Homeschooling

[mrs.b]

"Morality and Religion are not the same thing"

they're absolutely the same thing -- to some religions
and that's the whole point

some people get their morality from their religion
others get it from biological/sociological evolution
others just get it from their government and from the judicial system

To some religions, but not all.

and if a person really believes morality comes from religion then what a horrible parent they would be to withhold that information from their child

parent: "don't steal"
child: "why"
parent: "I know why, but I'm not going to tell you, just don't, you'll have to figure out why on your own when you get older"


sure a parent could say "the golden rule" or 'just because" or "because I'm he parent and I said so"
or they could put it in terms of their religion, whether it be jewish, muslim, hindu or christian
and if they really have a religious foundation for their morality then shouldn't they say so, especially if "the golden rule" is directly opposite of what their religion teaches

or do you just want say "because I said so" and raise a little robot

Parent: "Don't steal."
Child: "Why?"
Parent: "Would you like it if someone took something that belonged to you without asking? No? That's why. It's not right to take something that isn't yours without permission to share it from the owner. You should not do something to someone that you would not want done to you."

Creativity and a tiny bit of thought is all that is required.

and you better believe the whole "why is that man homeless" has religious foundations

sure, it doesn't to conservative atheists, who will just tell the child "that's what happens when you don't work hard in school"
and it doesn't to liberal atheists, who will just tell the child "he's poor and didn't have the same advantages you have so we need to help him"

but christian will absolutely have a religious answer to that
and I'm a muslim, or hindu or jewish person would have a religious answer too

no, for some people morality IS religion
you can't separate the two

You may not be able to separate the two, but I can and do. The definition of the word itself can stand alone quite fine.[INDENT=2]mo ral i ty
Principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior.[/INDENT]

Assuming all people of faith will treat a situation the same is not exactly reasonable. Each of us have, in adulthood, gone through a variety of life experiences that lead us to understand our personal beliefs are true, but I believe many people of faith stop the thought right there. My husband and I, and people who believe like we do, merely add on a tiny bit more: "an individual's life experiences lead us to understand our personal beliefs are true for that individual." Someone else going through the same experiences may reach a different conclusion. If an explanation set in terms of religion will help, I believe in God, and I believe God gave each of us free will so that we can make our own choices. What sort of parent would I be to take away my son's choice by force-feeding my own beliefs on him?

As I explained, one of my child's challenges is an inability to see anything other than absolutes, and if someone in a position of authority says something is true, he believes it without question. As one of two primary authority figures in his life, if I say something is true, he will believe it without question, thus, I've eliminated his choice. In fact, while Autism makes his tendency to be like that far more obvious, most children are like that to a degree.

Here's an example that does not deal with any current major religions and how we address it:[INDENT]My son saw the superhero movie, "Thor," and became fascinated with everything related to it. He wanted to know all about the characters in it and started asking questions so we got a book on Norse Mythology and went through it.

He also saw the Percy Jackson movie, and likewise became fascinated about all things related to it. He wanted to know all about the characters in it and started asking questions so we got a book on Greek Mythology and went through it.

Partway through the Greek Mythology book, he noticed Zeus seemed a lot like Odin, Hera seemed a lot like Frigg, and so on. He asked about it, and we pointed out that a lot of the ancient belief systems were similar, with just a handful of differences that, if you thought about it, were reasonably minor. We pointed out that people at that time believed very strongly in those gods to the point that wars were fought and lives were lost in support of those beliefs, and some still believe in it. He said that was silly, and we told him it was not silly at all to people that believed or still do believe in it because it is true for them; we pointed out that people died for those reasonably minor differences. Because they believe so strongly in it does not mean he has to believe the same, though.

[/INDENT]

We address questions about current religions the same, including those we believe. We answer his questions by educating him, and we let him know what our personal beliefs on a subject are as well, and always conclude that it someone else believing something is true does not have to be true for him, including his Dad and my beliefs. We explain that he'll know what feels right to him in time or when it comes along, and if it's either his Dad or my beliefs, or something entirely different, we're a family and live together and love each other all the same.