Religion
Related: About this forumKeeping the faith at home
Even if families don't belong to an organized religion, instilling spirituality in children still matters
By William Hageman, Tribune Newspapers
August 28, 2012
We are a nation of believers. Mostly. A Gallup poll last year found that 91 percent of Americans believed in God or some universal spirit. Yet a more recent poll by WIN-Gallup International and published by Religion News Service found that the number of Americans who say they are "religious" dropped from 73 percent in 2005 to 60 percent today. And in that poll, 5 percent of Americans said they are atheists, up from 1 percent in 2005.
Believing in God doesn't necessarily translate to belonging to an organized religion. And parents who do not belong to a religious institution, as well as those who don't believe in a higher power, are faced with a difficult question: How do they instill spirituality and faith in the children?
Kara E. Powell, assistant professor of youth and family ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif., says parents need to make themselves available to talk about spirituality and religion at home. They should be extra diligent in making faith a topic that can be discussed so that children won't be confused or ashamed about any observations or questions they might have. Even if there is no organized religion in the home, she says, religious holidays such as Easter and Hanukkah and their rituals can be one of the entry points into the discussion.
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Dale McGowan, editor and co-author of "Parenting Beyond Belief: On Raising Ethical, Caring Kids Without Religion" (AMACOM), is an atheist. He gets his kids to think about the implications of evolution. "One of the fun things is to chase it as far as you can," he says. "Tell them it's nice to take a walk in the woods, but it's a different experience when you realize you're related to those trees. We're related to our dog, we're related to our front lawn. Most of these are spiritual realizations."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/life/ct-x-0822-faith-children-20120828,0,7070927.story?page=1
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cbayer
(146,218 posts)racial, cultural, religious.
Because of this, they were exposed to a lot. We could talk about it without any kind of formal affiliation with any institutions.
Even when two of them went to Catholic schools, the curriculum included a great deal on other religions and religious practices.
I think they got what they needed to follow their own paths.
MineralMan
(146,262 posts)based on scientific knowledge, not spiritualism. It's genetics, not djinns. Non-religious parents can simply teach the science of such things to their children and produce the very same respect for such things as any spiritual explanation. My sense of wonder at the complexity of the natural world is not exceeded by any religious belief. It's just differently based.
I would have been disappointed in my parents had they taught me that some deity spoke all those things into existence, once I passed the age of 8 or 9 and had read about how it actually happened.
Parents should teach what they actually believe and know to be true to their children. Fairy tales, whether they involved giants and fairies or seas parting and people coming back to life, are useless in giving children anything of real value.
When I first asked where babies came from, my parents got me a pair of guinea pigs. Those critters demonstrated the process on several occasions. Even better, the local pet store was happy to give me $1 per guinea pig when they were weaned.
Aside: Guinea pigs are ideal for teaching children about reproduction in mammals. The entire process doesn't take all that long, and guinea pigs are born fully furred and with eyes open, looking like miniature adults. The female seems to have no discomfort giving birth, and they only nurse for about three weeks. They're also quite willing to mate frequently and don't seem to mind if children watch.
rug
(82,333 posts)When that child later buries the dog it is not science.
It is based on science, science that the toddler will learn during that relationship. It is the nature of the dog to be a pack animal. That is how it evolved, and is why it interacts with humans so well.
In most cases, dogs live into their teens, so that toddler will be in or out of high school by the time the dog dies. By then, that child will understand the biology of life and death and will bury the dog, knowing that animals, including him or herself have limited lifespans. In most cases the boy or girl and the dog will have formed a close relationship, and the boy or girl will be sad when the dog dies. It will be an important thing in that person's life, and will be understood in many ways.
How do I know this? I lived beyond the lifetime of my own childhood dog, and the guinea pigs, and a tortoise, and a couple of cats, some fish, and several other small pets. I did not appreciate them less for knowing their biology and how it related to mine, and I did know those things by the time I was about 8, and had read many books. I was saddened by their deaths, especially the dog, but I understood their deaths. I buried them in my parents' backyard, and know exactly where each of them was buried, although my parents have long since moved. My parents are both 88 years old. I'm intensely aware that I will be burying them within a few short years. I will understand why they died, and will still mourn their loss. But, they will have lived excellent lives and I will be glad of that.
You speak nonsense, because you speak only from one perspective. What you say was simply not true in my case, and is simply not true in the case of many people. I know my own story well. I am intimate with it. You do not know me at all, and cannot describe my experiences.
rug
(82,333 posts)They looked at our dogs, read your reply, and laughed.
Here's a lesson for you. Your own, extremely limited experience, despite your guinea pigs, tortoise and fish, does not establish truth.
Humanist_Activist
(7,670 posts)
rug
(82,333 posts)And I laugh.
Humanist_Activist
(7,670 posts)immortal? According to Church teaching?
rug
(82,333 posts)Humanist_Activist
(7,670 posts)my mom also told me what you tell your kids, probably a foreshadowing of what they will become.
rug
(82,333 posts)When a pet dies, it is an opportunity to question things and talk about things they've been told, such as resurrection, souls, "a new heaven and a new earth", and many other more mundane, immediate things.
We've also watched that famous Twilight Zone episode where an old man and his dog die. They wake up on an old country road and the man realizes they're dead. They walk down a road and come across a beautiful place and a man there invites him in. He says "Is this heaven?" and the other man says yes, come in. As the old man and the dog start to enter, the other man says, sorry, your dog can't come in. The old man stops, pauses, and says "I can't come in without him." He and the dog turn and leave and continue down the road. They come upon another man at a place not quite as beautiful as the first. The man there says Come on in. The old man asks, "What about my dog?" The man says, him too. The old man thanked him and told him about the man down the road who wouldn't let him come into heaven with his dog. The other man looked at him and said, "This is heaven, that was . . . ."
That's a paraphrase. Here's the plot:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunt_(The_Twilight_Zone)
I've heard the same thing as you about animals and souls. If the conversation ends with the nature of the human soul and the Beatific Vision, you're left with no dogs in heaven. If you continue the discussion, it's not that simple. There are a fair amount of priests I spoken with who do not think the conversation ends there. I think that's true with most doctrines.
In any event, I do think we are more than complex life forms. It's not simply whether dogs go to heaven. It's about the spiritual dmensions of life and living. It's a conversation I continue to have with my children. If they ultimately decide they don't buy it, they will certainly know what it is they're not buying, and why. But to them I owe the conversation.
Humanist_Activist
(7,670 posts)Dino, my first cat. I was practically raised with him, but when I was I guess around 10, he got sick rather rapidly, if I remember right, a somewhat rare cancer that the vets were puzzled by, he died at home, in front of me and my mom. Lead to a lot of questions about life, death, and frankly my mother said he's in heaven, with his mom, who died in a fire, trying to reach my room when I was 4 years old.
Told the priest what my mom said, and he disagreed with her, he wasn't mean, but I did tell him I don't want to be in heaven without my cat. Of course, nowadays, I don't think there is a heaven. I do remember that being the first memory of my mom saying the priest was wrong about anything. At the time, I chose to believe her.
Of course, I believe we are more than just complex life forms responding to stimuli, we are more than the sum of our parts. Doesn't mean anything immaterial is there. Same for the animals we choose to share our homes with, and anyone who has cats or dogs know they have unique personalities and likes and dislikes, not to mention the unconditional love they are capable of.
Indeed, having always been raised in a household with animals, I can't really imagine having a home empty of them, even though I know that it will cause tremendous pain later. I guess it tells you something about the human condition when we learn to accept that reality, and relish in the good moments and memories of pets both current and past.
rug
(82,333 posts)The questions never end. They often tell more about us than the answers.
cleanhippie
(19,705 posts)The behavior of domesticated dogs is well understood, and if your kids are laughing (as if it weren't true as you imply) at the fact that dogs are inherently "pack" animals that consider everyone they live with to be part of their "pack", then you are deliberately keeping your children ignorant.
MineralMan
(146,262 posts)the nature of the domestic dog. And that's OK. I don't mind being made fun of. I know the facts, so I don't worry about it. As mammals, we and our dogs and other pet animals are closely related. We have all the same basic body parts and organization. We have pretty much the same number of bones, even. We reproduce in the same basic ways. We're all mammals, and there's little biological difference between mammals. That's one of the reasons that pets are so useful in a child's education. Even if their parents don't teach them about the biological relationships, they'll get it in school, as long as they're not in some bogus creationist school setting.
What I wrote in that post is the truth. Making fun of the truth is a sign of something, but I'm not sure of what. I do know what mocking people is a sign of, though.
rug
(82,333 posts)Unlike the post I was answering, there's more to it than that. Don't fret. They are well-informed.