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What are your thoughts and experiences on religion, spirituality, and children? This could pertain to the children in your life—whether your own offspring, or that of close friends or family, or young people you encounter in your chosen vocation, etc. etc. This could also relate to your own experiences as children.
I think about this more as my son has gotten older and begun asking questions—particularly about what happens when we die. And in a few years, I’m sure my newborn daughter will begin to ponder the same things.
Although I’m an atheist and am not much into rote religious ritual (I say that only objectively, not judgmentally), I have a very strong Jewish ethnocultural identity and hope that my children will feel similarly about their Jewish heritage—although the choice is ultimately theirs and theirs alone.
I actually don’t care one whit if they do or don’t believe in a higher power. I don’t think it would be wrong to have a preference (as most people do). I’m just truly indifferent on the matter. As long as they don’t turn into religious fanatics, I have no issue with them believing in the underlying concept of religion. Nor would I want them to be #AtheistEdgelords of the Richard Dawkins variety.
I’ll share more as others chime in.
Concerning the bolded. When your children are aware of being born and then also become aware of Death. The nature of the question is asking if there is anything beyond you.
When Samuel went to the house of Jesse to anoint the king, David's parents overlooked him. And Samuel had to ask, are there any children beyond who you have presented...
...Which David relates in Psalm (paraphrasing by memory) though my father and mother forsake me, yet the Lord has received me.
When you look at David's heritage in the line of Judah, you see that Leah sought for Jacob to love her in the birth of their first three sons and when Judah was born she named him Judah giving "Praise" to God, knowing that God loved her and did not overlook her. And that heritage is also found in David, a man after God's own heart...
...I could go into more concerning when Israel blessed his children before passing.
Concerning the bolded. When your children are aware of being born and then also become aware of Death. The nature of the question is asking if there is anything beyond you.
When Samuel went to the house of Jesse to anoint the king, David's parents overlooked him. And Samuel had to ask, are there any children beyond who you have presented...
...Which David relates in Psalm (paraphrasing by memory) though my father and mother forsake me, yet the Lord has received me.
When you look at David's heritage in the line of Judah, you see that Leah sought for Jacob to love her in the birth of their first three sons and when Judah was born she named him Judah giving "Praise" to God, knowing that God loved her and did not overlook her. And that heritage is also found in David, a man after God's own heart...
...I could go into more concerning when Israel blessed his children before passing.
I'm not sure how any of that relates to the bolded paragraph
Yes, i think that is right regarding tendencies. Can tendencies by nurtured? Any two children nurtured in the same environment can remain indifferent, spiritual, or atheist. Similarly one can turn out generous and empathetic, and the other selfish and cold. What is the difference? It is the self that guides one one way and may not resonate in the other.
Teaching is part of nurturing. Not all are endowed with ability to teach, or teach in a way that causes clear understanding. What impels one to seek to understand, to find the resources, find the teacher, and the other to have zero interest in that direction.
There is no judgement here, to be clear. One can be content and a good person either way. Same way one can be perfectly content and a good person without understanding or even a liking for poetry.
I’m not offended (believe me, I’d make it clear if I were ).
But I think you’re taking for granted that two people raised in the same household by the same parents will have the same environmental outcomes, and that’s simply not so. Identical twins, who have the same genetic makeup, and are raised together in the same family can still have different interests, personality traits, and even—to a degree—physical appearances (I’ve known identical twins with height differences up to several inches). It’s not just how your parents raise you (and parents may treat their children in different ways—whether or not this is a conscious choice) but also the lifestyle choices you make, the peer groups towards which you gravitate, and any number of other factors, some of which boil down to statistical chance.
People can also understand religion and spirituality quite well, and even enjoy learning about it, without believing in any of it. Comprehension, interest, and resonance are different things.
To be clear, I was suggesting that religious and spiritual tendencies are a combination of innate traits (nature) and environmental factors (nurture). Are you saying you think it’s all nature and zero nurture?
When you consider that more than 70% of Americans remain in the religion in which they were raised, and that the vast majority of those who switch religions only switch to a different subset of christianity...well, I think you and our other poster are missing the obvious: habit.
When you consider that more than 70% of Americans remain in the religion in which they were raised, and that the vast majority of those who switch religions only switch to a different subset of christianity...well, I think you and our other poster are missing the obvious: habit.
I see habit as a part of nurture, and I agree that it’s a very important aspect of such.
When you consider that more than 70% of Americans remain in the religion in which they were raised, and that the vast majority of those who switch religions only switch to a different subset of christianity...well, I think you and our other poster are missing the obvious: habit.
The other poster thinks habit is not it. Seeking spirituality is not a habit like brushing your teeth is. It is a conscious choice. Not brushing your teeth can have serious consequence. There is no consequence to not seeking spirituality. It has no visible result, other than to the one who is engaged in it.
Anti religious sentiment is caused by a person not acknowledging their own internal struggles. It indicates a spiritual void in their soul. Raising a child in religion can always help in this regard, but it is a personal thing for each individual.
That fear CAN be replaced with love.
Well you have it all figured out, don't you? Always easier to dismiss the experience of millions of people with one simple blanket "explanation". No soul-searching required. After all, you know about the "internal void" in other people's souls, and whether they are self aware enough to be aware of and effectively deal with their struggles. Somehow you also know that anyone who doesn't believe as you do is lacking in love and full of fear. As if there aren't hateful people who believe in god, or mature, kind people who don't!
The actual fact of the matter is that "anti-religious sentiment" can come from any number of experiences, from, as Harry points, out, evil done in the name of god, way over-sold value propositions that don't pan out in real life, toxic and/or abusive faith communities, and a bunch of other stuff. There are an infinitude of ways for religion to go wrong (ask most any Catholic altar boy!). A lot of things have to go right on balance at the same time for good outcomes, therefore, good outcomes are simply not assured. More's the pity.
What are your thoughts and experiences on religion, spirituality, and children? This could pertain to the children in your life—whether your own offspring, or that of close friends or family, or young people you encounter in your chosen vocation, etc. etc. This could also relate to your own experiences as children.
If something has been of great benefit to you, I think it's only natural to want to pass that on to your children.
Of course, when talking about "religion", which is defined simply as the means by which man relates to the Divine, we would have to make a distinction between religion generally, and True Religion which is that religion that God Himself has revealed to mankind.
Religion (generally) is a necessary part of the human experience. To consciously eschew religion is to eschew a part of one's humanity; but I would submit that humans who eschew formal religion ultimately end up substituting something else for it.
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