There is no science that says being raised in a religion and with ritual is better for a person than not. Any study indicating this is just showing us that being raised with community is better for a person than not, which is kind of obvious. It has nothing to do with what that community does or believes.
And sure, when you compare people who pray to people who do nothing, then people who pray are likely getting benefits from that practice. But lets compare people who pray to people who meditate, or do yoga, or exercise regularly and take time for themselves to recharge. Then I don't see prayer coming out ahead, I actually have friends who do mediation and yoga who are the most peaceful and happy people I know. And I know that regular exercise and therapy do worlds more for me than the emptiness of prayer and the confusions of faith ever did.
My kids can interact with adults and have really long attention spans, and we don't regularly attend church. When I was a kid being forced to sit still during a two hour church service (and no we didn't have a nursery or any youth classes) I just remember it as being miserable. All I learned form it was how to dissociate, which isn't exactly healthy and wasn't a very useful skill in my life.
And it's funny to read that you think your kids are less materialistic about holidays because of religion. I was raised as a Jehovah's Witness, so we didn't celebrate holidays at all. All growing up, I thought people who celebrated Christmas at all were so materialistic. That is all the kids in school talked about was the gifts, that was all you heard about during this time of year, and what all the adults stressed about. So when we started celebrating Christmas we were very careful to take the focus off the gifts and put it on the tradition and togetherness, etc. We do give gifts, but we don't do Santa, and my kids make gifts for everyone every year so they can experience the joy of giving instead of just receiving. We tell them about the solstice and Yule and why people started celebrating this time of year so long ago - and none of that has to do with Jesus by the way ;-)
I'm not trying to be argumentative, though I realize this is probably coming off that way. I am just seeing that you seem to have a lot of black and white thinking about religion. And in my life your perceptions are not reality. There are churches you can join as a non-believer like the UU if you want community and ritual. Or get involved in any community group, and you have just replaced all of the good things about religion.
no subject
And sure, when you compare people who pray to people who do nothing, then people who pray are likely getting benefits from that practice. But lets compare people who pray to people who meditate, or do yoga, or exercise regularly and take time for themselves to recharge. Then I don't see prayer coming out ahead, I actually have friends who do mediation and yoga who are the most peaceful and happy people I know. And I know that regular exercise and therapy do worlds more for me than the emptiness of prayer and the confusions of faith ever did.
My kids can interact with adults and have really long attention spans, and we don't regularly attend church. When I was a kid being forced to sit still during a two hour church service (and no we didn't have a nursery or any youth classes) I just remember it as being miserable. All I learned form it was how to dissociate, which isn't exactly healthy and wasn't a very useful skill in my life.
And it's funny to read that you think your kids are less materialistic about holidays because of religion. I was raised as a Jehovah's Witness, so we didn't celebrate holidays at all. All growing up, I thought people who celebrated Christmas at all were so materialistic. That is all the kids in school talked about was the gifts, that was all you heard about during this time of year, and what all the adults stressed about. So when we started celebrating Christmas we were very careful to take the focus off the gifts and put it on the tradition and togetherness, etc. We do give gifts, but we don't do Santa, and my kids make gifts for everyone every year so they can experience the joy of giving instead of just receiving. We tell them about the solstice and Yule and why people started celebrating this time of year so long ago - and none of that has to do with Jesus by the way ;-)
I'm not trying to be argumentative, though I realize this is probably coming off that way. I am just seeing that you seem to have a lot of black and white thinking about religion. And in my life your perceptions are not reality. There are churches you can join as a non-believer like the UU if you want community and ritual. Or get involved in any community group, and you have just replaced all of the good things about religion.