I don’t cotton much to the idea of a “mixed marriage,” because isn’t every marriage a mixed marriage? Otherwise, we’d all be married to our clones. But of all the many wrinkles in the exquisite tapestry of our marriage, the deepest and wrinkliest is over religion.
My parents took me to church every Sunday when I was a kid, but I never saw much point in any of it. And now that I’m an adult, I’m pretty comfortable in a life that’s random, brutish, and short. My wife, however, is a devout Lutheran, and she has a far more healthy and optimistic view of life than I do. It’s really quite sickening.
About the only thing we do agree on is that if Jesus came back and saw what’s going on in his name, he’d never stop throwing up.
Clearly, we had to address this before we got married. So we made a deal. My wife's faith is far more important to her than my indifference is to me, so the kids go to Sunday school and church. That way, they'll at least be exposed to sprirituality and decide for themselves whether it has a place in their lives. And when they're aloof teenagers who've decided that their parents are idiots, they'll know that one parent is a much bigger idiot than the other.
Permalink | Should you raise your child religious? | Comments (4)
Interesting... my husband and I are very similar in views to you and your wife with one big difference. My husband was the one that was more devout than I. But now, as we've gotten older and now have a son-- he has become more indifferent. And we've both wondered--isn't having faith (no matter what it is) just a matter of living your life with good morals and being good to people. Does it really mean you have to do to a certain *place* each week to spout your praise to a higher being?
I obviously don't have an answer. But we've taken a slightly different approach. We don't go to church regularly--but if my son asks to go to Sunday school and other religious related activities, sure, we'll bring him... and he too can make his own choices in life.
Posted by: bethany | Nov 28, 2005 3:34:26 PM