Hi All! So I’ve been questioning this for some time now…how to raise my children in regards to religion? The million dollar question.
I have a 3 1/2 and 8 yr old. Where we used to live I took them to 3 different churches because I felt they each offered something of value. I like the non denominational Christian churches for the music and the feeling that spirituality has come to life and is more than just a mental experience (but I have my gripes about the legalistic Jesus only perspective etc etc) I love the pure example of Christ and his doctrines and truly I use him as an example in my own life.
I love the doctrines of Buddhism and the meditation component which I feel is lost in the Christian tradition (well I actually think it’s there but not advertised within the religion (i hope I make sense). I like the simplicity of Quakerism; Jewish High Holidays I can appreciate; and I know very little about Hinduism aside from my yoga teachings; Unitarian churches haven’t grabbed me. I feel like 12 step recovery work has been one of the main gateways for me and obviously my direct spiritual experiences via kundalini awakening where I feel the tangibility of God/Divine running through my body.
So I’m a bit all over the map. Not sure where this leaves me in terms of raising my children.
Also when I meditate w them in the AM I read a daily cute children’s Christian devotional to them. I find there’s a tangibility with the Bible for children in regards to teachings and doctrines.
Love to hear your thoughts…
This is home schooling (home churching?!) religion, which sounds like a great alternative. Also, take field trips to different houses of worship, for the service or just to sit in the quiet of the space. You can all google religions and discuss what you’ve learned how God is perceived in each. Meditation is a way to illustrate how we are temples of worship, and prayer is just conversations with God.
I think home schooling religion seems like a great alternative, too. I think you are sensing some of the same issues I felt when raising my children - that I wanted them to have a single religion focus so it wouldn’t confuse things. I also wanted them to have a cultural framework for spirituality. But honestly, the price just seems too high in the Christian tradition that is my cultural history. The “Be good and God will reward you” and “God as old man in the sky” as well as good=god and bad = devil is just too hard wired into the way it’s presented. And it’s hard to back out of all that as children mature. I love Dogboys idea of focusing at home on ourselves as temples of worship and prayer as conversation with God, then taking the children out into the world and showing them all the ways that manifests in different spiritual communities. I really wish I had had the experience and confidence to teach my kids that they are the experiencer of God, and that religion seems to be a community celebrating God together, not providing God to us. Good luck! And have fun showing it all to them.
excellent feedback Dogboy and Beehive! Great points! I agree with idea about bringing them into the world and showing them how spirituality manifests… in nature, meditation, etc. I think its about having a conversation about it all and how even similarities between Jesus and Buddha etc. 
C
lift the veil
that obscures the heart
and there
you will find
what you are looking for …kabir
oh servant where does thou seek me
lo i am beside you
i am neither in temple or mosque
niether in kaaba or kailash
niether in rites or ceremonies
nor in yoga or renunciation
if thou art a true seeker thou shalt at once see me
thou shalt meet me in a moment of time
kabir says o sadhu god is the breath of all breath …kabir