Day 11 - Remembrance & Rasing Children

You probably saw a lot of 9/11 remembrance posts today. I won't be one of those. I didn't know anyone in the towers. I wasn't directly affected by the terrible events. I know that there are others who were. I would feel cheap if I were to post about what I was doing and where I was during the attacks as, like I said, it didn't directly affect me. I'll leave that to those who were affected. All I will say is that it was a tragic event that wracked the nation with pain and sorrow. It united us in one front. We must never forget that. We must never forget the lives that were lost just to help us come together as a country.

Now onto my original post...

I mentioned the other day that I was going to post about raising children. What should you raise them as? You're religion? Your husband's/wife's/significant other's religion? Your family's religion? 

Hubby and I have discussed this at length over the years. Weighing the pros and cons. We came up with our own solution. They will not be raised in any specific religion. They will not be baptized. They will simply be. We will teach them what we know and help them to learn more as they grow older. One day they'll make their own decision. Now, I'm not saying that I wouldn't be ecstatic if my son/daughter followed my path, but it's not necessary. I want them to be happy in the religion they have decided to follow. I want them to live their lives never knowing what it's like to live for years having a religion shoved down their throats when they were too young to know better. Too young to say no. I want them to be who they are. That's it. 

If they want to follow their grandparents and be Catholic then that's fine. I'll take them to church so they can learn. If they want to be Baptist, I'll take them so they can learn. Pagan (and anything underneath), Witch, Buddhist, or even a mixture of religions. Whatever makes them happy will make me happy. I want them to grow up knowing that they have the choice how to live their lives. No judgement. No hate. No guilt.

What are your views on this? Should a child be forced to have a religion when they're younger? Or is it better to let them choose on their own?

)o( Jena