.

I am not a parent, but I can speak from the perspective of a teenager and from when I was much younger. I do not believe any sort of ideology should be forced upon or imposed upon any child. You can't tell a child 'this is the right way it's done' because your belief system may be right for you, but might not be right for your child. I think this is what you're trying to avoid by starting the thread and asking others. I think I'm being redundant. o_O

Educate, educate, educate. If your child shows an interest in your faith, show them, involve them to satisfy their curiosity. Then allow them to be educated in other religions and paths. It may be confusing for them at a younger age, but when they come of an age where they start to wonder, start to seek out knowledge like that, all paths should be shown to them. After seeing everything only then can they really make a decision on what feels right to them.

This is how I see it and how I intend to raise my own children.

Of course. I am a spiritual person and have passed that onto my daughter. I kept her away from church though as she was growing up so she wouldn't have that brainwashing in her head, but could make up her mind later when her frontal lobes are more developed. That happens in teens sometime.

No my children choose their own path in life, what they want to pray to or believe is their own choice not mine to make for them.

Minxy post:

'Would not teaching them all religions just confuse them?

It's a toughie for sure, to find a middle ground without scaring them or making them think religions suck in all forms.. I mean, my kids don't have to believe in any religion per say.... Believing in themselves is more important I think.'

Now that is an articulate summation.

I am finding this thread to be very intresting, it demonstrates the degrees of involvement (devotion) they invest in their belief(s).

I am committed to my beliefs, yet knowing the effects of religion or other structure pushed on children, i shy away from that scenerio, Religion was pushed on me and I rebelled, i teach my kids freewill to choose what fits their life, if they want to know my beliefs I do tell them and tell them to make their own choice.

I have raised my son to follow what ever belief he chooses to beleive in he has been raised both Pagan and Cathoic (by my parents) and he has the choice to follow what ever he chooses to believe in. What ever he decides I do not riducule.

I practice the druid path, but I do not force it on my little one. However I do make it a point to learn all I can about other religions as well. I want to be able to answer as many questions as I can for her when she asks them and even at 6 it has already begun. I also want to be able to make sure that when she DOES choose her faith that she is choosing it for herself not just because that is what the in crowd is doing, if you know what I mean. I will never have a problem with what she chooses so long as she makes a choice that is based on her own accord and not that of others. I just want her to be true to herself. :)

I believe in letting children have exposure to various religions and then letting them make their own choice when they are ready.
I cannot see forcing a child to choose a religion that he or she might not be happy with, just because I want him or her to be. My parents let me decide and I am grateful they did, and I did the same for my sons.

What irks me is when patents live vicariously thru their child alledgedly adopting their beliefs.


And further, oh the real irk..

Estranged, or divorced Parent(s) playing the childs assigned religion against each other. Obvious spite, and mental torture to a child.

I was just thinking the same thing Moon. Seems like we have a lot of open-minded individuals, but we are parents first. That is what really matters in the end. My son is two, I will not push my Satanic beliefs on a two year old. It isn't right. I will not influence him in ANY way. He will do his own research and choose what is best for him. I don't care if he is Catholic or an Acidic Jew as long as he is happy with his beliefs.

Sexy- Those thoughts are a true parents thoughts(in my opinion) for we as parents want the best of our kids, jobs, life money what ever. There paths should be filled with the paths they choose and not what others impress upon them.

my son know that i am wiccan and that i practice i feel that is a good thing to know that there is more than god but i want him to choice for hisself and what ever he choises i will stand by him

Growing up my parents didn't go to church, so I would go with my aunt. After about two months of going I decided it was not for me. I was told the devil would come out of my Rock-n-Roll posters and take me to hell.

My parents are free spirited. They let me do what I wanted when it came to believing. I am not a religious person.

I have a three year old daughter and I encourage her to do what she feels is right for her.

I have thought about enrolling her into a Church preschool this fall to see if she likes the interaction of the church in with the school stuff. If she doesn't like it then I will put her some where else. I figure it can't hurt for her to try it. It would give her the sight of their world.

I have brought my son up to believe in what he wants to believe in and not be a sheep or conformist. I have eclectic beliefs, but we have had discussions on many different religions and the pros and cons of those religions.

If my son chooses to be a Christian then he has my blessing, the same if he chose to be pagan, hindu, islamic, etc. He knows the basics of most religions, he knows to follow the path that feels right to him and to not go into things blindly but to find out more, or get mum to do some research lol.

My children know of my beliefs, but I encourage them to make up their own mind. I do talk to them about certain things because they are curious about why do Papi likes Vampires or like his room dark. They know that it's what papi likes.

I have several children who are pretty much all grown up.
I have taught them as best I can, to ignore adverts and never to follow the crowd.
They begin to wonder why they are different and it can be painful to watch.
Yet they are generally happy and that is not to be ignored.
As for religion, I always arbored religion as it causes so many conflicts and the mentally ill often flock to it.
Yet, I accidentally stumbled onto the left path, personally I always thought it was complete Mumbo jumbo but now the evidence points to the fact I was a little blind and ignorant.
Having made my peace we will see where this path takes us all...
It is not as simple as most religions would have you believe. When I am certain I will tell them and perhaps you.

As a child I had many anti-religious views thrust upon me. I dislike that now, and wish I had a choice in the matter.

Children should, I think, know only enough to get by on, and decide what, if any, they will be choosing to follow as an adult.
They should be free to live their first years of life without something as heavy as religion on their shoulders.

I do not force anything on my daughter.. If she asks I give her information that she can use to form her own as I have done myself.. I believe you should allow them to make up their own minds when it comes to religion..

I have evolved a lot whenever it comes to things like this. I grew up into religion like most people have, but religion doesn't neccessarily sway people to stay involved with it. That will always be a personal choice. You will always have pressure from family or friends that have the same mindset, but as you get older, you start to realize that you don't have to follow the herd so-to-speak. I have changed my belief-set over time according to my own personal experiences which i didn't find answers for in just ONE religion alone.

I find that a lot of what is taught comes from another source of original belief that stems off another and another, like a tree, only being changed by those who changed it themselves according to what THEY wanted to believe and others who wanted to adopt it into their lives.

As for encouraging a particular religion into my children's lives? I don't push anything onto mine. I am like some have posted onto this thread that I feel it is something they should look into themselves whenever they feel spirituality is something they wish to focus more on.

I may also point out to them that a lot of what is written is not proven, but theories. To be sure that whatever they do study or read, they analyze it with care. Pay attention to wording and such.

Much like media, most people tend to disregard words like "i think, i believe, i feel that, theorized, alleged" are all words that should be taken into consideration.

They must also understand that there are a lot of lost information and cultures and things not yet found that could very well change whatever we know today.

That is pretty much all I will be encouraging.

children need to make their own decisions on beliefs, would I like my(future) children to share what I believe however it has to be their choice, I would carefully and logically explain my beliefs but I wouldn't push them on anyone, I have had to deal with competing religious views tearing my family apart because both my mom and dad tried to say that their church was the right one, if you force something on your children sooner or later they will resent you.

My daughter is still too young to really understand but I have been guiding her (we are Wiccan) since she was born.

I will teach her about all faiths, and hopefully we will be able to have insightful and honest discussions about what we both view are the pros and cons of each. If she were to come to me one day and tell me that she wanted to be Catholic, Jewish or whatever I would be disappointed that she did not choose Wicca but I would support her 100% in her choice.

My fundamental idea is that it does not matter what you have faith in....just that you HAVE faith.

(Yes I stole that from Dogma) :)

I would if they were interested in it/exhibited magickal potential.

as a parent who practices the pagan path, while my children were growing i did my best to expose them to as many different beliefs and faiths that the world has to offer, i encouraged them to find out as much as possible about all the different sects there are. i felt it was my job as a parent to educate them fully so they can make an informed decision on which belief path is right for them.

One question i have atm is , why do people feel that children or people for that matter MUST HAVE some sort of belief system in their lives? Is it just a matter of learning or educational factors or something more?

If all beliefs are simply "beliefs", why does it play such a role that it's not enough for them to simple live life and not accept what IS right there in front of them?

i am to afraid that i will cause my children to resent me

As long as your are honest about everything that is true and factual, how can they resent you?

i just fear that i will be a bad father, and thats why I am scared to have children

I will let them decided...I will teach them what I know... but if they choose to do something else...I will encourage them to do things that make them happy, be it in religion or life itself.

my kids live in a world were the majority have some belief in something, therefore as a parent i felt it my job to give them as much info in what is out there, then it is their decision to go from there, be it following a path or living life

my kids are still to young yet 4 and 1 but as they get older i will teach them to be what ever they wish to and follow what ever religian they wish as well. I will explain to them as to the ways I follow of wicca but they in the end it will be their decision on what to do. I will support and back my kids 100%..

I believe that my son should, just as I have chosen to, find is own pathway to heaven. I am happy to support any of his spiritual beliefs, no matter what they be.
We should all have the right to reach enlightenment on our own terms.

My children go to a Christian school and I have been asked questions and I will give an honest answer.

It's their decision as to what they want to believe in, I will not force my opinions on them.

I have 4 teens ages 19, 17, 16 and 15. Now, I have always stayed honest and open to them. I don't get wigged out of questions of Religion, Life or any other things but I always keep it open for them to decide and state there opinion and give me feed back with there ideas because I wanna know what they are thinking and how they see things. I never had a regular childhood therefore my children are raised the way I wish I was raised without being scared of who I am or want to be. I am very close to all my kids than again I had them young and basically grew up with them myself all together. So, no I don't regret having them young at all because we relate to all things in a different level. I also understand where they are coming from more too. I think that a big age gap can mess up a parent and child. But the key is keeping ope communication and living that door open for them to come to you no matter what the problem is because I rather have my kid come to me about a problem than a friend and they get into more trouble when it could of been prevented from the gitgo with open communication.

Example: I tell my daughter who is 17 that if *BIG IF* she ever gets pregnant I better be the first one to know and not to be scared if I get angry or yell let me vent first than we can decided together what we should do. Why get all pissed off and shut your kid off for? That makes no sense to me. So please encourage your kids to come to you. Its has worked for me so far....

I am a solitary Wiccan and my son is 7 years old. I encourage him to have an open mind about the world in which he lives. It is important for me to guide and teach him in a way that is not threatening or frightening. I have not and do not hold ritual with him present and I do not push my religion onto him. I want him to be able to grow and someday find a religion that he feels fits him and his needs.

from the time I was 2 til 14 attended the Anglican Church but left for personal reasons
9 years later when my son was born decided to let him find his own path but when he turned 3 and wanted to attend church with Nana the same church I went to let him but he knew just at that age why I didn't go and why I walked away from it

by the time he was 11 he went to 8 different places of worship with friends family members etc trying to find the answer to his question what question do not know or care if he wishes to to be Anglican Catholic satanist pagan Wiccan etc then he can as he is old enough to make his own decisions at the age of 20 nearly 21 and not once unlike other members of his family influence him to my beliefs all i did was answer his questions to the best I could without letting anything bitter slip which sometimes did but he knew that was because of my past experiences making that happen

i would not include my child in any ritual i did.
i would make damn certain they knew all about it, but i would encourage them to look outside of the family for a belief that fit them.
If they chose to remain in the family belief, wonderful, but i'd raise them to be as open-minded as possible

i find it interesting how never its said i grew up with occult philosiphy cramed down my throught. but quite often the other way. food for thought?

i so want my future kids not to end up resenting my beliefs as I have come to resent my own parents beliefs

My faith is a personal decision. I would do as my faith instructs me to do as far as the raising of my children. Then, when they are old enough to be personally accountable for their choices then, they can make their own decision on what they want to believe.

I believe religion or faith is something for each person to find my kids never truely got pushed in any direction my oldest daughter is wiccan... my oldest son is a satanist....I am of a Romany faith... so to push a child into a faith because it is your own is ignorance...... no faith or belief is wrong or right for a mass or family

I encourage my kids to question everything. Study it. Learn it. We go into aspects of how each faith or religion impacts culture. In the end whatever they should choose I hope they KNOW it well enough to stand up for what they believe in when challenged. I would also like that they would be tolerant and able to respect the beliefs of others in a peaceful way.

I like exposing my kids to various different forms of spirituality and beliefs so that they can make up their own minds and if they choose to discount all of it that is ok too. That's how my parents were with me and I really appreciated the freedom they gave me to make my own choices and mind.

I am not currently involved in any religious groups, however...if I went to a weekly religious observance my kids would go with me until they were old enough to decide that they would rather not go. I would encourage them to go to the special services(aka Easter and things of that ilk).
I do expect that if we have an honored guest in our home who requests to pray or say grace that the wishes of the guest be honored and accepted.

I do not feel that children are easily led. They will reach their own determinations in time but I would never force a religion on them as being the only one.

I have 3 children, all of which are 5 and under... I have not taught them anything I believe or don't believe in yet because I want them to be old enough to think for themselves before teaching them anything... I want them to question me... I also want them to learn about other religions... I want to teach my children to be tolerate of all religions, and in doing so teach them to be open minded...

I have an 11 year old daughter she knows what i believe but i have always let her make her own mind up she has chosen the chrisian path and goes to church with my parents . My parents do not understand my beliefs at all and that is how i was brought up.Holy Rolling Baptists, however:i try to be supportive in what she believes in as i feel she is mature enough at her age to make up her own mind.

I have 12 and 15 year old boys. They have both partaken in Beltane and Samhain and Lupercalia etc. But they can go to church if they so feel like it. They may be kids, but they have a mind of their own. They can choose what they want.

My kids know about me being Wiccan, and about my perceptions concerning Vampires. They talk to me about it off and on, and I talk to them about it.

I feel that if they at a later time in their lives want to follow that is their choice. I will support them in what ever they decide to do, but I will not or ever force them to do something or believe in something that they don't believe in.

I raise my children to make their own decisions, whether those decisions be good or bad. I raise them to speak what is on their minds and not to worry about what other people think or say about them. I also raise them to not take any crap from their peers or anybody else for that matter.

I have two children one is 7 and the other is 4. At this point I am just teaching them proper manners and to treat others with respect, but to also be proud of who they are and not to get trampled on. I would like to think when they get older I will encourage them to study all kinds of paths and go with the one that they feel is calling them. Not to blindly follow one just because I believe it, like my parents attempted to do with me.

i dont have any children but if i did i would let them choose to be like me or not but i do believe that they will automatically love the darkness i mean they will be my children so thy might want to be like there dad