Is Paganism an "Interest"?

[pt_tangles]

In poking around yesterday and today (mostly on MysticWicks - they are big and I can usually find an interesting topic there ... if not an interesting discussion), I stumbled across one of those "What's wrong with raising your kids Pagan?" threads.  One thing I noticed in many of the responses of people who were in the 'not raising kids Pagan' camp was the phrase, "If my children choose to share my interest, I will include them".

This is something I have seem before, but it struck me today how strange a thought that is.  I don't know about anyone else, but my religion is a hell of a lot more to me than an 'interest'.  It is a huge part of my life.  It shapes who I am and how I see and interact with the world. 

If you have found a spiritual home, why would you want to hide it from your children?  How would you spend holidays/Sabbats?  Send them to a sitter?

--Phae

Comments

[irenejericho.livejournal.com]

I'm actually a big proponent of including children in ritual and celebration from infancy. I think they add a lot to the process. I just do the 'permeable barrier' with circle if we have a young'un so they can leave if they get fussy. Learning appropriate conduct in ritual comes from repeated exposure to it, so I feel kids do best when raised in circle from the very beginning.