A childs religion...

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Permalink Reply by Aja Moonstone on June 15, 2011 at 9:14am

maybe both, It might sound rediculas, but say he were to tell the child about being a christian and you about being Wiccan, and then when the child is old enough let them choose for themselves. I have no children nor a husband for that matter so i do not have the experiance, but I have been brought up a christian and have for a long time been Pagan. I would say not shove either one religion down the childs throat but each one of you figure some way to give information and teachings say tou could teach them the properities of herbs and about the Goddess and stuff like that while they are young, and your husband do something of the same with what he believes and then when they are old enough to understand and make a decision for them selves they will have a base knowledge for those two religions and can make the choice they feel led to and then delve deeper into said path.

hope this helps, and hope you and husband can work something out.

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Permalink Reply by Jul on June 15, 2011 at 10:11am

My husband and I are both initiated witches. Because we want our child to have the most opportunities to explore spirituality as possible, our daughter will be raised Unitarian. That may be a good compromise for you and your boyfriend, should you both settle down and opt to start a family.

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Permalink Reply by Sparrow on June 16, 2011 at 12:41am

My Brother is a Unitarian Minister.
The head of his Religious Education program (The Folks that Teach Unitarian kids about religion) Is a Witch she is a Druid.
So this could be a Good Compromise She is respectful of all traditions as is the Unitarian Way.

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Permalink Reply by Claudia Blanton on June 15, 2011 at 10:30am

we are an interfaith family - that means my husband is a Christian with pagan tendencies and I am a full out of the broom closet Wiccan Witch, who works in and with the Pagan community. We also have two kids, that I homeschool (8 and 13 - my daughter is a member here). I am glad you are discussing this now, before you are parents, and that shows maturity - I applaud you both.
My suggestions are that you can raise your kids in both - as long as you make sure there are some ground rules - no down talk of any kind of the other ones path, open discussions when the kids are old enough to have them, and that it should be their choice once they are old enough to choose! Now of course, you can change those ground rules, but set them before kids are in the picture, and stick with them.
Holidays can get hectic that way, but you can, with some organisation make both sides happy, if everyone cooperates.
Now the big issue can be outside family. I would suggest to also set ground rules with them, let them know how you choose to raise your kids, then do not allow them to undermine your decisions and stand together as a unit from the beginning.
You have a unique opportunity here - an open, honest, clear from the start relationship, with everyone potentially having the freedom to choose who they want to be, while giving the same right to every member of the household. Not everyone has that chance. What you do with it now, is up to you. Let us know how this works out, and if you need any moral support, message me.
Hugs and blessings!

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Permalink Reply by Aja Moonstone on June 15, 2011 at 10:42am

I agree

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Permalink Reply by Rhonda Hooper-Mulkey on June 15, 2011 at 5:10pm

My teen boys were allowed to explore as they chose. One has decided he is Pagan while the other has chosen to be Christian. We can only educate them and let them decide for themselves, no one can tell anyone else what to believe, not even our own children.

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Permalink Reply by Amberhawk on June 15, 2011 at 10:37pm

Why not both? Raising them with the understanding and acceptance of both would give them the tools they need to make it in a world where there are many religions. It will help them to understand learning about different beliefs and cultures is a good thing, not something to avoid or dislike. Ultimately when they grow up and are able to make their own choices, they will decide for themselves anyway.

Just so you know where my opinion comes from, I was in the same situation. My son's father is Southern Baptist. I consider myself an eclectic pagan spiritualist. We raised our boy (he'll be 16 end of this month) to know a bit about both and to be open to learning about things before deciding. My son had made the mature decision to go slow, learn more on his own and make a decision when he is more secure in that knowledge.

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