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We went to church weekly before LO and started taking her when she was 2 weeks old.

No. We are not religious but we both believe there is something up there.

We want our kids to know about all religions. We plan to teach them briefly about all religions when they're old enough. Maybe monthly in a fun family way. Then they can decide for themselves if they believe and in which religion.

re: Baptism. My husband and I decided early on we will NOT baptized on our children. We're not find of the catholic church nor do we particularly believe in the religion. I know we won't uphold is catholic upbringing. So I feel it's a farce to baptize her so we won't.

I am a lapsed Catholic/agnostic, DH never went to church. I am considering checking out a UU church to see whether that would be a good fit, but other than that, I can't see me going back to church just for LO. Too much I disagree with; it would feel totally disingenuous.

That said, my SIL and bro started going hard core once they had kids.

DH and I go to church regularly and will continue to do so once LO arrives. I know this doesn't answer your question, but I just wanted to give some advice re: Catholic baptism. Many churches (not all, it differs by parish and diocese) will expect the parents to actually be registered in the parish in order to baptize their children. Some pastors also expect to see the parents at Mass in order to agree to baptize (again, not all, some are more lenient), so that's something to definitely check into before calling about the baptism.

I post this because I know someone who was raised Catholic, along with her husband, but did not attend church and was not married in the church. When she called to baptize her baby, they were required to convalidate their marriage, take some classes, meet with the priest, and register in the parish. It sounds like a lot, but it makes total sense when you think of what baptism is. It's the first sacrament of initiation into the Catholic faith, so many priests want to make sure that the parents intend to raise a Catholic child before going through with it (rather than something to take lightly). I would consider that, and also the fact that a child cannot be unbaptized later, in considering whether to baptize just because. I'd also call around and ask the requirements of the local parish, so you don't end up like my friend and have to baptize the baby months after you originally intended.

@ladyfingers: We go regularly and will after (I hope!) which I know isn't what you are asking, haha. But being Catholic, I know exactly what you're talking about! It does seem like something people just 'do' when they have a kid.

I think people do it after kids because it's how they were raised, they don't want to risk depriving their kids, they miss the community, you aren't going out on Saturday nights and too hungover on Sunday mornings, it's an incredibly emotionally trying time and prayer sounds good, you get to dress up baby in cute outfits, it's an excuse to get out of the house, you want to meet other parents, etc. etc.

On the other hand, if it wasn't something you loved before, going with a squirmy baby isn't going to make it more fun. So there's a chance you go for a few weeks, think "this sucks" or "we'll try again in a few years" and then it just doesn't happen.

I'd think about why you want to go. If you feel like something is lacking in your spiritual life, then that's so important to pay attention to! You need fed physically, emotionally, spiritually - especially as a new family. If it's something you believe is important for your kid, then I think it's worth a try too.

I go to church about once a month. Bad Catholic, I know! Well, at least I go once a month. My husband who is Lutheran does not practice.

He, however, wants our kids to be raise Lutheran. So he 'says' he will start going back to (Lutheran) church when our kids are born. Or when I get pregnant. (Can't remember what we agreed.)

I don't care which religion our LOs will be, as long as we practice/show/expose our kids to it. If he doesn't take the effort to go to his church then I'll take our kids to my church.

We both grew up going to church every Sunday with our parents, but before we had kids we were mostly Easter/Christmas people. When our daughter was around one we moved into an area that had churches again and started going most Sundays. Our church is really involved in volunteering and stuff, so I like taking her there to learn about helping other people and being active in your community (on top of learning about religion and God.)

Our church also has a pre-school and stuff, so it's good for that, too. I think the decision to take your kids to church is really personal, and you have to think about what you want your kids to get out of it. But I think if you baptize your kid, you should probably take them to church just because you promise to raise your child with God and the church during the baptism (in my branch of Christianity, anyway.)

No, we've only each sporadically gone growing up (Protestant and Episcopalian). We don't plan to go regularly either now that we have a baby. We try to reserve as much of the weekend as possible for family time and are happy with that.

Growing up I went to church with friends and grandparents, so I was exposed to many religions. It was always an open topic for discussion, so anytime I had a question, we talked about it. I'd like to continue in that regard with our family, open and accepting of all belief systems.

I didn't get baptized until middle school, so unless a grandparent or great-grandparent gets hung up on it, we'll let him choose what he wants to do.

@tequiero21: our church has a nice nursing/mom room so i just chilled in there. Now Lo goes to the nursery and DH and I can worship together for an hour! It's nice the nursery takes babies as young as 6 weeks old, but we didn't start dropping her off til she was 1. DH, me and the baby usually just sat outside the sanctuary and watched on the monitors they have

We also live in a big city, so I'm not really worried about exposing LO to other faiths. He'll have friends from other faiths, since it's a diverse area, plus there are so many activities and museums and festivals in our area that would help teach kids about other cultures and religions that I don't anticipate that being a problem.

My in-laws used to joke about the inoculation theory of religion; you have to expose kids to some religion when they're young so that they don't all of the sudden discover it in college and binge and go crazy with it

We'll continue going to church with our LOs. I find it a little strange when people only take their kids for the perceived community benefits, not because they share the beliefs of the community.

I think it's important that people give their kids exposure to different beliefs, but it's even *more* important for parents to be involved in things they fully believe in, and for kids to see that commitment!