Yes, you are absolutely right. Belief in god can certainly be (and is) taken beyond the need for self-spiritual fulfillment. It’s such a basic human need, perhaps, that it is inevitable that it is misused for gain of power. *That* is evil. I agree.

I know many people, however, (at my UU church) with deeply held spiritual beliefs in a god or supernatural being that would never dream of manipulating that into anything beyond their own spiritual fulfillment. I have been working hard in my own life to change my my views of christians from a universal disdain based on the former to an acceptance and welcoming of diversity. It’s the extremeists that get all the attention, isn’t it?

I grew up a born-again christian (not my parent’s choice, but mine). It was the fact that they instilled in me the belief that I am the one who gets to choose my own way that allowed me to question my beliefs and change as I grew up. I totally agree with you that showing your children the expanse of choices and letting them know it is their gift to be able to choose which is best.

Now, if one of my children decides to become a born again christian, we’ll see a true test of my “tolerance spouting”, eh?

Jen

I think your response was very insightful. I only disagree on one point. Maybe you agree with me and just didn’t mention it.

Belief in a god or a holy book or any other myriad religious beliefs IS a virus when it justifies acting contrary to the golden rule. When someone uses their belief to assert their authority or superiority over another, it absolutely is a virus and one that should be actively eradicated. Methinks perhaps that’s the point Ron was trying to make.

Ron, I was “infected” by choice (my mother let us go to vacation bible school, because we wanted to be with our friends over summer vacation, but we were not allowed to bring any songs, etc, home, lest my father be upset-he was adamantly against us going to church). I am now a staunch agnostic and remember seeing the absurdities in bible stories when I was quite young (I think I was six when we went…) I think for me, the fact that my parents let us choose our own paths was the smartest and most loving thing they could have done. I only hope if I ever have children, I have the strength to let them find their own path. I personally would want to lean more towards my father’s view (“Absolutely not!”) but I think one of the healthiest choices you can make is to trust your children and arm them with the knowledge that they will ultimately have to make their own choices and pay whatever consequences come from those choices.

In addition, I have plenty of anecdotal examples of a parent taking a “hard line” with their children and the children doing the exact opposite, just out of spite. I certainly wouldn’t want to have that type of relationship with my own child, so as hard as it might be, I think exposing them to as much as safely possible and trusting them to choose wisely is the only way to go.

I, like Noell, have let my two children know what I believe about the non-existance of any supernatural being. I have also told them that most people in the U.S. do not agree with me and that I cannot present them with evidence to support my belief, just as christians (or jews, or muslims, or whatever) cannot present evidence to support their beliefs. I see no inherent inconsistency with what I “know” to be true in teaching them that. My kids get it . I had a particularly humorous conversation a few months ago with my son where he told me (very obviously tongue in cheek) that I could not give him evidence that aliens had not come to earth on a meteor and started life here so there was the possibility that it was true. I told him he was absolutely correct. And he was. It’s called open-mindedness. I find it hard sometimes, as a scientist, to remember that science can be limited. My gut would like to tell me that everything can be explained by science, but my heart tells me that ultimately, we don’t even know the correct questions to be asking. I know what I believe to be true. But my goal is to remain open to the fact that I don’t understand. And that is the spirit which I’d love my children to grow up with.

In addition to teaching my children what I believe, I think it is also my responsibility to teach them how to survive with and relate to the people they come in contact with every day. They are learning about christian traditions in UU, as well as pagan ones and buddhist ones and humanist ones. Ultimately, what they are learning is that many people have spiritual needs that are reflected in their religious beliefs, and that tolerance of this diversity of beliefs is a good thing. I don’t think that belief in god is a “virus.” I think it’s the result of human questioning and needs. I think the belief in god is incorrect, but I don’t think it’s evil.

Jen

What if you daughter was asked to make construction paper turtles, sing the turtle song, and made to pledge allegiance to the turtle? What if she’s told “There are going to be people that say there is no turtle – but we know better, and the unbelievers (like your Mommy) will be punished.”

Its the churches function to spread the virus.
Is it better to let your kids get sick when they are young – so they have antibodies as they grow up? Or is the disease stuck in their system to some extent and better avoided altogether?