Yes or No?

For the record, I am hoping this thread can be a straight up yes or no thing.

kash, sorry to mess up your idea but I have an additional question since all the votes (mostly) are on one side.

If you were raised with religion, did you raise your kids with religion? Why or why not?

Yes I was.

No kids, so the second part I can't answer. 

Myself and three sisters and a brother.. all raised non religious, father an Aetheist, mother Agnostic, we were all encouraged to show interest and respect for all creeds, and to make our own minds up about what we chose to believe.

Our father is an Aquarian, way ahead of his time. He taught us that it was right to question dogma, and to analyse the content of religious manuals, and also to consider who may have written them and why.

I now have a sister who follows JW religion, which we all respect but don't wish to follow, she is much loved but slightly remote. We accept that, she accepts and is I think secretly proud of her astrologer sister, from what I hear when any of her church come around. There's no issue.

Our children were raised to think freely as I was, and one has studied theology extensively a quiet belief system that makes a lot of sense. The other is less focused but open minded about all religions. My grandchildren are being raised without religion and will be encouraged to choose their own creed as and when they start to formulate their own thoughts.

Dad is very proud of us all. Mum died a long time ago now, sadly, but she was equally free thinking.

I was raised Catholic by my mother.  My dad is an athiest....which made for some very interesting conversations.  The crazy thing is, I believe my mom remains Catholic out of pure tradition rather than belief because that woman cannot argue a point to save her life.  She doesn't really know jack about the bible...in fact an athiest like my dad and an agnostic like myself can tell her more about the bible and saints and history than she can.  I've even heard her making up quotes from the bible before..lol...she's a Gemini!  Anyhoo....she raised me Catholic...I've been Baptized, had my First Holy Communion, and Confirmation (all the while, never really feeling it.).  When I left the nest I decided I was Agnostic (?).

I believe in a higher being, I know "it".  I don't feel like I need religion to know it.  I don't think us as humans have the proper language to define it because to me, "God" is a feeling/voice in your soul that can't even be labeled or defined on this earthly level.  It's not anything I need to practice, because I AM simply by being. 

My youngest goes to Pre-k at a Catholic school, and my mom takes my kids to mass every now and again.  I don't mind at all.  I trust them to follow their hearts when they get old enough to decide what THEY believe in.  At least they'll have the knowledge to decide if Catholicism is right for them.

Both my parents had really bad experiences with religion (Protestant and Catholic) so I think that gave them an aversion to pushing it on us ... though my dad still went to Mass on Sunday. I always liked to go with him & was totally fascinated though I never knew what the heck was going on haha. 

My sibs and I were raised "more Catholic than the Pope".

Only one of us has children, and he is raising them "very Catholic".

Why? Because (for him) (and his wife), it is THE way.

If I had children, I would raise them to know about all religions, all gods, atheism and agnosticism, and I would let them follow their own path. Why? Because I believe beliefs cannot or should not be externally imposed.

strawberry fields, that's very similar to how we raised our children. we told them about different beliefs and that it was a personal decision which - if any - they ultimately chose.

I voted yes, but it's more of a sort-of.  I remember going to church when I was very young, but we stopped going around the time I started kindergarten.  My parents are more spiritual than religious, but there was certainly a Baptist overtone to my upbringing.
Not that it stuck.  *laughs*  I'm quite happily agnostic now.

No kids, so I can't answer.  If I were to have children, I would expose them to every religion and let them pick, or not, as they wanted.

no problem elsa. 

I was raised Southern Baptist.  I have a much more universal approach to religion and spirituality.  My children have been exposed to some different ideas but religion has not been a large part of our lives.  I don't want them to grow up thinking that anyone is bad or wrong because of what they believe.  I want them to have a healthy respect for whatever beliefs they encounter, but not to grow up with the fear and limitations I experienced as a child.

I was raised VERY Catholic.  I believed I was a horrible person and on the path to hell just because of Thoughtd!!!  Now I do not practice religion I am more spiritual than anything.  My parents will go to church every now and then and they have taken my daughter I am ok with that. I have spoken to my daughter about different beliefs and have told her she can choose to believe what she feels is right.

i was raised catholic. went to church every sunday devoutly until i was... 11. decided to be wiccan. did that for a year. then began intellectually exploring everything else... for hindu philosophy to toaism to weird cults to satanism to you name it. i lean towards buddhism these days. if i have children, i'll raise them with the concept of living life with faith but as to whether or not they will have a faith pushed on em... don't know about that yet. i sure as hell won't let anyone else influence them in that way.

Straight up Catholic baby! And since I lived in the Philippines until I was 13, they take their sacraments and religious holidays VERY seriously.

I have always questioned religion since childhood though. I once had a nun tell me I was going to hell because we had to send her a confession record (we're supposed to confess every Sunday). I never had any confessions done. I asked her, "But can't you pray to God on your own and confess your sins anyway?" She wasn't so happy with that.

I am spiritual, but I respect/tolerate all religions.  

Yes.. my parents are presbytarian.. when I was a young child they used to put me into the church sunday school class while they were in church .. I hated it and used to run away as soon as the teachers back was turned.. then I would find somewhere good to hide. My mom got tired of being called out of church to find me, so they eventually stopped going.. and stopped dragging me to sunday school. *LOL*

 You just cant keep an Aries where they don't want to be!!

Now.. I don't believe in organised religion (any organised religion), so I haven't raised my son with religion because I believe when he is old enough to choose.. he will. I will have absolutely no problem with whatever he decides is right for him.

Yes, parents were very, very Catholic.  My two oldest sisters went all the way through Catholic High School, and they have some horror stories.  Fortunately my parents decided to put me in Public School, since they felt they had moved into a good "enough" neighborhood, and the public schools were good (and free, of course).

 No, I did not raise my kids Catholic - like GW, I could not pass along a bunch of ideas that just never rang true with me.  My biggest accomplishment with my son is that I have always told him to think for himself, and question everything.  My daughter has special-needs, so her situation is different.  She just knows that with her family she is loved and safe.

The biggest fear I have always had is "mind control", and how easy it seems for people to pick someone or something they decide has "all the answers".  No such person exists, and it truly scares me how willing people are to believe that they do.  I find cults terrifying - as long as I am making my own decisions about anything and everything, no matter what the rest of my circumstances, I am free.   

Well, sort of.

We didn't really go to church or anything, we just celebrated the holidays. And my parents would pray whenever someone got sick, or something bad happened somewhere. My Mom sometimes read the Bible at night.

But beyond that, no. My mom wasn't surprised or angry when I told her I didn't believe anymore, but she just kind of went, "Eh, I went through that phase too. You'll come back around eventually. And it's not like I don't still have my doubts occasionally, though I know I shouldn't." She also kind of blames herself, thinking it's because she didn't feel like going to church.

Another interesting thing about my mother is that she's okay with Astrology (even went so far as to dig out my birth certificate and hers for the birth time when I asked), but not okay with Tarot cards. I'm not sure why. I guess she just goes along with whatever she's used to or something.

I was raised Catholic.  When I have kids, I hope to give them a sense of spirituality and morality but not including a negative version of the universe, such as "God will spite you for your sins and you'll be damned to hell."  That part is what turned me into a lapsed Catholic.

Father was a mystic, as was his entire side. Mother and her side, a line of Pentecostal ministers. Grandfather was a Theology professor and at one time in his ministry, was well aquainted with many of the TV evangelist big names.

I just do my own thing...I never know what to say or term it when it asked, just living THIS life now I suppose, as it comes. My version of God is that of the mystic I suppose, I reside within the whole of God, the whole of God resides within me. Microcosm/Macrocosm I suppose.

My daughters baptised within their fathers Protestant faith, attended church with their Grandma regularly, until they chose differently. Now at 18 and 22, they are more like me I feel..though we seldom talk these things, it never seems to be an issue.

I am happy though for their years that they were attending with their grandma, it has positive benefits for them to have a social structure within a little community that was supportive most of the time.

My experiences in childhood were not good within organized religion, my Pentecost family were quite extreme..lot's of restriction(no makeup, pants, long hair only) combined with practices such as casting demons and snake handling. Don't feel I was overly traumatized, yet I never related to the way they viewed things.

I am Jewish and was raised Orthodox at first and then the family became Conservative (a big difference) and always attended Jewish schools except for one year... I am grateful for this upbringing although HATED it at the time. Or maybe I hated everything about childhood.... probably....

If i had kids, there would be a strong Jewish influence absolutely but I am very spiritually open and would probably share my interest in other stuff: buddhist meditation, christian mystics, and more. I have venus in the 12th and a pisces north node in the 6th so the life of the spirit is a huge part of my being/thinking/daily life...

I would not raise kids in any kind of fundamentalist environment -- I wasn't. One remarkable thing about my parents (they should rest in peace) was that they were not racist or haters of any kind. I feel that I was raised (by default) to see everyone the same. Wasn't until I got older that I developed less savory opinions.... Never heard my mother speak ill of anyone. Kinda weird, actually. She was scorpio with mercury in scorpio so maybe she was just not saying it!

Hope i didn't get too off topic... 

Yes, I was raised with religion, middle of the road Protestant Christian. When I married I became an Episcopalian, i.e., Anglo-Catholic, and I raised my children in that church. However, when my youngest son resisted confirmation, around age 12, I respected it and backed off. I sensed it was a past life thing and as an adult he is a confirmed atheist which I respect. He is a deeply compassionate, kind, and forgiving person, a Sag rising, with Jupiter in Pisces trine Sun, Mars, and Venus in Scorpio, the most forgiving and least grudge-holding Scorpios I've ever known. My daughter converted first to Buddhism, and then after marrying a Muslim, converted to Islam and is raising her children in that religion. I respect that too but have reservations about literal interpretations and strict rules but it is her choice and life; they are her children. I have Jupiter retrograde in Capricorn in the 5th house, so many complex issues with children and religion. For myself, I no longer associate myself with any organized religion and follow my own spiritual path having studied many traditions.

My parents met at the Rosicrucian Lodge, but my mom claims she saw my dad first on the astral plane and he told her to go there.  My parents are both 12th house suns.  I was raised with a hodge podge of new age suggestions as the what may be the truth of the universe but like, whatever man. 

I actually went to a Catholic school for 2nd and 3rd grade.  We used to drive by the most beautiful building everyday and I asked my Mom what it was.  She said it was a school and I asked if I could go there.  She said "oh I don't think you whan to go there, thats a Catholic school."  But all the Libra in me couldn't get over the aesthetic of stained glass and I begged and begged.  Later on a friend of mine from 1st grade (whose family was Catholic) transferred there.  My mom caved and said I could go there. I eventually started having spontaneous nosebleeds everyday and my mom pulled me out. I think that small dose of Catholicism at such a young age was like a vaccination against organized religion.  

My niece and nephew are Hare Krisnas. They went to a very small religious school.  I think it was beneficial to my niece (shes a joiner)  but I think my nephew never really felt like he fit in and has had trouble socializing ever since.  

I'm gonna have a baby pretty soon.  We won't do any kind of organized religion but... I think this baby is going to be very in touch with his or her spiritual side.  I was in a very sad place and I prayed harder than I've ever prayed in my life for God to give me something to live for...then about a week later, pregnant.  So this baby is going to be raised with the idea that s/he is a manifestation of the voice of God.

~~Notatirem~~

"So this baby is going to be raised with the idea that s/he is a manifestation of the voice of God."

That is absolutely beautiful! Through my eyes, this Soul is oh-so-blessed to be coming into this plane with you as a mother. Congratulations and many blessings, for you and the little one! 

Straight up yes or no? Not so much in my case. I had a conservative Catholic dad, and a conservative Southern Baptist mom. Alternately went to both Catholic and fundamentalist Christian schools until my junior year of college.

I'm now a neo-pagan witch, Irish/Scottish/British flavored. You know what they say. "Get a taste of religion - lick a witch." :-}