Близнецы asked:
I’m Pagan and my boyfriend is Christian (Catholic to be more specific). When we have kids, how should we raise them in an interfaith household? No way would we pressure them to pick a side when it comes to their religion (if they want to be Christian, Pagan, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, combination, anything, go for it!) but how would we instill values stemming from the Ten Commandments and the Threefold Law in healthy non-conflicting combination?
Gerald
I’m Pagan and my boyfriend is Christian (Catholic to be more specific). When we have kids, how should we raise them in an interfaith household? No way would we pressure them to pick a side when it comes to their religion (if they want to be Christian, Pagan, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, combination, anything, go for it!) but how would we instill values stemming from the Ten Commandments and the Threefold Law in healthy non-conflicting combination?
Gerald
{ 13 comments }
Teach them their morals through common sense. A secular household isn’t all that bad. Let them make their own decisions about religion when they wish to.
What you do is instill human values. Teach them that life is precious and that they should strive to be their best, help whenever possible and never harm anyone.
this is why you should not be unequally yoked….you set yourself
up for a life long conflict until you seperate or someone
givens in to the other which is not uncommon but bloody
hard…
don’t both teach basically the same thing
I am baffled…but here are some links!!
Teach them about ALL religions and make sure they have a good THOROUGH education in science (no child should ever grow up thinking that science says we came from monkeys), then let them make their own choices when they get older.
The Catholic Church is going to want them raised as Catholics. You’re probably going to have to go to pre-marital counceling if you’re going to be married in the Church.
Your boyfriend isn’t much of a Catholic. He won’t be married in the eyes of the Church if he doesn’t do it through the Church. If he says they’ll be raised as Catholics but aren’t, he’s lying to the Church.
They’ll likely be asking lots of questions about religion. The more friction there is between the competing faiths, the more questioning there will be. They’ll probably end up atheists.
God commands that you should bring children up in the fear and admonition and knowledge of Him. He has revealed how in His word.
It is the greatest blessing to be brought to God.
How can you do that as Pagan or Roman Catholic?
It would be the blind leading the blind. Will not both fall into the ditch?
Not easy.
Why not try a different approach. Do not try to bring them up as anything but give them free access to all the Holy Books writings and philosophies of the World as possible and let them choose?
My family are basically Christian, Catholic and Anglican with some Jewish blood way, way back in time but in our house there was a Bible, a History of Judaism, The Rubayyat of Omar Khayam, Robert Graves’ Greek Myths, the Mabinogion, the Rig Vedas, The Sutra of the Lotus and many more… we were encouraged to read them all….
Unless you are both really “easy-going” people, this might be very hard and cause some strife with your relationship.
Its great to teach high morals and values. But it makes me wonder how sure you or your mate are about your beliefs, if it really makes no difference how your children believe. Children are not the ones to decide, at least not below an accountable age. They simply do not have the education, life experience, …. to make such a decision. That is why it is up to the parent to teach and instill certain beliefs they deem fit for their children. It is your responsibility to teach your children about “religion and Spirituality”. Because what they learn in the home, good or bad, is will have the most impact on their lives.
FIRST OF ALL IF YOU TRULY BELIEVE YOU ARE A PAGAN THEN WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO INSTILL THE VALUES OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS SET UP BY GOD WHO CREATED THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE INTO YOUR FUTURE CHILDREN? DOESN’T YOUR PAGAN GOD HAVE VALUES? ALSO YOU AND YOUR BOYFRIEND SHOULD READ THE BIBLE AND LOOK FOR A RELIGION THAT GOES BY THE BIBLE AND THE BIBLE ONLY UNLIKE CATHOLICISM. THE CLOUDS ARE GATHERING IN THIS WORLD AND A STORM IS COMING. ONLY THE BIBLE CAN GIVE YOU THE ANSWERS TO BE PREPARED FOR THIS STORM.
Sit down together and make a list of the values you both share. Think of ways you can teach children to respect those values. I, myself, am very centered in my own religion and could not be in a relationship with someone outside it, but that’s me. Obviously, the two of you share important values and beliefs, and those you can pass on to your children. Through those values, which I think will be common to most people, they can find their own ways.
When you make your list of shared values, make another list of things you don’t agree on, even if they seem small right now. Those things may create problems later, and it’s a good idea to have them written down now, so you can go back to them and be working on a solution. Don’t let them pop up later when they could cause divisions between you.
A tree can have many roots. The strongest trees have many deep roots that search out for the Water. We see the roots as separate and growing in different directions. Yet the roots form one system and offer strength against the elements. All this while searching for Water.
Teach your saplings to send their roots deep to touch not just the Water but the Source.