Raising “religion-free” kids

As immigrants to America and so far away from our families influence, we were under no pressure to forgo religious teaching upon our children.

Since we were non-practicing Catholics and thought it would be hypocritical to teach our kids religious tenets that we didn't follow, we choose to educate them outside of any religious influence.

Raising them in Park City was a good place, because about half of the population was irreligious, even though the formidable Mormon influence was besieging our ski resort community.

Without religious education, but with the force of their parents' example and moral values, our kids turned out to be great and successful human beings.

Some studies allege that children growing up in a faith community experiment less with drugs and alcohol and juvenile crime but they're countered by others that show that kids raised without religion are more resistant to peer pressure and more culturally sensitive.

In retrospect, I think raising kids “religion-free” is the way to go; I strongly believe that the opposite amounts to a form of child abuse.