Intolerance in A Small Town..

[afreethinker30]

Hello people.Just found this place today.Great to see so many others who share similiar views to my (and my family's) own.29 bout ready to turn 30 Mum of two boys.One son is a Atheist the other is well still on a quest to find his own truth.My Atheist son is only 11 and didn't know until after he talked to me about his beliefs that i also am Atheist.I've been teaching my boys about all religions and non-religions since a very early age.I think it's best to let a child have a choice.I grew up Methodist but was lucky in that both parents didn't force religion on me.I did the whole quest myself...felt ashamed for years over why I didn't feel the way my parents felt.I was pretty young when I came out as Atheist only 12.My mom didn't care much for it, but never forced anything on me.My hubsand is also a non religious person as has been since he was 16.I live in one of those towns and am surrounded by churches.Anyone who is not Christian,White,Hetero and sheep is looked down upon.Great board and can't wait to get into the topics.

[Asmodean]

Hello and welcome!

It's amazing how small communities tend to develop intolerance and xenophobia on a massive scale. I lived in such a community, and though secular, it had its fair share of homophobes, racists, xenophobes and that ilk. And those were always the loudest members of the community. The quiet ones were reasonable, but... Quiet.

It's good to hear that you give your kids as much freedom in choosing their path as the need. It teaches them to reason and draw their own conclusions and verify them with their own experiences. And that, in my experience, is the only way to really learn.

[Will]

Welcome to the forum.I hope you enjoy it here.Just curious, is there a significance to not having a space after a period?

[jcm]

welcome aboard. jump right in and start talking.

thanks for the info...maybe i should get around to writing an intro.

[Smallville]

Greetings. Growing up in a small town in South Carolina it was hard to express my views at an early age so I played the religious game as long as I lived under my parents' roof. Once I was on my own life became a lot simpler.

It's good to hear how some other parents resist infusing their children with this religious nonsense as well.

My 21 year old daughter has had religion thrown in her face by my ex's side of the family since she was little. She believes very little of it and talks to me because she knows how much I've researched and studied it long after my faith was gone. I never pushed one way or the other and have preferred for her to make her own choices.

All I can offer is to be honest with your kids and don't worry so much about anyone else.

[afreethinker30]

Thanks for the replies.Reason for the none space after the period hmmm not sure that I had one.I think that living in such a town is one of the biggest reasons that I am "lax" on religion with my son's.Great to see other parents who are the same.

[McQ]

Welcome to the forum. Thanks for sharing that bit of background. You'll find lots in common with many of the folks here.

[myleviathan]

Welcome. Glad to have you. My wife and I have had interesting discussions on how we plan raising our kids since I'm an atheist and she's a Christian. Looks like it's going to be a balance of church and volunteer projects. I'm planning on respecting my wife's beliefs but also teaching them my own. We'll see how that goes. Kinda scary. We're not in a rush to have kids.

[Evolved]

Hello Free.  Welcome to the forum.  It looks like you have already jumped right in.  Enjoy yourself!

[afreethinker30]

Welcome. Glad to have you. My wife and I have had interesting discussions on how we plan raising our kids since I'm an atheist and she's a Christian. Looks like it's going to be a balance of church and volunteer projects. I'm planning on respecting my wife's beliefs but also teaching them my own. We'll see how that goes. Kinda scary. We're not in a rush to have kids.

Sounds like alot to work out.Great to see you are so open towards your better half's  beliefs. I know it's hard at times sitting back and not saying anything.My youngest who is 8 is on his quest.So I have tons of God/life/death questions everyday.

[SteveS]

Hi afreethinker - welcome on board!  I've got two girls myself, but mine are only 4 and 6.  While I don't think my wife would call herself an atheist, she is not religious; doesn't go to church or pray.  The nice thing is she seems inclined to let me handle the religious questioning of the kids, which works for me!  For example, we were driving along somewhere and there was this huge church along the road, so I said "Wow, that's a big church".  My oldest asked "What's a church?" (which, I won't lie, I thought was a very healthy indicator of how we live our lives, ).  My wife said "why don't you field that one?".  Sweet!

[afreethinker30]

Hi afreethinker - welcome on board!  I've got two girls myself, but mine are only 4 and 6.  While I don't think my wife would call herself an atheist, she is not religious; doesn't go to church or pray.  The nice thing is she seems inclined to let me handle the religious questioning of the kids, which works for me!  For example, we were driving along somewhere and there was this huge church along the road, so I said "Wow, that's a big church".  My oldest asked "What's a church?" (which, I won't lie, I thought was a very healthy indicator of how we live our lives, ).  My wife said "why don't you field that one?".  Sweet!

That's awesome that your wife lets you handle that stuff.Just wait until they get older and start asking stuff about evolution,death and such.My youngest is well alittle odd on his thoughts and questions.But I think that seeing the things he asks only shows his intelligence for such a young age.I'm lucky that my hubby is Atheist also so it makes it much easier.