I was raise lack religious. My parents did not go to church and did not require us to go to church, but if we wanted to go, we could. And I did, where as my siblings did not. Now I'm an atheist, my brother is agnostic and for a while my sister was going to a very, very weird church. But now she's better.
I wasn't raised as an atheist, I wasn't raised with any religion either.
Religion was never mentioned in our house, I never thought about it at all when I was a kid.
It wasn't until I was a teen/young adult that I started to pay any attention to religion, and that was because I didn't like the way it affected our laws.
I guess I'm 100% heathen. lol
Sadly, not me. But I raised my daughter as a freethinker. I taught her about various religions and she took a class on the bible in high school. She's one of the sweetest, most generous and tolerant people I know. I often envy her ability to make decisions logically without religious rules kicking in. Catholicism still plays with my head.
Good for you. My mother taught me to be open minded and question. She didn't like the word, Atheist, but she was.
I totally agree, markhas, and it took me decades to deconstruct the oppression and abuse they utilize to keep us (particularly women) in submission.
I was raised as an agnostic. My parents never gave me any indication that God exists and they didn't go out of their way to say the He doesn't.
When I studied theology later in life I found much about religion to be quite charming as a consequence of not having been exposed to any when I was growing up. I know people who go to Church regularly who are far harder on their Church than I am.
I understand what is wrong with religion of course. There is great charm in it too when it's practiced well.
My parents were Hindu but raised me basically agnostic. They answered questions but never really pushed anything. I fell in love with Greek Mythology in middle school, as a tool of fiction to explore human feeling and I think my mom saw some hope that I may believe in gods. I still have a weak spot in my heart for most mythology, because being exposed to it in that golden age of an expanding mind let me see it as "charming" too. Charming like Sherlock homes and Gandalf.
Thanks for that. Mythology is profoundly important. It allows us to speak about things that we wouldn't be able to say without it.
Mythology, properly studied/applied gets at the essence of our humanity.
I was not, but my niece was. She grew up as a happy child who played make believe like any other child. She knew that it was make believe, just like Santa and Jesus.
I learned early how beneficial it is to be truthful with my daughter. She was about three when I discovered she was panicked about the Easter Bunny. The idea of this huge rabbit somehow getting into our home at night while she was asleep, even if to leave her treats, mortified her.