Why I Raise My Children Without God

[CoffeeCat]

45. I don't know about anyone else, but I find it difficult...

...to be someone who is not involved in organized religion--because that is what you are supposed to do. I live in a suburb. The vast majority go to church. Facebook posts are filled with "prayer warrior" requests and when a child gets cancer or someone dies in an accident--"God has him now" and "This is God's plan and we can't possibly understand it" are the prevailing thoughts.

I have respect for any views and beliefs. It is my belief that we have absolutely no answers. We are here. There could be a spiritual force that created the universe...or not. We just don't know. So, I assume that everyone takes a guess--one that fits for them.

However, what bothers me--is that most of these people look down and judge harshly those of us who do not attend Church. I have heard so many general (not specifically about me) condescending comments and snap judgments from religious people, about those who do not believe or attend church. They pity us and think we are the most misguided, idiotic, unenlightened creatures.

Just last week, I was in the grocery store chatting with the manager of the organic section. A conversation about diet and sugar slowly morphed into a religious one. I told her that I was a sugar addict but I had been clean for three months. She said that I needed to realize that Satan was tempting me and that I had to pray to ensure that God would guide me through this. I tried to tell her that I didn't believe in any of that--but I respected that she did. She looked at me so destroyed--as if I had just told her that I enjoyed going on killing sprees on the weekends. What gets me--is these people can spout off about some kind of horned, evil guy making me eat banana moon pies---and that's ok. But not believing that a snarling demon sits around, just waiting for lunch time--so he can mentally will me into scarfing down a bag of Snicker Bars--is taken as rock-solid reality. Messed up, in my opinion.

I do believe that humans have some kind of spiritual component. I do not have the answers. However, my belief is that most religion is an expression of that spirituality--and that many religions have morphed into something bizarre that has buried that central spirituality.