No children for atheist

[ahplshutup]

"be fruitful and multiply" - lol, I actually really feel sorry for god. People create this 'divine' being and then leave him for dead with so many responsibilities, claiming that he's said things he's never said & done things he's never done because of the lack of him actually existing. People have used god to get their poetic points of views across, which is what sickens me the most.

I was just curious as to how exactly atheists would raise a child in such a "god dominated" world. Should we expect the child to eventually blame us for everything wrong in their life? Should we expect the child to give into theism eventually when they're much older?
Basically, is it inevitable to raise a child in a bunch of sick cute lies?

[Savior2006]

You raise them to question everything. You raise them to think critically.

[SkyChief]

I was just curious as to how exactly atheists would raise a child in such a "god dominated" world. Should we expect the child to eventually blame us for everything wrong in their life? Should we expect the child to give into theism eventually when they're much older?
Basically, is it inevitable to raise a child in a bunch of sick cute lies?

Most kids are smarter than we give them credit for.  Left to their own devices, they will recognize belief in gods for what it is; just a foolish, die-hard tradition from days long past.

Imo, if a child remains (religiously) unmolested by the age of 15 or 16,  the chances that they will 'give in' to theism drops significantly. The only data I have to back up this claim is the fact that millenials are the largest group of people who openly disassociate with gods and religion.

It takes years of lies and indoctrination to ruin a perfectly good atheist.  The millenials are not devoting the necessary time and energy for religious indoctrination, so we should expect the number of  believers to dwindle over time.

(R)amen.

[doorknob]

I'm raising my kids. While I wish they would abandon the beliefs I started out raising them in they won't. They were in a christian boarding school for a part of their lives. The school is wonderful otherwise and due to my poor circumstances putting them in was the best option. How ever putting them in that school seems to have cemented their superstitious  beliefs.

But I'm now trying to get them to think for them selves. And I hope that someday they will come around. It took me years to get to where I am.

[eylul]

My family is so religious and they made me to question everything, I was so bored everything about god and prophet. I though that how a creature can be such pycho and how he wants to torture his believers?

You dont need to teach them about god or religion. Only answer his/her questions with two options. The one is what you think and the other is what religion says. When they get older enough they will understand what you meant before. School will make their mind sick i am pretty sure. but when she/he sees that you dont do what religion says, they will see whats going on finally.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

My parents were areligious, we never went to church, no bible reading, no preaching or prayers before bed. That kind of upbringing worked for me with regard to religion.

In my life I've found it easy to avoid dealing with religion, mostly by just ignoring it. If someone invited me to church I declined, sometimes with enough force that they never tried again. Others took a few tries before they gave up. One person needed some "hands on" to get the point, but he recovered fully and no charges were pressed.

[AllPurposeAtheist]

I raised mine out between the tomatoes and cucumbers, tossed a little fertilizer on them and damndest thing, I became a grandfather.
Actually I let them decide what they believe and neither goes to church so I guess they turned out alright. Both are in dead end relationships, but that's what happens when they pick mates who think about themselves first and their families last.
My daughter is saving money to leave the dumbass she's with and my son still thinks the sun rises and sets on some bitch who thinks she's all that and a bag of chips. .
As my father once said and I quote, "To late we get smart boy."

[Mike Cl]

I raised my daughter to think critically--as Savior suggests.  I did not 'teach' her to be religious or anti-religious, but let her make up her own mind.  However, she had my example to follow--I did not go to church, and often decried the role of organized religion in history.  But I did teach her to question everything (including me and her mother), be kind, gentle with others and animals, to respect people, be honest,--basically the golden rule blended in with the 'first do no harm' of Wicca.  Most important--think critically and have reasons, not beliefs. 

[AtheistLemon]

As I don't have children, I can't really speak much on this matter. However, I do know that, as a former christian, something as viral and infectious as religion can be set off and contracted again in enough emotional and mental stress. A few times I've turned religious again when the times get tough. Of course, I fight through it and become atheist again shortly after.

[Mike Cl]

As I don't have children, I can't really speak much on this matter. However, I do know that, as a former christian, something as viral and infectious as religion can be set off and contracted again in enough emotional and mental stress. A few times I've turned religious again when the times get tough. Of course, I fight through it and become atheist again shortly after.

Well, ya gotta do what ya gotta do.  And do what ya need to to get thru the night.  Those are trite sayings, but they are real.  We all need crutches at times.  But you seem to be able to allow reasoning to take control again.  With practice you may make those times with crutches shorter and you may get to a point where you can throw them away. 

[Gawdzilla Sama]

As I don't have children, I can't really speak much on this matter. 

I don't have kids that I know of, but that doesn't stop me from having my say. ;)

[AtheistLemon]

Well, ya gotta do what ya gotta do.  And do what ya need to to get thru the night.  Those are trite sayings, but they are real.  We all need crutches at times.  But you seem to be able to allow reasoning to take control again.  With practice you may make those times with crutches shorter and you may get to a point where you can throw them away.

Amen. :)

haha. sorry, couldn't help myself.

[TomFoolery]

I have no children. I have a step daughter who has been raised Catholic, but she's also autistic and cognitively disabled, and saying prayers every night is a routine for her and gives her comfort. It doesn't seem right to make any effort to strip that away. I'm also not her biological parent, and I don't feel like it's my place. She believes in Jesus like she believes in the tooth fairy, and probably will for the rest of her life.

I myself have many reasons for not reproducing, and my step daughter has only reinforced that. Many people think my views on children are extreme, but having kids is like playing Russian roulette with your future.

[Mike Cl]

I have no children. I have a step daughter who has been raised Catholic, but she's also autistic and cognitively disabled, and saying prayers every night is a routine for her and gives her comfort. It doesn't seem right to make any effort to strip that away. I'm also not her biological parent, and I don't feel like it's my place. She believes in Jesus like she believes in the tooth fairy, and probably will for the rest of her life.

I myself have many reasons for not reproducing, and my step daughter has only reinforced that. Many people think my views on children are extreme, but having kids is like playing Russian roulette with your future.

I think you should have children only when and if you want.  Children do not always bring joy and love into one's life.  And there is a cost to having children--not only money, but time, effort and energy.  If one wants to pay that cost, then okay for them.  If not, that is okay too.  I wish our schools would start teaching stuff like this--the stuff of life classes--how to cook, change tire, when to have kids and what it takes to raise them,  credit, etc.  Stuff that will be with an adult the rest of their lives. 

[TomFoolery]

Children do not always bring joy and love into one's life.  And there is a cost to having children--not only money, but time, effort and energy.  If one wants to pay that cost, then okay for them. 

There's a lot of hidden costs that no one talks about, and logistical problems. My husband had a child when he was 19 with a woman he thought he was in love with. She drank a lot. 9 years later she's declared an unfit parent and he gets full custody of a child with mental, intellectual and emotional problems. That's the fine print no one ever tells you about the magic of parenthood. Sometimes you end up with kids that aren't material for the front page of Parents magazine. 1 in 14 children born in the U.S. has special needs (which granted, is anything from autism to deafness) and many people say they would love their children no matter what. Well, people SHOULD love their children no matter what, but most don't fully appreciate the financial, emotional, legal, and personal repercussions of that until they're elbow deep in it. It's absolutely not my step daughter's fault that she is the way she is, but that doesn't make it any easier.