Let your kids off the hook. My parents made me go until I left home and I still turned out atheist.

My mom let me stop going after confirmation. Actually she also stopped going after I was confirmed. The only good memories I have of going to mass is falling asleep on my dad's shoulder during the 7am service. He is no longer living and it's just one of those memories that makes me smile.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would think at least through middle school. After that, I will likely do what my parents did. They gave my sister and me the choice of either going to mass or doing something else each Sunday to learn more about either Catholicism, another religion, or another form of spirituality. If we could articulate a spiritual basis for a service project, that could count too. In the end, I have returned to being a practicing Catholic, but I have participated in activities from a wide range of religions, and have the utmost respect for their believers.

My kids are still in preschool, but I really really love this. Tucking it away for when the time comes.

You don't sound like a very serious Catholic -- nothing wrong with that, but this seems like a good way to expose your kids to a religion they might like more. Would you allow them to look into humanism too?

I'm the poster with the preschoolers. I suspect you wouldn't consider me a "very serious Catholic" but I do take my faith very seriously, and take the raising of my children in that faith seriously too. I also think that at some point (around the time they receive confirmation) that children need to take ownership of their faith and decide for themselves what they believe and what they don't. If, when they are teenagers and after a decade of faith formation, my kids decide they really don't want to come to Church on a Sunday morning, I'll have 3 choices. 1. Make them. Go with the "as long as you're under my roof you'll do what I say" approach. To me, that feels like a sure-fire way to drive them from the Church. 2. Don't make them, and let them sleep in and eat captain crunch. That feels like letting them off the hook and simply allowing them to be lazy. After all, if given the option most 16 year olds would rather sleep in than go to Church. 3. Allow them to do something of their choosing that will help them develop their own faith and their own relationship with God and with other people. That sounds perfect.

As for "serious Catholics" being exposed to humanism or whatever else... in my Catholic school our entire 10th grade curriculum was World Religions. I know far more about Judaism, Islam, and Budhism than most of my public school friends. We also had shorter section other religions. I know the class included some Native/aboriginal beliefs, but I don't remember if humanism was included or not. So yeah, I'd allow them to look into humanism too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would think at least through middle school. After that, I will likely do what my parents did. They gave my sister and me the choice of either going to mass or doing something else each Sunday to learn more about either Catholicism, another religion, or another form of spirituality. If we could articulate a spiritual basis for a service project, that could count too. In the end, I have returned to being a practicing Catholic, but I have participated in activities from a wide range of religions, and have the utmost respect for their believers.

My kids are still in preschool, but I really really love this. Tucking it away for when the time comes.

You don't sound like a very serious Catholic -- nothing wrong with that, but this seems like a good way to expose your kids to a religion they might like more. Would you allow them to look into humanism too?

I'm the poster whose parents took this approach. Perhaps I would not be viewed as a "serious" Catholic, but it doesn't really matter to me how others view my religious beliefs. In my view, there are many paths to God and spirituality. My way of understanding God is through the Catholic Church. If my children choose another path, I support that. I can try to show them a good example, and live my faith. The thing, though is that you cannot force faith (otherwise it would not, by definition, be faith). As for whether my kids will be smitten to Hell if they are not Catholic believers, I believe God is bigger than that. I believe that he, in whatever form he is present with people, holds us each in his hand, whatever Church we attend (or if we don't attend a Church or organized services), and whatever book we read from.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would think at least through middle school. After that, I will likely do what my parents did. They gave my sister and me the choice of either going to mass or doing something else each Sunday to learn more about either Catholicism, another religion, or another form of spirituality. If we could articulate a spiritual basis for a service project, that could count too. In the end, I have returned to being a practicing Catholic, but I have participated in activities from a wide range of religions, and have the utmost respect for their believers.

My kids are still in preschool, but I really really love this. Tucking it away for when the time comes.

You don't sound like a very serious Catholic -- nothing wrong with that, but this seems like a good way to expose your kids to a religion they might like more. Would you allow them to look into humanism too?

Anonymous wrote:I would think at least through middle school. After that, I will likely do what my parents did. They gave my sister and me the choice of either going to mass or doing something else each Sunday to learn more about either Catholicism, another religion, or another form of spirituality. If we could articulate a spiritual basis for a service project, that could count too. In the end, I have returned to being a practicing Catholic, but I have participated in activities from a wide range of religions, and have the utmost respect for their believers.

My kids are still in preschool, but I really really love this. Tucking it away for when the time comes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was raised catholic (my mom was practicing, my dad not really and didnt always go to church with us).

I gradually started to really dislike church and she allowed me to stop going a bit before confirmation. I'm not sure how old- I did first communion a little late.

I'm an atheist now. I'm glad she let me stop going as I got angry at church. I don't mean this to be anti religion, that's not why I'm posting. But I think if she had forced me to go for a long time it could have been a bigger problem

no need to apologize, but what could be a bigger problem than becoming an atheist?

Umm wow. What's wrong with being an atheist? Why "pretend" to believe if religion is like a fairy tale to you?

I agree -- I was thinking from the mother's perspective -- that she might have been thinking that you'd eventually come back to the church on your own if not forced.

What "bigger problem" were you thinking of.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kids go to church with us for as long as they live in this house. We have four grown and gone and one teen still at home. It's never been an issue because we've always gone to church.

Plus, we go out to eat after church every Sunday - big incentive.

so bribery as "incentive?"

Not PP, but one of my nice memories of childhood was going for pancakes after mass. I wouldn't think of this as bribery but family bonding.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kids go to church with us for as long as they live in this house. We have four grown and gone and one teen still at home. It's never been an issue because we've always gone to church.

Plus, we go out to eat after church every Sunday - big incentive.

so bribery as "incentive?"

Yep. And I'm fine with that. My college kids are far from home and still attend church most Sundays. We created a habit when they were little.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was raised catholic (my mom was practicing, my dad not really and didnt always go to church with us).

I gradually started to really dislike church and she allowed me to stop going a bit before confirmation. I'm not sure how old- I did first communion a little late.

I'm an atheist now. I'm glad she let me stop going as I got angry at church. I don't mean this to be anti religion, that's not why I'm posting. But I think if she had forced me to go for a long time it could have been a bigger problem

no need to apologize, but what could be a bigger problem than becoming an atheist?

Umm wow. What's wrong with being an atheist? Why "pretend" to believe if religion is like a fairy tale to you?

Anonymous wrote:I was raised catholic (my mom was practicing, my dad not really and didnt always go to church with us).

I gradually started to really dislike church and she allowed me to stop going a bit before confirmation. I'm not sure how old- I did first communion a little late.

I'm an atheist now. I'm glad she let me stop going as I got angry at church. I don't mean this to be anti religion, that's not why I'm posting. But I think if she had forced me to go for a long time it could have been a bigger problem

no need to apologize, but what could be a bigger problem than becoming an atheist?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: I expect to do it like my parents did, expect them to go through confirmation. After that they are adults in the eyes of God.

OP here, great point!

but still subject to the rules of the Catholic church, if they profess to be Catholic

I was raised catholic (my mom was practicing, my dad not really and didnt always go to church with us).

I gradually started to really dislike church and she allowed me to stop going a bit before confirmation. I'm not sure how old- I did first communion a little late.

I'm an atheist now. I'm glad she let me stop going as I got angry at church. I don't mean this to be anti religion, that's not why I'm posting. But I think if she had forced me to go for a long time it could have been a bigger problem

Anonymous wrote:Fuori Della chiesa non si salvera

Ma sei seria?

lol!

The church in Italy is a joke. The sacraments are all about tradition, not about God. As a non-practicing Catholic, I give the Pope credit for excommunicating the mafia, but even with that move, there's no way to clean up that dirty mess.

Who is saving the souls of the priests who sexually abused those children?

Anonymous wrote:The kids go to church with us for as long as they live in this house. We have four grown and gone and one teen still at home. It's never been an issue because we've always gone to church.

Plus, we go out to eat after church every Sunday - big incentive.

so bribery as "incentive?"