A lot of atheists contest to parents forcing them to go to Church, and say that their parents should respect their beliefs, and allow them to follow them as such, which is reasonable.

If/when you have kids, if they decided that Christianity was for them, would you allow them to attend Christian services every Sunday?

Not only would I allow them to go, I would drive them to church and pick them up with a smile on my face.

If they decided it was for them, I'd take them. Hell, I might take them anyways, just so they could see what it was all about. I'd help them learn about other religions too, of course.

Yes, but not untill I believe he can look at things rationaly. Like 8 maybe 10 years old or something. I'll discuss religion with him/her before then though, would probly just explain what the people believe, leaving out the punishment of being not like them part.

I dont need 50 people telling my young kid that he's going burn in a lake of fire if he's not like them.

I agree with boozehound - I don't want my young kid to be indoctrinated with those beliefs while he/she is still impressionable.

quote:Originally posted by boozehound420:

Yes, but not untill I believe he can look at things rationaly. Like 8 maybe 10 years old or something. I'll discuss religion with him/her before then though, would probly just explain what the people believe, leaving out the punishment of being not like them part.

I dont need 50 people telling my young kid that he's going burn in a lake of fire if he's not like them.

... and I would sit through it with him, so that he didn't have to go alone.

I wouldn't let them go alone. Kids are still kids, and thusly much more easily manipulated. For every "Unbelievers are fools and go to hell" that gets spouted off, a logical rebuttal would be made in order to show the child how gullible and sad the religionists truely are.

quote:Originally posted by boozehound420:

Yes, but not untill I believe he can look at things rationaly. Like 8 maybe 10 years old or something. I'll discuss religion with him/her before then though, would probly just explain what the people believe, leaving out the punishment of being not like them part.

I dont need 50 people telling my young kid that he's going burn in a lake of fire if he's not like them.

I agree with the post, although I would wait until they were maybe a little bit older, like ~14.

quote:Originally posted by Kazz:

... and I would sit through it with him, so that he didn't have to go alone.

of course. This would be all churches aswell. In my area there are just as many punjab churches as christian churches.

[This message has been edited by boozehound420 (edited 02-09-2007).]

I guess it depends on the situation. If they are spending the night at a friends house and they all go to church in the morning, I would rather my kid was a good guest and attend. Then maybe talk about it with them later. Most of their relatives, grandparents, ect are Christian and I see no reason to raise them to be rude or hateful. I would rather my children not embrace anything that is illogical or false, but I would want them to be happy more than anything else. Even if I don't agree with it.

quote:Originally posted by boozehound420:

of course. This would be all churches aswell. In my area there are just as many punjab churches as christian churches.



What is a Punjab church? Is it a Hindu temple that caters to people from the Punjab region of India? Or is it some other religion?

quote:Originally posted by Kykeon:

What is a Punjab church? Is it a Hindu temple that caters to people from the Punjab region of India? Or is it some other religion?

Punjab is a region in india and pakistan. It include hindu's, muslim's and sikh's

Here lots of Sikh's have immigrated, they are a large portion of the population.

I would rather my kid become a Sikh and start wearing a turbin then be a full blown evangelical christian.



[This message has been edited by boozehound420 (edited 02-09-2007).]

quote:Originally posted by boozehound420:

Punjab is a region in india and pakistan. It include hindu's, muslim's and sikh's

Here lots of Sikh's have immigrated, they are a large portion of the population.

I would rather my kid become a Sikh and start wearing a turbin then be a full blown evangelical christian.

I just looked it up and it's pretty similar to Buddhism.

I've pretty much agreed with everything you've said in this thread, including preferring my kid to become a Sikh than a evangelical Christian.

quote:Originally posted by specus_meretricis:

I guess it depends on the situation. If they are spending the night at a friends house and they all go to church in the morning, I would rather my kid was a good guest and attend. Then maybe talk about it with them later. Most of their relatives, grandparents, ect are Christian and I see no reason to raise them to be rude or hateful. I would rather my children not embrace anything that is illogical or false, but I would want them to be happy more than anything else. Even if I don't agree with it.

Lol, the one time I've been to a church service was for exactly this reason. I didn't have the balls to just say no, I don't really believe in any of that, and I see no reason for me to go. I still don't think I would have the balls to say it, sadly http://www.totse.com/bbs/frown.gif (http://www.totse.com/bbs/frown.gif).

quote:Originally posted by bung:

Lol, the one time I've been to a church service was for exactly this reason. I didn't have the balls to just say no, I don't really believe in any of that, and I see no reason for me to go. I still don't think I would have the balls to say it, sadly http://www.totse.com/bbs/frown.gif (http://www.totse.com/bbs/frown.gif).

Don't feel bad. I don't think you are a coward for going with your host to church. I occasionally get trapped by relatives if I happend to be spending the night on a Sunday. It's only a couple hours and it seems to make them happy. Or I try to avoid sleeping over on a Saturday!

i would most certainly let my children go to church if that was what they wanted, and i would let them go to any holy center they wanted, such as a synagogue or some other temple... but i still have a fair few years before that will become an issue http://www.totse.com/bbs/tongue.gif (http://www.totse.com/bbs/tongue.gif)

Yea, back when I was a kid my dad would sometimes take me to church even though he didnt want to be there at all and I figure if I had kids I'd owe them that same courtesy.

Solution:

If your kids want to go to church, find the most bland, boring, white bread church around and have them go to every service. Oh and you can shop at Game Stop or something while they are in there.

boozehound pretty much nailed it for me. I wouldn't discourage my kids from going to church - if they want to check it out, I wont stop them. But I would take steps when they were younger to make sure their impressionable minds aren't swamped. When they make a choice about religion, I’d want it to be a thoroughly educated one.

This is insanity, everyone knows that us atheists are homosexual, drug addicts that hate democracy and family.

Really though, I would let my kids go, only if he/she can give me a good reason they should.

quote:Originally posted by Holy Shit:

This is insanity, everyone knows that us atheists are homosexual, drug addicts that hate democracy and family.

Really though, I would let my kids go, only if he/she can give me a good reason they should.

Isn't their wanting to go a good enough reason?

quote:Originally posted by cakezone:

Isn't their wanting to go a good enough reason?

A kid just saying I want to go without being able to give a reason is exactly what i wouldnt want. Because if thats the case they've been manipulated in some way.

Well, I mean this all under the original circumstances that they had decided that Christianity was the religion for them. In that case, shouldn't wanting to follow a faith of their choice be a good enough reason?

[This message has been edited by cakezone (edited 02-10-2007).]

quote:Originally posted by cakezone:

Well, I mean this all under the original circumstances that they had decided that Christianity was the religion for them. In that case, shouldn't wanting to follow a faith of their choice be a good enough reason?



Thats when you get back to the age thing. A 10 year old kid who ses christianity is the religion for me obviosly hasnt done enough thinking on the subject. More then likely a kid would say that because the majority of people he knows are christian.

The kid's age wasn't specified though. This all depends on what he would consider a "good" reason for going to church would be. If it's something like having a desire to explore a religion, thats fine. But if it's something ridiculous such as having to prove that whatever religion they pick is better than not having a religion, then theres no point in even asking.

[This message has been edited by cakezone (edited 02-10-2007).]

FOR FUCKING SURE!! If they had the least desire, I would strongly encourage it. They need to exposed to many points of view to fully form their own. I would be happy for my child, if they felt the presence of God.

My childrens' beliefs do not need to be my beliefs.

I went to church with my neighbors bc my parents didn't go back in the day.

If they had someone to go with I would allow that, but I would discuss with them later. If they needed someone to go with, I would go with them.

[This message has been edited by The Violent Pacifist (edited 02-10-2007).]

Nope. Church may be a nice place to socialize and meet people but no way would I let my kid near that shitty place until he was old enough to hate the place, rational enough not to fall for christian fear-mongering, and tough enough to stop the priests from raping him.

Only once they were capable of understanding and making rational choices for themselves with regards to religions, I'd much rather send them later rather than sooner.

I would let them decide what they want to do, its their life, but i would make sure the idea was thier own.

quote:Originally posted by turkeysandwich:

Not only would I allow them to go, I would drive them to church and pick them up with a smile on my face.

Good for you. http://www.totse.com/bbs/smile.gif (http://www.totse.com/bbs/smile.gif)

quote:Originally posted by DrGay:

I agree with the post, although I would wait until they were maybe a little bit older, like ~14.



You realise the schools and their religious education would get to your kids, while there still at brain washing level, right?

I'm not atheist so the question isn't for me, but as an orthodox christian I do plan on taking my kids(when i have some) to other places of worship. I plan to take my kids to what i view as the three major branches of christianity-Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant. As well I plan on making visits to Buddhist moansteries, Islamic Mosques, Hindu temples,etc. I hope to not just visit each of these just once, but on a semi-regular basis so that my child can learn about each and form an opinion not based on singular events but instead from a multitude of experiences.

And, when they are older and I feel they have the necessarry reasoning capacity I will sit them down with my atheist friend who can be quite compelling in his arguments and let them discuss whether god exists. Its not that I want them to be able to withstand his "brainwashing," its simply that I know that most people who have a solid belief system find comfort in it and I want my children to have all the comfort in their life that they can get. (Plus I want my kids to be old enough to hold very rational, intelligent arguments by the time i let them talk with this friend)

I think its important that children be allowed to learn the different viewpoints and over time, make an informed decision about what belief system (if any) fits their own personal beliefs. And its very important that you encourage them no matter what views they take(barring of course, obvious bad ones like one religion is best and all others should be killed if they dont submit to it.) My father volunteers to come to church with me sometimes even though im in my early 20s and he has no religious inclinations. It really means alot to me that hes there though.

On a side note- my family doesnt really have a single religion we all practice( mom-orthodox.me-orthodox. father-non religious. uncle-united church. other uncle- roman catholic. cousin/godfather-atheist grandparents-jewish until ww2(they chose life as a belief system instead) sister-new agey, etc). so i dont think my kids will be really brainwashed into one way of thinking.

quote:Originally posted by cakezone:

If/when you have kids, if they decided that Christianity was for them, would you allow them to attend Christian services every Sunday?

Not if I can help it. So far I have kept their family from baptising them or taking them to church bullshit. Suck on it!

I'd let them experience church. If I noticed a pattern forming where they repeatedly returned to the same church, I'd suggest to them -okay, I lie - I'd INSIST upon them that for every hour they spent at one church, that they devote the same amount of time to learning another religion. Hopefully this would lend some diversity to the "Our God Can Beat the Shit Outta Their God" mentality that would no doubt be cast into their naive young mind.

This method, along with the subliminal tape recordings I would implant into their Ipods teaching the dangers of religion ... http://www.totse.com/bbs/smile.gif (http://www.totse.com/bbs/smile.gif)

Under the age of 13? FORGET IT. Too young. Too impressionable.

No, I wouldn't let them go because religions are obviousely bullshit and I wouldn't want one of my children indoctrinated into such absurd teachings that are working against the progression of mankind. With the knowledge that I will teach them, they will also never care to go to church either.

quote:Originally posted by easeoflife22:

No, I wouldn't let them go because religions are obviousely bullshit and I wouldn't want one of my children indoctrinated into such absurd teachings that are working against the progression of mankind. With the knowledge that I will teach them, they will also never care to go to church either.

So essentially, you're just forcing your beliefs on them, just like certain Christian families force their beliefs on their atheist children.

quote:Originally posted by cakezone:

So essentially, you're just forcing your beliefs on them, just like certain Christian families force their beliefs on their atheist children.

I'd take my kids to church, but let me ask you this: would you take your kids to scientology sessions?

I bet the first thought that popped into your head was "no". If so, now you know how we feel with Christianity.

My point was that the guy who said that wouldn't allow his kids to pursue a religion at all, which is really just mirroring the constraints that some Christian families put on their children who wish to explore other religious beliefs.

Theres a rather large difference between Scientology and other religious pursuits though. If you would take your children to a Christian church, but wouldn't feel the same way about them becoming involved with Scientology, then it's just that obvious.