An addendum: On Faith

I wrote a story for Monday’s Today section based on the “Gotta Have Faith?” thread as well as on some recent conversations I’ve had with readers about raising children with or without religion.

One of the replies I received this morning was from a man named Gene Harwood. Here’s what he wrote to me in an e-mail:

“A more appropriate title would be truth versus lies. Why do parents risk integrity with their children by lying to them first about Santa Claus then by religion when there is no such place as heaven or hell? If children can’t trust their parents with the truth then who can they trust? Children are not dumb and sooner or later parents are going to get caught up in their lies about Santa Claus and religion.

Why not tell the truth from the very beginning and gain the trust of their children which will last a lifetime instead of risking the children’s love by casting doubt on their parents judgment.

Children are born as atheists until they are indoctrinated by their parents and they are deprived of their freedom of choice as guaranteed by the Constitution, by being made slaves of religion.”

Any additional thoughts on the issue of faith and kids?