children, parenting, familyAre there any parents out there (whose spouse/partner is also an atheist) who have brought up children who have ended up becoming religious in later life? Is this common? Has it been problematic?
My son became a christian when he was about 16. He was in a car accident and lived. A few xian friends of his convinced him it was a miracle from god. He went into it quit heavily for about three years. Then one day I was talking to him and all of a sudden he went on a half hour rant about how stupid it was and how hypocritical the xians were. His last statement was about how it was all a bunch of lies. I watched intently his journey, it was wonderful to watch the mental hoops he went through trying to connect what he knew was true to what the church told him was true.
In the end his ability to think critically won out and he accepted it for what it was. I must admit I was very proud of him. I never once debated his new perspectives I just sat back and watched him work through it. It was great entertainment and he is a much stronger person for it.
I am sure if I had challenged him on it or debated him he would have dug his heels in. Instead he worked it out on his own and found peace with it in his own way.
Mine are all too young to tell for sure, but frankly I care more about their character than how they choose to spend their free time.
I’ve witnessed some scary born agains in my time though. The purely physical point of view leaves some serious holes in people’s metaphysical world view, and its been my experience that a lot of non-religious parents tend to neglect the big “Why are we here” questions because it’s hard as hell to answer without a deus to come ex machina. So these kids grow up, and they end up vulnerable to shysters that have all the answers.
I have children between the ages of 4 and 9, I try to be as open and factual about world views as possible, expanding on their questions and always reminding them to think critically. They get some religious teaching at school and they have had a belief in God but it seems to be waning and waxing.
All I can do is help them keep an open mind, they have to come to their own conclusions. Me telling them that god is a figment of their imagination is no better than someone else telling them that they should believe in god.
Don’t force the issue, just teach them to think critically.
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