Support thread for all the atheist, agnostic, non-religious, and secular humanists

[pbl_ge]

Hi All!

This was a fantastic thread in the TTC forums, and I'm wondering if anyone over here would like to join in! I mean no offense to anyone at all, but those of us who don't practice a particular religion can sometimes feel quite left out.

So, roll call!

 

[pbl_ge]

Bump!

 

[whispersof3]

Just wanted to let you know thats a great idea. I am a wiccan so not the thread for me. Just wanted to show some support

 

[whispersof3]

Just wanted to let you know thats a great idea. I am a wiccan so not the thread for me. Just wanted to show some support .... Now if my phone will let me post this..grr

 

[whispersof3]

Sorry for that double my phone is annoying sometimes

 

[lelex]

Hi there

I like the idea of this thread! Me and my OH are atheist and expecting our first baby in March

What would interest me, do any of you face criticism from family members for decisions such as not getting the child christened or not getting married, etc...? I already know that our families probably won't be happy about us not christening our children & I just wanted to know if others are in similar situations?

 

[pbl_ge]

Whispers, I'm more than happy to change the title to be inclusive of you!!! You can tell me how I should phrase it.

And, hi Lelex! It hadn't even occurred to me to think about christening our child; naturally we won't, and come to think of it there are some family members that won't be fans. Our push back probably won't be too bad, as I think the religious ones have given up on us by now. Hmmmmm...I do enjoy having my godparents, even though I'm not religious at all. Maybe I'll have Godless Parents for my kid(s)? Boy, this is really thinking ahead! We're still stuck on choosing names that aren't religious, particularly for boys.

Do you think the objections will be difficult to deal with?

 

[Gertie beetle]

Oh me, me! My partner & I were raised catholic but we're atheists. We have copped quite a bit of slack for having a child out of wedlock but I'm trying to ignore it. Quite a few people have also assumed that we got pregnant by accident!
Anyway, definitely no christening happening here, but I will have some sort of celebration welcoming bub into the world

 

[Elisianna]

Hubby and I are atheists expecting a baby in March!

Mom and sisters are hardcore Christians (dad and brother are atheists). The one thing I know my mom will ride me about if I am going to have a boy is circumcision. She told me long before I was pregnant that if I ever had a boy that was not circumcised she would refuse to babysit him. I wonder how she'd like being reminded that I WOULD tell him why when he was old enough to understand.

 

[Mrs. AJ]

DH and I are agnostic and expecting our second. My parents are agnostic and my siblings are athiest, so no issues there. MIL is Buddhist and FIL is Christian, but they've never given us any sort of issue about it thankfully!

Congrats to all of you!

 

[Mrs. AJ]

Elisianna, that is pretty extreme of your mom! We chose not to circumcise, and thankfully no one in our families care either way.

 

[TatorMom]

DH and I are agnostic, and so are my parents. DH doesn't really have any family to speak of, not any that are a part of our lives anyway, so that's not an issue. It has been a bit awkward when I've come to forums after miscarriages because religion doesn't really give me the kind of comfort that it does some. I like to believe in the possibilities though, so sometimes it would give me comfort in certain ways. We have few friends, and the one's we do believe the same way we do. Religion is a topic I try to avoid though. We educate our children on religion, that way they can make an educated decision on their own as to what they want to believe. I think going to church is a great way to meet people. It just isn't our thing.

 

[whispersof3]

My fil is jewish as is my husband. We had our son circumsized in the hospital not at a traditional bris as my fil wanted. I didnt really care either way. I am all for my children learning about religions i just dont want to force my kids to believe anything. We had our first before we were married my mil didnt like it one bit so we got married after i had my daughter. We were engaged before i got pregnant and actually had the date set but then i got preggo and called it off because i refused to marry my husband because i was pregnant i wanted to marry him because i loved him. Sorry for the typos my phone sucks.

 

[FeLynn]

This should be interesting. I am not pregnant at the moment Just had my loss in June. I have struggles with religion.

 

[thefirstbaby]

I am not religious. But OH is slightly a bit religious. He knows about the bible type things and I have no care for it really. We don't mention religion. It's not really an issue. My kids can decide on thier own what they want to believe in. I am engaged. And have been engaged since DS was 3 months old. I am pregnant with our second and still not married. I'm in no rush. Either is OH. His parents are more religious and old fashion and think we should be married to have kids. My mom is more like me...as she says... Times have changed..

 

[Elisianna]

Elisianna, that is pretty extreme of your mom! We chose not to circumcise, and thankfully no one in our families care either way.

It is very extreme... I think it's just her way of trying to control me since I left her church. She is normally a very nice lady, but she's always been a huge control freak. When I was much younger and talked about giving my future child a sort of French-sounding name she said she would never call it by that name.

My brother and his fiancee are not going to circumcise either when they have children, so she has them to contend with as well... too bad she raised children as fiercely stubborn as she is!

 

[mjemma]

Hi! My husband and I are atheist and are expecting our first child in March. We went through 2 years of infertility to get here and I think it's times like that, when you are looking for answers as to why things happen, that you want to reach out to something.

 

[pbl_ge]

Hi All! Congratulations on your BFPs!

The circumcision thing--oof! It's such controversial stuff anyway, but do you really think your mom will carry through on that threat? I'd always felt that the circumcision thing should be decided by the dad, if there is one, because it's definitely out of my area of expertise.

FeLynn I'm so sorry for your loss.

Mjemma congrats on finally getting your bfp! That must have been a rough process!

I was raised religious, too, although not very. But we went to church regularly until I became a rebellious adolescent and refused. OH was not, and I'm offered staggered by his ignorance about religion. E.g., "Do Jews celebrate Easter?" This is quite striking in such a smart person. I'd like our kids to be educated about religionS from around the world. I do wish we had some sort of congregation we could hang with every week, but I think I'm a bit allergic to organized religion at this point.

 

[Steph82]

Love this thread!

OH and I are not religious at all either. We both don't feel that mariage is nessesary either.

So far I habe not received any push back from my family (but then again, they know it would be no good )

I have never thought about the religious reasons for circumcision. I honestly just felt that it was more socially acceptable for a man to be circumcised.... I only say this, because I have heard girlfriends talk about how disgusting the thought was to them, if a guy wasn't. I have encountered both, and it doesn't bother me either way. Just wouldn't want my baby to have to deal with anything . Maybe this depends on what part of the world you live in. I grew up in Germany, where it was not common. Now living in Florida, it is unheard of not to have it done (usually in the hospital).

Now you girls have me thinking and confused what to do

 

[sophieloafy]

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