spinoff of Tara's poll - religion

cameragirl21 wrote: some of you with whom i've spoken in private know why this has been such a major point of contention with me lately but i'm just curious how others would respond to this. and when i say a new religion, i don't mean methodist to lutheran or something (relatively) minor like that, i mean like Christian to Pagan (as some of my friends have done) or another example of going from one belief system into a totally different one.

PrairieMom replied: I'm glad you asked this question, I was wondering about that too.

MyBrownEyedBoy replied: I would never condemn my child for being open-minded and choosing a different path. If Logan chooses to become Pagan, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, that is his choice and as long as he goes into it freely (with no pressure from his spouse, friends, etc) than I will support his choice. I know that some religions are much more than simply religion, they are a culture. And I can understand the reluctance some members of those religions would have if a child were to choose to leave the faith. This is simply my point of view. Logan could never do anything (I can think of right now) that would tear my family apart.

luvbug00 replied: religon doesn't matter to me so I don't care really as long as noone pushes their religons on me. i will not convert and i don't mind what my kids want to be as long as they had feedom to choose on thier own without influance of one main religon before they ar old enough to understand.

holley79 replied: I would be totally fine with it. I feel that if you love someone it does not matter what religon they are. If my daughter decides to marry someone who is Catholic and converts then I will still love her. It's not the religon that makes the person.

Calimama replied:
I agree 100%.


I wouldnt want her FORCED to convert by her future family in law.

Nina J replied: I can't force a religion on my child, ultimatly they have to decide for themselves what they want to believe in. As long as they arn't pressured into converting by there spouse then I have no problems with whatever they chose to believe.

my2monkeyboys replied: I didn't vote, as I don't think there was an answer that would fit. I have to say that I would be extremely worried if Will ends up believing something other than what I believe. As for what I believe, if you do not believe Jesus Christ is the savior and accept Him as your Lord, then you will not go to Heaven. So, yes, it would be horrible to me if he chose to believe in Buddhism or some other non-Christian religion. I would never disown him, though, so the "destroying my family" thing isn't the answer. But I would be very sad and worried. (And obviously praying all the time!)
I'm not a religious person so much, though, so if it was just deciding on being a Catholic or a Lutheran or whatever, as long as it's a Christ-based religion I'd be ok with that. I obviously think Christianity is the right path, but I'm not so concerned as to which kind... I think they all have some right and some wrong things about it. (Hence the reason I don't call myself a certain thing.)
I will raise him in a way that shows what I believe, and teach him that that is the right way. And just hope he believes the same as he gets older.

ETA: Hope this all makes sense!

Hillbilly Housewife replied: No, it would not bother me one bit.

A parent raising his/her child in their faith is akin to bweing converted from birth.

So if my child converts to something else, by their choice, it will be no big deal, considering I pretty much am forcing him to be Christian rather than letting him choose...although once they can grasp the concept of different religions etc, they will be exposed to as many as I can, and they can take what they want from all of them.

Being forced to convert, by another person, would be a whole different ballgame... not because it's not what "I" forced him to believe in, but because it's not letting my child have a choice.

The Americas are very big on "freedom of expression" and "individual rights", and have public outcries when that freedom and those rights are crossed, yet get all huffy and ticked off when the people they "control" don't do as they say, and want some of the freedom to express their freedom and exercise their individual right. Where's the love now?

I hope none of that offended anyone...it wasn't my intent.

my2monkeyboys replied: I think there is a difference between being forced to "believe" something (which isn't really possible, is it?!?) and being raised to believe certain things. We teach children right from wrong in all areas of life, yet when it comes to religious beliefs it is wrong of us to do that very same thing.

Hillbilly Housewife replied: I get the feeling I've offended you... I'm sorry. I have a habit of not writing the right things for what I mean... hopefully someone else can better explain what I'm trying to say... but what I'm trying to say, in not so complicated terms, is that my child choosing something other than what I've chosen for him, in terms of religion, is not a big deal. Because deep down, the core of pretty much every religion is what matters, meaning the values and morals and ethics, not the stories that come along with it, like Jonas and the Whale.

my2monkeyboys replied: Oh, no offense taken. I was just responding is all.

The only problem I have is that certain religious beliefs do matter. If you believe something, truly believe it, then for someone to believe different would be wrong to you. Such as if I say the sky is orange and you believe it to be blue then you'd think I'm wrong. (I know, it's a stretch, but you get my point right?)
As with Christianity. It's fundamental basis is that Jesus Christ is the only savior and that you have to believe in/accept Him or you will not go to Heaven. So, if I truly believe that, then if I know someone that I love does not believe it, then I have to believe he/she will not go to Heaven when they die. That is an utterly heartbreaking thing for me to think would happen to my son.
Now, there may be some religions that are not based on a "this is the way to eternal life in a good place" kind of thing, and if I were a believer in that sort of religion then it probably wouldn't matter to me what he chose to believe as he grew up.
But, based on my beliefs, if he chooses to turn away from them then he's denying God and, therefore, would go to Hell when he dies. That's just a horrible thought to me.
I don't really care what other things he believes, so long as he does believe the aforementioned fundamentals to Christianity. That's where my heart would break.