Must children be raised, for their own good, to at least pretend to

[heidler1]

be religious, patriotic and law abiding?

[sutz12]

1. Sure.....

if they pretend, they'll be good Republicans.

If they screw up and actually believe that crap, they'll make good loser Demcrats.

:sarcasm:

[woo me with science]

6. ROFL! Great answer! nt

[applegrove]

14. If they walk the walk..they'll be Dems. Pretend..Repukes ir dupes.

[endarkenment]

2. law abiding yes.

I am an atheist and an anarchist with a pragmatic streak. I've raised my kids to be free thinking individuals. They need to abide by the laws for their own good, but they do not need to hold false beliefs in fairy tale dieties or nationalistic idiocy. Nor do they need to hide who they are from others. Not yet anyway.

[AndyTiedye]

3. If You Have to Teach Your Children to Pretend to be Bible-Thumpers…

…you're living in the WRONG place.

[heidler1]

8. By the time I was eight I could see the pretense in all people.

This pretense is so wide spread and evident that no special effort needs to be put forth to implant it, however it is propagated anyway or is it just instinctive? Naturally we can plainly see it in others, but see ourselves as an exception (more pretense).

[unpossibles]

4. no

My wife and I were both raised as 'heathens' - and both of us, as well as her sister are fairly reality-based, law-abiding good kind people. My brother's kind of a yuppie, but hey - 3 out of 4 ain't bad. ;)

[theHandpuppet]

5. How about respectful, courageous and compassionate?

Sounds good to me and you don't need a holy book or a flag to instill any of those qualities in your child.

[MissB]

7. Was that supposed to be a "cute" question?

Are you really suggesting that non-religious people have no morals?

Good fuck.

[heidler1]

12. I'm an Atheist and IMO Atheists are just as moral as anybody.

Also IMO have one less thing to be pretentious about. Namely religion.

[SmokingJacket]

9. Weird question to ask!

They shouldn't pretend, but should actually be kind, compassionate, honest, and thoughtful.

[SoCalDem]

10. All a parent needs to teach their kids?

Golden Rule..

Most kids can "find" religion on their own as they grow up...IF they want to..

Parents need to teach them to be decent human beings FIRST..

[lectrobyte]

11. I was never able to pretend to be religious. It's probably better to try

to instill a sense of morality and community, and common sense, in your children, then they want to have to try to pretend, and patrioitism and religion and law-abideness will work themselves out.

[conflictgirl]

13. I teach my kids to watch what they say in certain spaces

I don't teach my kids to pretend to be religious or patriotic. I do teach them to be law-abiding but let them know that not all laws are just and especially as they get older, they should work to change the unjust laws.

We are not religious, but I do give them moral guidance. They have developed a sense of right and wrong, and are compassionate. I believe that most kids are born with a "moral compass" that has nothing to do with religion, and when they lose it, it's usually because society taught them otherwise.

I do not teach blind patriotism, but I do teach them about the ideals that this country was founded upon and how we have strayed from that.

My oldest child is almost nine. He's a great kid, and knows more about the political system and current events than many adults I know. He has an activist spirit already. But I also teach him that there's a time and place for everything, and that if he discusses certain issues with teachers or grandparents or his friends' families, he might not get the same acceptance for his views that he does at home.