I'm having a bit of a struggle at the moment. I was raised a practising Catholic, mass on Sunday, baptised, communion, confirmation, church wedding etc, but over the last 20 years or so I have lapsed. This is not just in relation to the Catholic Church (which I have huge issues with, child abuse, women's rights, stashing all their riches instead of helping the poor, gay rights and on and on), but also I have trouble in believing in God. The rational more scientific side of my brain questions what I was taught growing up, the fact that the world is older than 5,000 years, that it wasn't created over the course of a week and that if God really did exist, why doesn't he step in now to show his presence and stop the despots and I also abhor how animals are treated in almost every way and if they are also God's creatures why does he let the levels of absolute cruelty continue when they have no say in their destiny or what happens to them - this is one of my biggest bug bears if I am honest. As a child I always asked - why didn't he just make Hitler die of measles when he was a kid and save the world from the horrors of World War 2 and I was never given an answer which satisfied me. I know religion is about having "faith" and removing the scientific side of things and men having free will to know good from evil - but in the bible God appeared all the time, parted the sea, set bushes on fire and flooded the earth so we could all start over and I although I am not a believer still know right from wrong. I also have issues with far right conservatives who use the bible to try and influence laws within a country - e.g. gay marriage or halt progressive politics and change. When I hear what some of them say quoting the bible and what Jesus said I recoil and know that for me I am best off out of all that when it comes to deciding a particular way to vote or how to judge a situation.
I also look at what the Catholic Church has done historically to the inhabitants of the various countries it went to as part of colonisation from Europe in terms of converting the locals and it is very hard to stomach. This will sound like I am bashing the Church, but personally I see more wrong with it than I see good when it is reviewed over the last 2,000 years. Though I do admire and respect the current Pope for the way he is inching forward slowly. I really do.
My parents who are no longer with me were both religious, though one more so than the other, one used to question the teachings of the Catholic Church versus the reality and had the stories which showed it was far from a Christian enterprise it was more about controlling the people and dictating their lives. I now have children and the eldest is getting to the stage where we need to consider whether we will start to teach her about God. My husband also raised a Catholic though not really practising doesn't believe at all, sees religion (all religion) as a neurosis (and please that is not to insult anyone who is religious that's just his opinion) and so he doesn't want to particularly go down that path. I don't either if I am honest, because I feel I would be a hypocrite. I would instead rather instruct my children to have good values, tolerance of others and a sound basis in scientific fact, evolution, respect for the planet etc and I know I don't need the bible for that. In fact a part of me thinks would we all be better off if religion didn't exist and we felt that this life was the only one we had and that we are all worm food when we're gone, and that all the wars caused by religion or the persecution of one religion by another (and the Catholic Church is certainly not alone in that matter) wouldn't have happened if there were no God to believe in. Sure we would probably have found other ways, but it would not have stemmed from a religious base. So what I struggle with is that if I do not instruct my kids now say and then let them make their own mind up later on - in the same way they learn the violin in and do ballet and then see if later on they really like it - am I making a decision for them because of my beliefs and should I go down the route of taking them to mass and letting them make their communion etc and then later in life they can make up their own mind and pretend (because it would be that) that I also believe in God. We have a chance now to start our eldest on the path to making her first communion but I am not sure that this is something I want for them now more than ever when I see how certain events in the world taking place, I feel the most important thing is to raise them in the school of hard, scientific facts and knowledge but is it right I make that choice? Would they regret missing out later on? And I also feel I am in some way letting my parents down, whom I know would see mass and communion and religion as a very important aspect in their life and want that for my children, so I have that guilt also. My parent who criticised the church always said to make sure there was space for God in my life, but I don't believe and so I would be effectively lying to my children about my own beliefs in order to cultivate theirs.