I am not religious so feel I should put that up front! but this is of real interest to me. I come from a semi religious family with my brother and sister in particular both strong christians and I grew up in a very conservative Christian environment (not at home so much, but at school and church etc).
There is a woman whose blog I read who completely and totally subscribes to the view of "a christian woman must subjugate herself to her husband" and in one of her recent posts, she went on at some length about why a woman working when she has a family is entirely against god's teaching. Her writing is in no way offensive but nonetheless it made me think.
For reasons that I am not entirely clear on, these issues are real to me. Very real. Perhaps partly because DP and I live a "back to front" life by traditional standards with me earning the vast majority of our income and with that likely to continue when we have children. And i'm finding that while I don't believe women should stay home, I do believe children need a full time parent if possible. What I can't get right in my own head is how much of my modern approach to careers and money etc, are selfish and how much are genuine beliefs? Does that make sense? Whether you question the role of women from a religious or non religious point of view, I find that I am nonetheless torn because I tell myself it is better for my children to have a mother who is happy and fulfilled and a life that can be paid for, than to have a full time mother, but am I saying that for the right reasons? In our case, DP will probably do the bulk of childcare and we're happy with that. But... the control freak woman in me, wonders if that's right?
And so, even without the aspect of religious, I find I am drawn to these religious debates. Which I also find interesting - I have wondered in the past if my lack of religioun is about me being selfish and lazy, more than about any real lack of belief? Which also scares me.
Sorry. I hope this isn't inappropriate on this thread. But in a nutshell, Kay, I would be very interested in seeing and reading about your journey.