After writing my post about God or Moral Ethics last week, I watched a fascinating video hosted by a group of moms talking about why they are or why they are not raising their children with religion. Check out this post to see if you can relate to the choices these families have made.

As a parent you can be a strong moral example, you can create a respectful relationship with your child, share your moral beliefs, and expect moral behaviors - these are wonderful ways to bring up morally intelligent children.
Today more families are choosing to be non-religious or to leave God out of the moral, ethical picture of family life.
It’s hard for me to imagine not providing the kind of security and beauty that I associate with God, with my children.  Without the knowledge or belief in a Great Spirit, Yehweh, …

This month’s Personal Renewal Group call focused on the Transformative Power of Self-Care.  One of the areas of self-care is our spiritual needs.  So many families are moving away from organized religion.  With or without an organized religious community, it can be easy for moms to neglect their spiritual needs.  Here are some great ideas from “The Mother’s Guide to Self-Renewal” to get back in-touch with that part of yourself again…

Take time to be by yourself to think or write
Take a walk in a park or out in nature
Meditate, pray …

The short answer? Children need spirituality.
Does it matter what faith you practice? Not really. If your faith helps guide you and helps you understand what to teach your children about right and wrong, about virtues of honesty, justice, love, and compassion, then it will give your child a good moral foundation.
All faiths provide structure and an awareness of something greater than ourselves. The fellowship that community life provides can be very rewarding for children. Holidays become more meaningful when they are within a faith context.
Many families …