I raised my son to be respectful of the beliefs of others, but I don't think it took. He's a pretty militant atheist right now. I never pushed him one way or the other. Honestly I think finding out Santa Claus wasn't real was traumatic for him. It was like his trust in adults and what he was told went away overnight. Very extreme reaction. Interesting kid. I didn't react like that at all. In fact, I milked it by pretending to believe long after I figured it out (for more gifts, natch!).

As for religion, I don't see how you can be a cultured person in this society without at least having some grounding in the Bible and religious history and philosophy. Doesn't mean you have to believe, but you should at least be educated about it.

yes