For secular mamas - an article worth sharing

Re: For secular mamas - an article worth sharing

• Lmsq1611 member

  January 2015

  I shared this on Facebook a few days ago and definitely got some push back from Christian friends. I loved this article though bc it shows something that I have long argued, which is that morality does not belong to one religion but can be taught to anyone. Definitely a great read for everyone!

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• mamajack86 member

  January 2015

  Good read, thanks for sharing.

  #1 BFP 11/6/12 EDD 07/19/13 Delivered 07/23/13 - Baby boy Everett John

  #2 BFP 07/06/14 EDD 03/12/15

  
  

  
  

  
  

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• copperrose member

  January 2015

  Interesting-thanks for sharing.  I bought Parenting Beyond Belief shortly after DD was born.  I need to go back and reread it but it was definitely thought provoking when I read it a few years ago.  It deals with raising kids outside of religion.  

  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

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• ashleyrh661 member

  January 2015

  Love it!

  <a href="http://www.thebump.com/?utm_source=ticker&utm_medium=HTML&utm_campaign=tickers" title="Pregnancy"><img src="http://global.thebump.com/tickers/tt1ad190.aspx" alt=" BabyFruit Ticker" border="0"  /></a>

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• FrecklesInside member

  January 2015

  Check out the book Parenting Beyond Belief

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• lawsonellis member

  January 2015

  I'm a Christian and H is believes in a supreme being but not a particular human religion. I actually love this article. I don't think morality is at all tied to ones belief in god. And I think much of the judgement that non religious people receive is based on the idea that it is. (Which to me is simply moronic).
  
  Plus, it irks me that anyone feels they have the right to comment or judge anyone else for how they choose to raise their child.
  
  Great article!

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• ajacot924 member

  January 2015

  Thanks for sharing! Great article. I loved Parenting Beyond Belief.

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• ac123185 member

  January 2015

  Great article! My family is religious and they always have a hard time grasping the fact that I'm not raising my children in a religious household.

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• stellarsoundz member

  January 2015

  As the resident M15 preacher's wife (lol) I feel compelled to comment.
  
  Please, I beg of you. Raise your kids to be moral. Raise them to be ethical. Raise them to be decent and kind.
  
  And for the love of whatever you do or don't believe in, please, please, PLEASE do not make those things dependent on faith in God.
  
  If you raise your children up under a premise of faith in God, some of these things should logically be symptoms of that upbringing.
  
  But these characteristics should not be instilled by way of a giant hand waiting to crush them from heaven if they are not adhered to. They should be taught as basic rules of life, of human decency.
  
  If you have a religion or a faith, these things as a basic tenent of existence should support your faith, and vice versa. If you try to use God to brow beat decency into your child, you're likely to wind up with a child who values neither.
  
  /rant

  
  

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• ngolimento member

  January 2015

  Considering my MILs baby shower gift was a Christening gown she's held onto for years, and subsequently smells like an alley behind a bar (they are smokers), I appreciate any tips on handling obnoxious pushy religious behavior

  

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• kowyen member

  January 2015

  Great, encouraging read. Thanks for sharing!

  

    

  

  Married August 31, 2013

  BFP July 28, 2014 EDD March 26, 2015

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• createmagic14 member

  January 2015

  stellarsoundz said:

  As the resident M15 preacher's wife (lol) I feel compelled to comment.
  
  Please, I beg of you. Raise your kids to be moral. Raise them to be ethical. Raise them to be decent and kind.
  
  And for the love of whatever you do or don't believe in, please, please, PLEASE do not make those things dependent on faith in God.
  
  If you raise your children up under a premise of faith in God, some of these things should logically be symptoms of that upbringing.
  
  But these characteristics should not be instilled by way of a giant hand waiting to crush them from heaven if they are not adhered to. They should be taught as basic rules of life, of human decency.
  
  If you have a religion or a faith, these things as a basic tenent of existence should support your faith, and vice versa. If you try to use God to brow beat decency into your child, you're likely to wind up with a child who values neither.
  
  /rant

  Can I love this more than once?
  
  "Please, I beg of you. Raise your kids to be moral. Raise them to be ethical. Raise them to be decent and kind."--this is what it really all boils down to, isn't it? I think of my very devout, Christian friends, and atheist friends...both couples each raising a pair of girls. Both sets of friends are wonderful people, as are their children. And I think this is because of exactly what you've said here. It's not their faith or lack thereof that makes these people or their kids good, it's that they are good people raising good people. Beautifully said, thank you.
  

   

  
  

  
  

  
  

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• Whitfry member

  January 2015

  I liked this article, but was sad that someone felt there was a need to defend the fact that morality exists in secular homes. There is a lot of conflict between the secular and the religious where I live, and I just wish there wasn't any need for secular apologists in the first place. As pp said, morality and ethics should stand as basic human elements.
  
  That being said, we're navigating some of these pitfalls too. DH was raised very religiously and I was not. So there has been a lot of conversation regarding the potential religious influence we're comfortable exposing our son to. But he and I are very clear on our morals, and how we plan to instill those as parents. It doesn't involve the fear of God in any way.

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