Raising Children Without God

My children were all baptised, and started their lives going to church each week. My eldest was about 5 when we stopped this habit, though she has been with me a few times since then. We have all been present at a few religious ceremonies linked to family occasions as well. My husband and I have decided that we can live very well without any church or religion, and that our children do not need it.

None of our children have made their first communion or been to confession. We thought for a long time about whether or not we should have a tentative link to religion, letting the children go through with these ceremonies just to be part of a community or to follow family traditions. But to do that, I’d have to bring them to religious instruction at the church for a series of one hour lessons. And I knew, there was no way I was going to have some priest fill their heads with nonsense. These sacraments are not just about a nice day out, they are about propagating the faith, sucking the children in to the ‘fold’.

Not my children.

I am much happier that I’ve made a firm decision about these things. I can raise them quite well without the interference of the catholic church. We have our own family traditions like movie nights with popcorn and fizzy drinks, walks on Sunday mornings, doing sports together and visiting the children’s grandmother on Saturday afternoons. We celebrated Halloween this year by decorating the house with creepy pictures, then the children dressed up and we went to a funfair, and at night we all sat together to watch a spooky film. We have not been to any church service at Christmas for years, but we love Christmas for the presents, food, decorations, visiting friends and family, parties and even the carols and corny Christmas songs.

My children have a fantastic cultural heritage from both parents and have relatives all over the world. They are fascinated by how we met and what things were like when we and their grandparents were young. They have a terrific sense of who they are and where they fit in in the world.

They are moral, kind, empathetic and thoughtful. They question me far more than I ever questioned my parents. I do not expect blind obedience from them, but we respect each other and when we inevitably make mistakes, we apologise and get on with things.

They are being raised to glory in the wonder of life on earth. They have fun and act silly and hang out with friends. They learn about various religions and their teachings and stories, just as they learn about the mythology of Ireland, the Greeks and Romans, and various African and Caribbean myths.

They are doing fine without any kind of God.