[forfrosne]

Originally Posted by ball&chain

To the atheists of TH: How do you plan to explain religion to your future (or current?) children? Also, since is it the most prevailing religion in my area, and most debated on the forums, how do you plan to handle the topic of Christianity in particular?

I have an 18 month old son and am an atheist. Even though I don't believe that most religions hold any truth to them myself, I want him to be cultured in the area of religion because it is a predominant aspect of society. Not to mention, my son has religious grandparents as well as future religious classmates I'm sure, so the topic will get brought up eventually. I have so many opinions on religion, especially Christianity, and I'm having trouble "dumbing it down" to where is would be simple for a child to understand from an adult athiest's point of view.

Also, for atheists with religious family members: How would you handle religious relatives disagreeing with raising your child not to believe in a god?

I will not directly talk to him about any specific religions. I want my children to be as well-informed as possible: if they decide, having been well-informed, that they want to be Christian or Atheist etc., then that's fine, I won't mind - all that matters to me is that they make their decisions well-informed. I'll let his school's Religious Studies lessons teach him what he needs to know about these religions, and then if he wants to know more from me he's welcome to.