Kids with pagan and non-pagan parents

[pitchafit]

I'm gonna need some suggestions as to what to do with this. My wife is Christian and kids are going to come eventually. We can't decide on what to do. She wants them raised in her beliefs and I want them raised in mine. We're both pretty stubborn too. Any suggestions?

[Yvonne Belisle]

See if you can find central things that you agree on. If you can find that the similar things are a good place to start and phrase them to where they show how much alike they are perhaps it will be easier for you to find common ground. When you finally do have the kids you will have a better understanding of where the two religions join and can teach those things to begin with then as kids get older introduce "mom believes this and I believe that". When you reach that point you will find that they have ideas of thier own and the respect that you and your partner show each other will be the more important lesson as they find thier way.

[SnowStar]

is there any chance that they can be exposed to and to an extent raised in both? An acquaintance of mine has one Baptist parent and one Jewish parent. He attends both church and synagogue regularly and I think is an active member of both congregations. I suppose that's a *slightly* different situation, but I still thought I'd mention it. I agree with the idea of finding common ground between your religion and your spouse's and use that as a starting ground. Best case scenario would be to expose them to a little of both, and don't block them from exploring other avenues of belief either. Allowing them to choose their own beliefs will make them stronger morally and they will hold their convictions more closely if they are their own.

[wyshbringer]

I'm doing both. My daughter goes to church with my parents and I show her some of what I do (mostly candle magik). Her Father is Jewish-something else and he is letting me do things my way. We decided when she gets older she will decide what path SHE wants to take. At least this way she learns about two different paths and no fellings are hurt. BTW she was baptised.


Wyshbringer

[Myst]

Our children will be exposed to both as I'm Pagan, my fiance is not really religious, nor are my parents, but some of my family is. We all celebrate Christmas etc. and I do Yule and Samhain and so on as well. *shrugs* I look forward to it :)

[Mystic Wolf]

I am Pagan, my ex-wife is Armegeddon Christian at best.

However, I have the kids on the weekends. My wife and I take the kids to the Local Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. The members there are Pagan, Buddhist, Christian, Jewish and other faiths. There my kids go to Religious Education. It doesn't focus on one religion but on the foundations of Religions and their similarities instead of their differences. I feel this will give my children a better basis future on in life when they can choose their own path.

When we have public and open Pagan events, I take the children as well. For holiday's we pretty much do the same thing as most families in our area. A little symbolism changes and the meaning is different but it appears the same. When my kids get to be old enough to decide what they want to do, 18, then I will train them if they ask.

[Faery-Wings]

I feel pretty much the same way as everyone else. My hubby is atheist, however, so if they are to get any lessons in spirituality it will be up to me. He has absolutely no problem in my teaching them Pagan concepts as long as I don't present it as the absolute truth. Which I really wouldn't do anyway. I hope that I can learn enough about other religions (and re-learn Catholicism objectively ;)) to show them many paths and let them choose when they are older. However, the bulk of what I teach will be of a Pagan slant, with a good dose of openmindedness and tolerance.