Going to Church?

[Shawn Driscol]

I have run into a dilemma of sorts. I was raised Catholic, from the earliest time I can remember up until I met my wife I went to church on a regular basis. After meeting my wife and moving out of my parents house I then stopped going to church. With her influence I came to believe that church was not important. I have however started thinking recently that maybe going to church is not such a bad thing. I have two kids 3 and 3 months and I am feeling like I would like them to experience that as well. My wife was Lutheran growing up but has decided that religion is not really for her anymore. We were married in her Lutheran church, however I do not feel like converting to Lutheran is necessarily the greatest idea. Since she will not be going anyways what advantage is it to me?

The other thing is, I don't necessarily believe that God created everything, I am more of a scientific viewer of things, Big Bang and evolution. Does going to church and practicing Catholicism mean that I have to throw those views out?

What does every one think?

[Ben Martin]

Shawn,

It makes sense that you want your kids to have the chance to experience your faith, and, if your wife has no objections to it, attending a Catholic church would probably be the most comfortable for you. It sounds like she is not likely to object to your choice of denomination, since she's left her own, anyway.

There are a significant number of Catholics who believe in evolution in one form or another. Theistic evolution, the belief that God started whatever happened, but set the evolutionary process in motion to bring about creation, is not uncommon among Catholics, and is accepted by the Church. There's an excellent article on all of this at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_and_the_Roman_Catholic_Church

Bottom line, though, is that belief in evolution does not conflict with being a practicing Catholic.

[Mark Bradbourne]

My wife was/is Catholic and I was indifferent as I was christened Episcopallian and attened many different churches. The one thing I did know was that I had no interet in being Catholic so we decieded to find a new church. One of the churches that I attened and one of the few I enjoyed was a Unitarian Universalist church. They welcome everyone from Catholics to Pagans and everything in between and the free exchange of thoughts and ideas is great... check it out.

[Matthew Lafferty]

Wow. There's whole courses in this thread. The short version, as has been said, is that you really don't have to throw out science to believe in God.

If you're game for a rather lengthy discussion on the matter, and even more hard questions, here's a fantastic series of clips of Richard Dawkins (skeezy militant atheist type) interviewing a Catholic priest, Father George Coyne (also former director of the Vatican Observatory). While Dawkins plays the "gotcha journalism" part well enough, Coyne does an excellent job of voicing his idea (shared by many) that science and religion are not enemies, just very different things.

For my part, the more science I learn, the more impressed I am with who God is.

And more practically speaking, despite what Dawkins and his ilk would tell you, there's no harm in taking kids to church. Structure is good for kids, and positive environments are always a good thing; chances are, you'll find both in just about any church.

Best wishes to you!

[JOhn]

Boy, This has got us talking. I speak as one who was brought up in a church and then left as an adult for a number of reasons. However..... If the church is geared to support you as a father in raising your children then that is somethng worth being a part of.

It might be good as you start attending to make sure you share with your kids what your faith (or whatever it is that you want your children to experience) means to you. Is it a faith you experienced as a child, a moral code you'd like them to share or a a cultural experience of being part of a church community that you want them to have. Perhaps it's a bit of all these or something else. Sharing what it all means to you may give your kids something to discuss with you after church. It may also help them to compare their experience with yours. This could help to further develop your relationship with your kids. It doesn't have to ba all deep and meaningful stuff....just smple and honest.

Something else.....I think as a parent, you have a responsibility to be as aware as possible of all the influences on your children and family including those in any church you become part of. All I'm saying is don't assume that everything that happens in a church is always 100% ok just because it's a church. Be involved, aware and constructively critical if the need arises. Otherwise, enjoy being with your kids wherever they are.