I commented in Mael's thread [<a href="http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthread.php?s=&threadid=27564" target="_blank">link</a>] regarding faith-healing about one of my big fears for the future. I'll rephrase below, and I'm really interested in what you've done, or what you think you'll do.
I'm scared to death of what I'm going to do when I have kids. Specifically, in this case, I wonder about religion. I'm an atheist. I've been swinging between the atheistic (there is no higher power) and the... umm.. commonly-known-as-agnostic (there is a higher power, but we're not sure what) view for most of my life. I was brought up with parents who didn't go to church, but I went on Sundays with my grandparents.
I didn't know any better, but I never really believed what they were saying. I accepted it because it was early enough in my life that I was still accepting all things as truth. As I grew older and started to think for myself a little more, I realized that I didn't believe in what they were teaching.
My worry is how to introduce my children (when I have them) to religion. I want to be fair and impartial, allowing them to choose on their own. I've thought of things like encouraging them to go to church with their friends or relatives, offering to take them to church, giving them books (along the lines of Carroll's Mere Christianity) to read, etc etc.
The balance I'm trying to find is at what point can a kid actually examine his beliefs? I don't want to unduly influence my kids into a life of atheism, but neither do I want to pretend to believe in something I don't for their benefit. I want them to make a decision on their own, but I recognize how difficult that is, especially when they are so young.
See my comments in the linked thread above for more of my thoughts. I'm curious what you did, what you plan to do, or how you grew up... indeed, anything about this topic
Thanks Lebell for suggesting the new topic