• Therefore@aussie.zone
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    1 year ago

    My 5 yr old came home from school last week asking about heaven, as at least one of her friends are catholic. It’s chilling how little control over religion you have when it comes to younger kids, and it’s the age where indoctrination is most effective. It’s tough to know what to say…

    • there are tons of adults who think they have the same imaginary friend who really doesn’t exist.

    • people look for balance to the idea of their own mortality so they made up religion, then it was coopted by those looking to assume its authority.

    • friend’s parents are wrong and their dog/grandma didn’t go to heaven cause it doesn’t exist.

    Obviously not those haha. Good luck though with your little one!

    • Echinoderm@aussie.zone
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      1 year ago

      My 5 year old believes that unicorns exist, they are just really good at hiding in the forest. I’m not going to tell them that it’s not true.

      The best I’ve been able to come up with is saying some people believe in god, some people don’t. Some people believe in ghosts, some people don’t. Everyone believes in different things, we can let them believe that without believing it ourselves.

      • Noodle07@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Believing in unicorns make much more sense than believing in girafes, we just live in the weird universe

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          There’s a reason the ancient Romans called giraffes camel-leopards. Even they had trouble believing they existed.

      • Guy Dudeman@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Of course that’s what I do too.

        But I don’t think six year olds need to know what a crucifixion is, nor do I think they should be exposed to torture and murder devices at such a young age.

      • WarmSoda
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        1 year ago

        Sounds like you have a healthy outlook on it. Thumbs up.

        • Guy Dudeman@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Funny you say this, because this is what I do too.

          I just don’t want my kids to be exposed to torture devices and murder, which is what the crucifixion is.

    • Guy Dudeman@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Haha! Yeah, it’s been a trip raising kids without religion in a very Catholic family. And they have many friends at school who go to church and my son has already had someone tell him he’s not going to heaven.

      It sucks.

      We’ve already told our kids about the concept of heaven and souls and how some people believe in those things. We’ve gone through a lot of tough questions with them.

      But the kids have thankfully never really registered that Catholics surround themselves with images of the Roman equivalent of the electric chair.