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wicca
i'm wicca and i'm gonna have a baby and well i was wondering if it's wrong if i make my baby learn and follow through with the wicca relligon i really want her/him to belive in what i belive in and i think of it as like the christans and how they make them belive in the whole jesus christ bible stuff no offence to any people who belive in that relligon so is it wrong? plez help
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Want to answer more questions in the Miscellaneous category?
Maybe give some free advice about: Spirituality?
as your baby gets older don't make it be wicca but let it decide what it wants.
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Wanting your child to have faith in your religion is a given in any family. I think the best you can do is raise your baby and educate him/her about wicca, but let them decide what faith, if any, they want to follow. Wicca is a branch of paganism, and Paganism is all about not standing to a specific Dogma, but to find your spiritual comfort zone, where you decide what you like to worship. And not all christians make their children worship their god- it's just the way they raise their children, as you will raise yours. Teach your child what you believe in, but when they get old enough to choose for themselves how they feel about wicca, or any other religion for that matter, let them. It's the pagan way, if nothing else. Hope I helped!
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Wicca,
Many Blessings for you and your baby. You can't make any sentient being chose a way to believe. As parent, your role is to be a mentor so it is important to show your child what you know to be true for you. Always keep an open mind to other forms of beliefs and ideas...it may help further your enlightenment as well as your child's. When she spiritually matures remember to not take it personal if she chooses not to embrace your truth. A parent should always encourage a child to grow spiritually. Your role is to educate and teach tolerance on all levels. Guided her on what you know is important...don't hide it...you might be surprised...one day she may enlighten you on what she learns.
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Well I dont think its wrong at all. My parents are very religious christians. My mother is going on the christian channel next week to nationaly forgive the dude who murdered her sister! But I do think that before you make any carriculum for teaching them you should go to the library or use the internet and explore different religions with them. If they choose to stay with wicca then you can start including them with your practice but if they choose another religion, let them know it is ok to believe what they want and you will support them. And to DaNcE_In_ThE_RaIn I think your wrong because I have gone to church my whole life and when I left that whole church was on me like flies on shit to try and keep me from "going to hell"
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There is nothing wrong with wanting your child to learn and believe what you believe in. I was born Catholic but I personally don't believe in some of the things that Catholic's believe in. I only believe in certain parts of all sorts of religions. As long as whne your child is old enough to pick whatever religion they want to be, Wiccan, Christian, Catholic, Jewish, even Athiest, or any other religions out there (I don't have the time to name every single religion) then it's okay to try and get your son/daughter to believe what you believe. Just don't get too upset if they decide that they want to believe in something else.
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Ok,let your child chose the religion they want to go through with. Untill they chose, don't make religion a thing in your house with him/her. When he/she is ready to choose make it ALL up to the child. Don't bias or anything. Now what you were saying about Chrisitans, we force the Bible into peoples minds because the Bible says so, (this is what my mom says, I havent read the Bible fully yet, she has :)So Christians especially ones who dont study the Bible force things a bit much, and its wrong. All people should chose what they want to do by themselves in my opinion
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I don't think it would be wrong at all. However, when the child is old enough to make up his or her own mind in what religion they want to be, you should respect that. It's your kid. You really shouldn't have other people make those kind of calls.
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No, you shouldn't be ashamed to teach your children what you believe, but once they are older, make sure that they know that it is THEIR choice to belive it or not. That you aren't making them accept it.
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First of all, yes I do believe that is wrong, its not even giving the child a chance to belive in something much more powerful than wicca. Christians do not make their children believe in the "whole Jesus Christ Bible stuff". They tell them that other religions are wrong which is true. Im sorry if Ive offended you, but I think you should no more about Christianity before you thrw that out there you know?
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In my mind to make your child be a religion that though know nothing about making them yes i do believe it is very wrong to pressure your own religion on someone else. At first when there young sure why not you can get them into your religion but ones they are older give them a choice either tell them theycan be what ever religion they want or be wicca. You must be open to other possibilities. Support any decision that they may choose. write me back.
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I think that you should be very open with your child. (especially in the preteen and teen years)
I think that is fine to raise your child in your religion, but what would be wrong would be to force him/her to stay with that faith for their entire life. If they want to convert let the them. As long as you are understanding everything will turn out fine.
Good luck with your child.
Love From,
-Mable
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I am a dianic wytch, and I had a struggle when deciding how to raise my child. I have decided to expose him to the spiritual side of life, and also teach him about many Pagan traditions. I would consider this openness the best option, but it really is up to you. I don't agree with the 'indoctrination of children' as another respondee puts it. However, it is up to you as a parent to decide which choice most benefits your children. Once you have made this decision, don't let anyone change your mind. As his mother, YOU are most qualified to make choices for his future.
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No, it's not wrong.
Throughout history, people have brought their children up in their own cultural and religious traditions. Why should you be any different?
Of course, it can be taken too far. If you overdo it, you could easily get a backlash. Human beings tend to resist when something is forced down their throats. So you'll have to manage a balancing act, of sorts; to raise your child in the wicca tradition and faith without being heavy-handed.
And it would be smart to take the cultural situation into account. Assuming that you're in the United States (which I suspect is the case, from your writing style), you have to recognize that you'll be bringing up your baby in a minority religion that most practitioners of the majority religion at best don't understand and at worst despise. That may lead to difficulties for your child. But of course it's no reason not to raise him or her in the faith that is the truth, as you see it.
Just be ready to cope with any potential difficulties, that's all.
It's also possible that your child may choose another faith when they get older, but that's a risk that every parent takes.
I'm in a similar situation, as an atheist; I'm doing my best to raise my son without religious belief. That in itself isn't difficult, but unfortunately well-meaning people keep foisting their own religious mythology on him. Which leads to endless questions and explanations.
Please note that ALL of what I've just written is based on my own understanding, and that I have never practiced wicca nor studied it much. I've emailed some pagan friends of mine and asked for their thoughts on the subject; if/when I hear from them, I'll pass their remarks along by editing my answer here.
FOLLOW-UP: A very knowledgeable pagan friend of mine tells me the following:
"Wicca is a specific neo-pagan religion, and has about a dozen or more sub-sects within it.
Generally about half of those sects are appropriate to teach a child in or have children involved in the faith directly, while the others it is inappropriate to have children in most rituals because of the cultural taboos of our society (things like use of communal alcohol, group nudity, etc.)
Without details beyond the use of the general term it's hard to say more."
If anyone is wondering, I got permission to quote that; my friend prefers to stay anonymous.
Good luck!
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This is a tricky question. After reading through the other answers I have a few thoughts to add...
First off, as was already said, pretty much everyone does this. However, the fact that all (or most) religious people do it, does not neccessarily make it ethically correct.
The other thing that was mentioned was the "ideal" situation. That is where you teach your child the values of the religion without trying actively to push them into it. This point of view is a bit of a contradiction, since living and growing in a household that actively persues one form of religion over another will push the child in that direction. In most cases it will be the teachings of that religion that will influence his determination on what is right and what is wrong.
Personally I think this is a far harder question to answer than it seems on the surface. To what extent is anyone ethically allowed to influence a child (which is essentially a clean slate) in order to pass on a set of convictions that are purely based on belief (i.e. that have no factual proof whatsoever, or that have factual proof that is entirely circumstancial)?
This is a question that could be debated endlessly. In the end you have to answer it for yourself. However if you choose to you would in no way be different than the majority of Christian, Muslim, Jewish etc households.
That being said I will share my opinion, which is not really so relevant but should probably be included. I believe it is utterly wrong to influence a child in any way towards a point of view that you cannot prove. I think its completely wrong when Christians do it, and I would think its wrong if/when you do it. To me it is programing the child before his reasoning capabilities have evolved. In that way his reasoning will forever be influence by his beliefs rather than vice versa. Just for the record (because most people assume this), I am not an athiest.
Like I said though, in the end its your decision and your child, so my opinion is not really of any importance. Good luck with your decision.
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I know you weren't trying to offend anyone and no offence was taken. You're somewhat mistaken about Christianity, however, so let me explain that to you quickly. What many Christians do is raise their children with Christian values and teach them about Christianity in the hopes that they will become good Christians too. I think that is what you want to do with your child, but with Wicca. You want to raise your child with Wiccan values and teach them about Wicca in the hopes that they will become a good Wiccan too. All religions and all people do this, so what you have in mind is quite okay. Just make sure you don't take it too far. Making someone learn and making someone believe are two very different things. Don't try to force your child to believe anything. Instead, set a good example of your religion for them and have them participate in your religion with you. It will make your family stronger and happier. When your child starts to grow up he/she may start questioning religion, which is very natural. Try to help them sort it out and find their way, but don't try to force them back if they choose to believe something else. Forcing a child to do something tends to only push them farther and farther away from it. Raise them to grow up into what you want them to be, then sit back and hope that what you instilled in them as a child sticks with them throughout their life. I don't feel that what you have in mind is wrong in any way. I think it's good parenting. Good luck!
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As I understand it, the general consensus among people with neo-pagan faiths is that the best idea is to expose their children to their religion, but not try to indoctrinate them into it; then allow them to decide for themselves at such time as they become interested in religion.
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theres nothin wron with introducing your child to wicca, but what i personally think is a good thing to do is let your child form their own opinions on religion as they grow up.
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