Agnostic Parenting

  My youngest daughter was having  trouble sleeping the other night, so I sang her a lullaby. I sang her a Wiccan chant, We All Come From the Goddess.  It is her favorite one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5Y73oMcS7w
     I also like to sing Amazing Grace.  I can't sing, but she doesn't know that...yet.
 So, what religion do I raise my children? I don't think that most mainstream parents sit around researching world religions trying to pick one out in a manner that most moms look at recipes to write a family menu.
  I was raised Roman Catholic by my mother. I do love Catholicism. I have no problems with it except for the fact that Jesus being born of a virgin is completely illogical.  Coming back from the dead is illogical too. If I could just skip those parts, I'm ready to rejoin the Catholic Church.  I had a wonderful priest growing up who always spoke about God's eternal love and forgiveness.  I go sometimes to Mass even now and feel uplifted when the priest in this parrish speaks of justice needed for migrant farm workers.  Catholic Mass around here can really uphold many issues of social justice.  However, I disagree when the signs at church are against family planning. So much for feeling uplifted.
   I was raised as an Agnostic by my dad.  I have identified as an Agnostic since about twelve years old.
       I have been raising my kids in the Unitarian Universalist church.  I love the community there. I also love that my kids and I are able to be part of a faith community without having to actually have blind faith in anything.
     I have attended Pagan rituals for many years.  However, as much as I read and agree with Wicca, something is still missing.  The lack of faith that I have in Christianity also manifests itself as a lack of faith in the existence of the God and Goddess.  In a head sense, I am a Wiccan. In a heart sense, I am an Agnostic.
   So, what sort of mother should I be when it comes to religion.  My older kids, ages 13 and 12, are old enough to question the Divine and begin to form their own conclusions. My thirteen year old daughter, an Agnostic, as said that she does envy people with faith. She wishes she could have that same feeling of security in belief that there is a deity and a wonderful place called Heaven awaiting us. I know exactly what she means because it is exactly how I feel.
  Many experts say that young kids should not be burdened with the notion of choosing their own religion.  That it is more healthy to give a young child a healthy dose of spirituality and then let them choose on their own. What the experts don't seem to say is what the parent should do if that parent has no firm religious foundation.
    I remember when I was getting my driver's license and somehow it came out to the instructor that I am an Agnostic.  She said, "Oh yes, so many young people go off to college and they stop believing in God."   I responded, "That was my father. I am the child of those people who went off to college and lost their faith. I was raised this way."  She looked utterly shocked. It had never occurred to that those "kids" had grown up and had kids of their own.
  In school, my 8th grade daughter was telling another kid that she is Agnostic. He couldn't believe that she would question the existence of God.  Even more puzzling is the fact that mom is not only okay with this, but encourages this type of thinking.
  By the way, my lack of religion raised kids have always received compliments on their good behavior. They have friends and are very social.  But do I owe them an inner world?  Is that part of my job as their mother?  Well, the father of my oldest two children has made no attempt to raise them in his religion.  He is a Muslim, albeit non-practicing.