All you atheist parents wondering how to broach the religion topic to your kids listen up!

[Rhubarb]

I'm a catholic and I teach my kids about all religions. I explain that some people believe different things and some people don't believe at all. I tell them what the Bible says about creation and what science says.

I tell them what my personal beliefs are but I encourage them to make their own minds up. I answer questions with "well this is what I believe but you might think something different".

I take them to Church and they know about the religion we follow, but I do encourage questions as far as I can bearing in mind their young ages.

So what I say to you is this. Don't put a barrier between yourselves and religion when it comes to your kids. Arm them with information and let them make their own minds up. If you push them a certain way, chances are that they'll reject it later on in life. Whereas if you add your support to whatever they decide to believe or not, it will give them the confidence to choose their own paths.

You may be disappointed in their choices but don't try to influence them too strongly one way or the other.

So says me.

lol. My dad, he who says marss and gofe (for golf) decided to be a weaver and he went and bought a loom and everything, but my mother, she of the cigarettes and Vogue, refused to SPIN.
Was most amusing.

Gotta go and do second half of job interview now.

Good luck with this thread!

(notice how the heathens amongst us turn it into a dead cat and willy debate!)

My dp is half Polish, his gran is proper hardcore Catholic and he went to Catholic church as a boy. He's an atheist, but says that he can't shake it - something about it as a religion that never leaves you. He could never ever blaspheme, a part of him still believes he'd be struck down in a flash of fury.

Oh no we joined hands and agreed to let each to their own, was all very heartening really, and I secretely tried to nab that rosary off you when you weren't looking.

Okay, I MUST go and do some work now too.

Goodluck Rhubarb! HOpe you get the job

brilliant thread

I was just thinking about this on Sunday when dd learnt to ride her bike in the graveyard.

She asked if Grandma was sad that her body was stuck in the ground. (She was cremated but we didn't go there)

I said she was separate from her body and somewhere else and that some people think it's heaven, some people believe there's nothing etc but the questions got very tricky.

It's hard when they come home from school and say 'God made the world', and I say, 'yes, well, thats what some people believe, and so on ..'

She gets very cross. 'Mrs Smith says God made the world and I believe her.'

Oh. Ok then.

I think it is easy to confuse them at that age. I would just tell them what you believe and if they say that Mrs Smith says this or that, say "Well then Mrs Smith has a different belief to mummy because we are all different and isn't that nice? When you are older you can choose what you believe in."

Just wondered, if you tell your kids about Heaven, do you also tell them about Hell? If not why not?

my kids go to church when i say so.

my ds then complains he is bhuddist.

bhuddist my arse - says i you lazy feck - get yer kecks ironed and get to mass.

custy. I am liking this bhuddist thing. How are you btw?

You make them iron their kecks? That's abuse that is!

haven' tread this, it's bedtime, just posting so i can find it again later. Looking forward to it as it's been an issue that I've been thinking about lately, I don't want to leave my kids withthe sneering nihlist gap my atheist mother left me with.

I didn't bring up the notion of heaven.

It's one that she also heard and brought up, ie. 'when I die I'm going to heaven aren't I Mummy', or when the fox ate the guinea pig, he'd gone there too apparently.

I think Mrs Smith probably hasn't told them about hell and I'm happy for her to have that gap in her ecclesiastical knowledge for now.

I find that Hell and the Devil are parts of religion that even hardened Christians tend to steer clear of.

However as it does come up in Biblical stories I am bracing myself for Hell related questions.

Haven't come up with some good answers yet though.

oo, oo, does that mean I'm a hardened christian?

strokes carapace

Dd1 nearly always uses Satan as her 's' word in phonics And yesterday, while I was trying to measure macaroni, she asked me if Satan had always been bad. Oh, I love those curve balls.

I tell them it's just a story. Or do you tell your children that Zeus might really exist?

I might just stick on a tape of South Park for mine.

I think it covers most things in life.

We don't discuss it much, tbh. Not really relevant. It doesn't tend to come up - at least not so far.
Dsd is an atheist - mwah ha ha ha!

She'll rebel and become a nun - just you watch!

Nah, she's got fantastic hair!
I do teach them all to be very polite though. They don't stick their tongues out at vicars or anything!

You can be an atheist without being a "sneering nihilist"

If religion hadn't been invented then nobody would be stressing about what they were "supposed" to believe and tell children, and I suspect we'd all be much happier for it.

You're doing doooooooooooooooooooooooown!

I doubt the parties are much cop in Heaven. Given the choice, I'll get down with the sinners!!

If it's full of JWs and Jesus Loves Me types then I'm coming with you!

I imagine heaven (not that it exists) as being a bit like Living With Your Parents. Back home at 10.30, no alcohol in the house and no funny business. And if you have a girl over, she sleeps in the spare room.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!

Sod that I'm giving it up!

Actually did Jesus not partake in a bit of wine himself? Remember when he turned all that water at the Wedding Feast into wine?

"Oi Jesus! My wine has run out, do you mind?"
"Bless you my child, here have another gallon"
"Why thanks very much Jesus! Any chance of some bread an' all?"
"Man cannot live on bread alone my child"
"Oh alright then, make it crisps."