Diverse Religious Education
I don't want to raise my kid within the 'confines' of a particular religion.
I want them to be free to explore a variety of religious beliefs without being told what to believe. I guess my ideal is a sort of Sunday School program where they explore all the different religions in a way that explains what they are, the differences between them, their rituals etc. but doesn't put a "X is better than Y" spin on it.
Then, as they get older, they may develop particular interest in one (or a few) religous groups, and choose to delve further into those. Or they may choose none at all. Basically I want them to know there is choice.
For the longest time, I felt like I had no choice as I was born into Roman Catholicism, and went to Catholic school from JK through to gr, 10. Only once I transferred to public school did I have the oppertunity to take a World Religions class, but then again, it was only one semester.
Now at 25, I am finally taking it upon myself to educate myself about different religions. Deep down, I have abandonned strict Catholicism (for a while actually), but haven't found that I really 'fit in' with any other groups (generally throught a lack of knowledge about them on my part - although I recently found one I'm very interested in...more research needs to be done). I want to give my kid the oppertunity and the confidence to explore their options from the start. I just need to figure out exactly how to do that.
I want them to be free to explore a variety of religious beliefs without being told what to believe. I guess my ideal is a sort of Sunday School program where they explore all the different religions in a way that explains what they are, the differences between them, their rituals etc. but doesn't put a "X is better than Y" spin on it.
Then, as they get older, they may develop particular interest in one (or a few) religous groups, and choose to delve further into those. Or they may choose none at all. Basically I want them to know there is choice.
For the longest time, I felt like I had no choice as I was born into Roman Catholicism, and went to Catholic school from JK through to gr, 10. Only once I transferred to public school did I have the oppertunity to take a World Religions class, but then again, it was only one semester.
Now at 25, I am finally taking it upon myself to educate myself about different religions. Deep down, I have abandonned strict Catholicism (for a while actually), but haven't found that I really 'fit in' with any other groups (generally throught a lack of knowledge about them on my part - although I recently found one I'm very interested in...more research needs to be done). I want to give my kid the oppertunity and the confidence to explore their options from the start. I just need to figure out exactly how to do that.
