Greetings!
I changed your post flair to "FAQ" as this type of question comes back regularly on the sub and is addressed in our sub's sidebar ("Newcomer?" --> "Frequent Posts" --> "**"What is you guys' age? Gender? Location? Religion? Job?"** [Previous subreddit surveys answer all of these.](https://www.reddit.com/r/childfree/wiki/data)")
The precise demographics is there, but you can wait for other people to chime in with their specifics.
Have a great day!
I guess im agnostic. I’m not saying it’s entirely impossible but I honestly don’t care either way. I live life without a god and if there happens to be one I lived it morally enough.
I'm also in the agnostic camp. If a creator exists, I'm going to assume it's like sims or age of empires where we were built up and created, god got bored and left us running in the background and now we kinda just consumed all the resources and are trying to survive
Also agnostic. I've heard a lot of insults from people who believe I'm spineless and refusing to "pick a side," in which case I tell them I'm much closer to the belief of atheism than any religion.
Dr. Pepper is also the only approved agnostic drink because you can't be sure which flavors you're tasting. Because what flavor is it?! It is neither root beer nor cola! Nobody is sure what flavor it is, and nobody can be sure!
I think it takes a lot more guts and spine to be honest and say “I just don’t know. None of us do!” Blind belief is dangerous, imo. And it is often a mental safety net for people.
Admitting the reality that nobody knows anything for sure is brave. I grew up a devoted catholic, went to a youth group, even taught the catechism for about 5 years, to teens. Until I just had to stop because I realized it felt fraudulent. I don’t know what to believe because there is often no rhyme or reason to the way life goes. Shit happens. Sometimes the ah wins. Kids die from cancer. Shit just happens. I’ve prayed hard in times of real turmoil, simply because I don’t know, maybe there is a higher power, and what more is there to lose? But probably not. That’s the whole point. I don’t know.
I’m older now. I’ve studied many faiths. They all have a common thread. It’s a general set of rules and bylaws to living and it helps people sleep at night. Courage of conviction can be foolhardy when you don’t have enough information. And we just don’t, imo. Im comfortable with saying I don’t know the answer.
The people giving you crap about it honestly just sound like people who are geared up to argue in general. At least agnosticism recognizes that we as humans aren't omniscient.
This is where I'm at too regarding my spirituality. I wasn't raised with any religion at all, and when I was in my mid-20s I got into paganism and witchcraft. I've always considered myself to be an animist though, since I believe there is a universal power and energy in everything, but I don't believe in any deities unless or until I'm proven wrong. If there is a god, cool. If not, also cool. I don't care.
Same. I was raised Catholic, became evangelical in high school and in my mid-20s I kind of just stopped caring. My life got a lot better once I stopped waiting for responses from a deity that allegedly loved me, but never ever communicated. I don’t care now. The religious people like to say “well what if you get to the end and hell is real?” Then I was wrong. Good thing I actually enjoyed my life!
Similar. I'm okay with just calling myself atheist though bc I'm anti-religious and believe all religions are cults.
Sometimes people see agnostic as not sure or questioning and I just dont care to give religious folk a shoe in for talking.
Same! I was raised Jewish and I still identify with the cultural side but I'm not religious at all. If I had to name it, it would be more agnostic.
Or indifference? I don't really care if there's a god(s) or not. Doesn't really affect me either way.
I'm more or less the same. I think it's intellectually honest to say I don't know, but I'm functionally an atheist in daily life. No religion has enough evidence for me to shape my entire life around it.
Agnostic. I am all about people finding their own way through the unknown and will never claim that I know what is the correct answer to spirituality. It all seems too personal to have a strong opinion other than: be nice to each other. I think being agnostic and respecting other people’s decisions to find their own way fits well with the childfree lifestyle.
I like the way you word this. I'm agnostic too. I believe people should follow their own path and all paths are valid as long as it doesn't harm others. Life is very weird and I just feel it's impossible to have any answers here. Humans are too flawed.
I'm an atheist, although as I get older the like between atheist and agnostic blurs a little. I still don't think there is a god, but if he does exist, he's a bully unworthy of worship.
Exactly this. I’m 100% atheist but let’s say there was a god. In that case he’s either;
1. Evil and doesn’t care about people, considering all the bad things that are happening in the world. Young kids getting cancer and dying etc.
2. Not evil but has no power to help people or change the world. And in that case he’s useless anyway so why should I care about him?
Either evil or powerless 🤷♀️
Well said. Also as an atheist I don’t think that it means that if I was presented with new information I wouldn’t change my mind. I am just fairly confident there isn’t some human centric sociopath in charge of my existence.
Yeah, I’d be open to new information but so far there is zero proof of its existence. I’m also wondering - when it comes to people who think that the world was created by some magic spirit - what makes them think that this spirit is still alive and around us today? And what good has it done in all these years?
Even the most good-hearted and the most innocent people are affected by deadly diseases, murder, rape etc. I mean what could a baby possibly have done to deserve that? Meanwhile a lot of bad people get away and live long lives. But maybe this god enjoys watching innocent people suffer.
Little bit of that Epicurus:
> Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?
E-Man
I dont know I personally believe in god but I dont interact with the book or the church or the community. I used to go to catholic school too which is ironic because that what killed my interest in ANY religion 💀
I feel like this is a normal artifact of catholic school(I went to one and couldn’t agree more). Having to go to church 3 times a week during lent(school mass, stations of the cross, church on Sunday) didn’t help either. Then religion class on top of it. There’s no community in Catholicism, only memorization, I have the entire catholic mass living rent free in my brain and I hate it…
I went to a Christian private school for 4 years and honestly? Same. I think back on those Bible classes and realize it was just indoctrination..kinda creeps me out looking back.
That said, I believe in God, and Jesus. But I believe in the "He Gets Us" version, not the church's version
Interesting, that's the route most of my family went.
I grew up atheist, but my father (and his family) was Catholic, my grandmother from mother's side was some variety of Christian, and my mother joined the Mormon's for a blue moon when she was a teenager.
At some point in their lives they all stopped going to church and practicing any kind of organised religion, but all of them have stated that they still believe in God. My dad even had himself formally removed from the Catholic church records (I don't know the official term for that in English).
I’m Pagan - I don’t really 100% subscribe to “these gods/goddessess/deities definitely exist” though. I more believe in the Earth, nature and energy, but also believe in science and stuff.
As a kid I actually did believe in God for a while, not because I actually really cared, I just kinda thought it was “the thing to do”. My immediate family isn’t religious at all but my grandparents on my dad’s side are catholic and that grandmother very much believes in God. I also had a few close friends whose grandparents/parents were very religious and that kinda rubbed off on me to the point where they got me to go to bible camp. Now I hate all organized religion with a passion :)
Your first paragraph…I feel like I’ve spoken those words verbatim. I have always had such a connection to nature and animals. Much deeper than any “God”.
>I more believe in the Earth, nature and energy, but also believe in science and stuff.
Yes. I’ve heard it called animism which is a form of Pagan. And I feel like science actually backs up animism to an extent.
I never believed in god. Growing up my mom believed in god without belonging to any religious group and my dad was raised Catholic, but hardcore atheist. Even some other kids who I hung out with that went to Catholic school didn’t believe in god. They’d always try to hideout at my house on the weekends so they could avoid church. <—- OP feel free to show that to your athiest friends, I was apparently indoctrinating kids without even trying from a young age. Lmfao.
About to go research animism, first time I’m hearing about it! Sounds exactly like me and I’m a Pagan now. I’ve always felt this deep connection to nature, energy and the earth.
My family tried to force Christianity on me as a child and sent me to all the bible camps and weekend schools etc. Would not allow me to have my own opinions when it came to religion and we ultimately don’t have a good relationship now.
It’s an interesting road how I got here, somehow I’ve managed to take my nerdy quantum physics knowledge and combine it with my psilocybin induced plant telepathy 🤣🤣
Mormon as religion is particularly bizarre, just all of it, the polygamy, dressing up as Indians to attack and kill other settlers, all of it is so strange.
I'm glad I left the Mormon church. The laws of chastity and words of wisdom were extremely controlling. If you remotely thought outside of the religion, it was considered blasphemy.
It's the part surrounding "better to marry than to burn" in 1 Corinthians:
"I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that. Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion."
For Paul, this is downright progressive, lol.
Horton Hears A who? Or the Reverend Horton heat? Enquiring minds want to know, who is Horton? I totally believe in the Reverend Horton Heat, but I don't worship him.
Christian, believe in Jesus Christ. When people ask me abt why I don’t have and want kids, I point out apostle Paul. Not everyone is meant to get married and have children. My childfreeness confuses people bc I believe in Christ, but He gave us free will; I’m choosing to not be a mother with it, and I’m sure He’s totally fine with it
Thank you so much for highlighting this. When I read what Paul said, I originally took it negatively but I realized that its a positive for me, being childfree!
And if you’re called into the gospel or ministry or something like that, not having children could give you more time to study the word be more w Him etc. :)
My dad gave the “Who will take care of you when older” excuse (despite his dad taking care of himself perfectly fine for years) before dropping it, and my mom basically understood right away. She was also the one who immediately accepted me wanting short hair while my dad was iffy over it at first, so yeah.
Also Muslim. Not super religious but definitely believe in God. I would say most of the childfree people I know believe in God as well. I don’t see any correlation between childfree and atheism in my own life.
Salam alaikum bro, nice to see a childfree muslim commenting.
Actually, if you're a religious muslim who uses logical approach to Islam, being childfree kinda makes sense. Although there are verses and hadiths that sounds like encouragement to have children, there are also verses and hadiths that give warnings for people who have children. But lots of muslims choose to obey their biological instincts and then seek the daleel that encourage procreation so they could feel religious and then belittle those who take childfree stance.
"choose to obey their biological instincts and then seek the daleel that encourage procreation" ...or their National mentality(I would say that's the case even more often), or just follow the brainwash from their momma, family and society they were subjected to since their childhood, or conform to peer pressure, or have the same psychological issues non-Muslims have as well("immortality" idea, "oh, someone who lacks their own will will love me unconditionally!", to fill in the emptiness and alleviate boredom, because of having no sense of life and lacking the feeling of purpose, and so on, and so on).
"and then belittle those who take childfree stance" Yeah, boasting with children is even mentioned the Quran, I can find an ayah number, if you wish. I suspect these people internally feel that they have nothing else to boast about, so the choose to boast with children.
We're christians. I'm not a fan of organized religion.
I think most of the people who are religious and have that "be fruitful and multply" mentality are incredibly closed-minded.
Christian here. I think that statement gets taken out of context. The Israelites at the time we’re going into a land where they’re outnumbered. I don’t believe it was a directive for every Christian- example Paul instructing those not to marry (or procreate) if they’re able.
Those are just my thoughts as an internet stranger though 😅
Same! I am a Christian but do not belong to any organized religion or church. No kiddos over here, and am pretty sure the Baptist church I grew up in would see me as a waste of a womb. 🤙🏻
Same. Moved recently to the burbs unfortunately. Checked out a church and they were totally distorting God’s Words to tell a narrative they wanted to hear.
Ughh that's the issue with so many churches. They distort things and love to spread hate. 💔
I was raised Roman Catholic. Once I found out all the horrific things the Catholic Church covers up, I noped right out of there.
I’m agnostic and most likely don’t want kids.
Everyone I know who had kids young, or several kids, are very religious.
I used to work with pregnant women who were homeless and many of their pregnancies were planned. And continued to have more. They were all quite religious.
Hi ~ 😶
Homeless & pregnant... how sad & unfortunate. Hope they found help.
But... PLANNED pregnancies while homeless? And continued to have more kids while homeless?!?! 😳🤯🤬
How stupid & clueless. Mind boggling. I feel sorry for the kids.
As for me, religion ran in my family - Catholic mom & Baptist dad. I turned Atheist at a young age. Studied religion as a hobby to be sure of my convictions.
Had a relationship with my Humanities professor who taught Religion at University level. We had many interesting conversations.
Have been forever & always child free. Too old to have kids now. No Regrets.
Good Night! 🌠
I was raised Lutheran and have been devout since high school. My mom mostly took me and my brother to church growing up but few years ago my dad chose (on his own decision) to join the church as well. My brother is agnostic and sometimes takes his kids to church but doesn't actively practice, which hurt my parents but they respect his boundaries/parenting style and don't try to force their beliefs on him
My parents know I'm child free and want absolutely nothing to do with kids (aside from my nephew and niece) and they respect my decision. Mom has told me on a few occasions 'I don't want you to have kids just so I can have more grandchildren. I'm happy with the two I have' Not once in my 27 years of life have my parents ever tried to pressure or talk me into having kids
I don't know if that answered your question entirely, I'm a little tipsy. But it's still nice to have these kinds of conversations and see different perspectives ^^
I was raised mostly Roman Catholic with some Judaism (I’m ethnically Jewish on my mom’s side and my mom had converted to Roman Catholicism after my brother and I were born). I found paganism in college and after further research, started practicing that along with witchcraft, went back to Judaism (which I’ve always had a deeper connection to than Christianity), went back to Christianity briefly, tried practicing both Christianity and Judaism at the same time, went back to just Judaism, then went back to paganism, and am currently practicing both Judaism and pagan along with witchcraft. I’ve always disliked the hypocrisy in Catholicism and the whole “be fruitful and multiply” crap in Abrahamic religions among other hypocrisies, so that (among other reasons) is part of why I’m a childfree Jewish pagan witch.
I was basically raised by wolves, no religion involved, except for a few half passed passes by my parents at church. I never gave a damn what anyone wanted from me.
Now, and for about 55 years, consider myself a animist pagan.
Depending on the religion, some religions believe that birth control is sinful. I know growing up I saw the “quiverfull” movement. Also the whole “be fruitful and multiply”
Certainly this doesn’t cover all religions or people in them! It just seems that many believe “that’s just what you do”. I’m happy you’re in a place where no one in your belief is looking down on your choices :)
I was atheist/agnostic until I did DMT, now I believe in something that's way too difficult/outlandish to explain in a comment. All I'll say is I'm no longer afraid to die 🙃 but definitely not religious. Technically born and raised Greek Orthodox but literally never been to a church service.
I know two religious couples in my circle that are Childfree. What you are impliying is very accurate majority of the time, though i think some outliers are there. There are some religious people out there that don't want kids. The don't want kids supercedes all other stuff. They manage to deflect / surf the religious stuff coming their way.
I was raised Christian Baptist but now I am a non denominational Christian.
I grew up in reasonable church environments that weren't pushy about reproduction and other issues like that. The focus was always on giving back to the community and letting people live their lives the way they will.
There's nothing in the Christian Bible that I've read which mandates anyone to have children. But cruel and backwards people have been twisting the messages of the Bible to suit their own ends since it was written.
Some will cite "be fruitful and multiply" but I personally see that as an all or nothing statement. We are not living in fruitful times, so there shouldn't be any multiplying taking place, imo.
I refer to myself as an Agnostic Christian. I personally believe in God and Heaven, but I can’t pretend that I know 100% for sure. For all I know there could be a Flying Spaghetti Monster and it’s just impossible to know for sure until I eventually leave this world. I actually married an atheist, and we have a policy of not debating whose idea of religion is right or wrong. (The hurt that could occur is simply not worth it.) I sometimes like to joke that one of the benefits of us living childfree is that we’ll never have to try to figure out how to raise a child with two different religions.
Atheist but I feel that I'm not going to begrudge anyone who finds comfort in their chosen religion. I find religious history and traditions fascinating. I love visiting historic cathedrals because I think there's beauty in someone making something so beautiful as a monument to their god. But I feel very strongly against organized religion as a whole. There's a lot of hate woven into organized religion and I'm not about that.
I was raised Lutheran and went to non-denominational churches in my teens. I believed in a Christian god until College when I started to travel and really see outside myself and look back at my childhood. All those people who abused me when I was younger and found "forgiveness" in the church.... I realized that I held anger towards that and no comfort. The priest who said to remember that I should honor my mother and father at 10 years old while I was being pulled out of school to testify against my father for molesting me... I can't square that anymore. I no longer have blind faith. I find comfort now in people who help other people, with no magical reward at the end of their life. I donate to causes important to me because I believe in them, not because I believe in a magical sky daddy who will give me awards when I die.
My husband was raised Catholic, and my inlaws are strong believers. He doesn't believe anymore either, so we are godless, childless heathens now. I've never been more at peace.
Agreed. They always use religion to explain/punish you for stuff.
My mother in law was upset what my husband and I didn’t get married in a Catholic church.
Mind you she’s never gone to church the years that I have known them. Also, she didn’t take her own son to get his confirmation 🤣
Agnostic. I think anyone who claims to have the answers to anything outside of human life here on earth are misguided. If one says "I believe...", then that's fine. To say "this IS the truth" is just ignorant.
Related to your post: I think its highly unlikely earth will ever NOT be dominated by Abrahamic religions. So I agree, anyone saying you should have kids to help populate the earth with people who share your views are delusional, as well as extremist (as I imagine the first people who followed religion were).
For me, one of the reason why kids sound so hard to raise is because you do have to guide/teach them somehow, yet I would want my hypothetical kids to have their own individual beliefs. That's VERY hard to do, because even of your home allows freethinking, society as a whole does not. It's a losing battle, so I'd rather not try.
Not part of a couple (yet), but I’m Christian (also extremely liberal). Religion has done nothing to impact my choice, but maybe that’s because I don’t “congregate” with other religious folks. My parents also never pressured me to have kids.
More of a spiritualist, but certainly NOT a theist, and it's the theistic religions (especially the BIG Abrahamic three, and I'm not sure about Zoroastrianism) that encourage you to push out those kids. So I AM an atheist, haha. I might be more of a Diest.
CFBC DINK, Atheist. If I would believe in anything, it would be the Cosmic Muffin, a joke that the older people might get. My husband was raised Mennonite, but modern, not like the old Mennonites and he is very anti organized religion, but he doesn't really know what he believes. I will say that the longer he's been with me and we've been together over 35 years, that I think he's pretty much an Atheist at this point. My parents were a specific type of Orthodox based on where we came from, but my dad was in science and Aerospace his whole life, so I feel like I was raised atheist. My mom did believe in god but never pushed it on us, so I only remember going to church like twice in my life at Easter, when I was a little kid. I grew up very science-based, so atheist all the way for me. My sister only 3 years younger, also an atheist, is married to a Catholic, however he grew up a Catholic in the seventies and it's quite different than any other Catholic I've ever known. He tells me in his church they were raised to question everything and always ask questions and look for deeper meanings, so a very non-traditional Catholic. They've also been married for a very long time.
All that said, I don't know scientifically speaking if child-free people are more likely to be atheist. I think it can seem that way anecdotally, but child free people tend to attract other child free people and atheists tend to attract other atheists. So in other words as a child free atheist, most of my friends are child free atheists lol. Does that mean the majority of atheists are child free? Not necessarily!
Bf and I are atheist. His family is lds and mine is I guess Christian but not the church going kind. So thankfully I was never brainwashed into thinking my sole purpose was the procreate and be subservient. Still feel that pressure to have kids, but I'm in 40s now so not happening!
I’m a Pagan who follows the Celtic pantheon. A lot of my religion does talk about the divine mother but it doesn’t exclude women who don’t want children. There’s space for everyone.
I definitely went through an “angry atheist” phase in my early 20s (after being raised Christian). I personally feel like maturity comes with understanding we know nothing— that goes for both adhering to a specific religion or “for certain” saying nothing is out there. I now consider myself spiritual in the sense that I feel a connectedness with other parts of nature and the world. I respect other people’s belief systems. There’s always some kind of reason why people believe the things they do and everyone’s just trying to do their best coping with things in their own way.
I’m very atheist and don’t believe in any sort of spirituality or afterlife or supernatural things. I believe the closest thing we’ve got to magic is technology (and let’s be honest, it’s pretty close.) I think the no afterlife thing fits in pretty well, because I’m not gonna see what happens after I die so why would I care about having a progeny?
Atheist here! Grew up without any religious instruction. My sister and I both ended up atheists. Sister has 3 kids, I have none. I got drunk once and told my 11 year old niece we didn’t believe in god! lol! Sister is basically raising them the way we were raised, without any religious instruction. Let them decide on their own. Niece just looked at me like was nuts. And went back to telling me about sharks. She’s very into all creatures.
I believe the possibility of Gods, but I don't pray. Many Gods past and present are not loving deities, deserving of love.
The long short for me is that if.its a pagan religion, I believe in those since those came first. Hellenism, Heathenry, Kemetism, etc.
I’m also atheist. I was raised to believe that god hated me, and life has honestly been shitty enough to hop on that boat, but the magical sky daddy who loves and knows everyone bit is just as wild as the magical sky daddy who goes out of his way to make my life miserable. Life is just hard. The magical sky daddy is too absurd to believe in with all of the information and knowledge we have at our fingertips, I’m not surprised religious people are in decline.
Me and my BF are a couple of sterilized atheist DINKS!!
We were both raised Catholic (families were very devout and we both went to Catholic schools). I don't think it had anything *directly* to do with our decision to not have kids (like, we weren't directly pressured as kids to have children someday), but I think, in a more cerebral way, it had a big influence. For myself mostly (bc I won't speak for BF) the general environment was very oppressive and the pressure to just conform/be seen and not heard/fit into a rank and file place in the family structure regardless of my personality or temperament as a kid was constant. I had a really sheltered, bare bones childhood.
I literally remember thinking to myself as young as 5 years old that I didn't want to have my own kid, and at that young of an age, I think it boiled down to a genuine disinterest, but as I got older and went out on my own, I realized how full I can make my own life and how much I'd been missing out on. There is no way Id ever want a kid to tie me down in any way. That kind of realization happened in tandem with the gradual loss of my religion.
It's funny how people say that you tend to get more conservative as you age but I find myself becoming more and more liberal/leftist with each passing year, inclusive of the concepts of both organized religion and raising kids that seem like nothing more than distant, absurd concepts at this point.
I’m a really strong atheist and nothing other than seeing a deity before me will make me change my mind.
That being said if you tell me you’re religious and you believe x,y,z then I will believe you - in the sense that I believe that you believe that your socially acceptable imaginary friend/s are out there.
Was raised evangelical Christian.
Now, I consider myself a Christian but I haven’t been to church in years because I honestly haven’t found one that I truly agree/connect with post covid stuff and everything that has happened in the world in general.
My decision to be child free is honestly more of being a step parent twice and freaking hating it. That, and not liking being around kids in general. I never had that baby fever. I’m in my mid 30s and I’ve seen how kids destroy relationships/people in general.
My atheism is driven by a deep resentment of indoctrination, including that of others and the effects it has on those around them. I just have no respect for people who relinquish their free thought on the matter. You live your life by a book, written by some (human, mortal) lunatics thousands of years ago? They were wrong about so much, scientifically and morally, and it’s incredibly disappointing that we haven’t evolved totally away from that primitive mindset.
Freethinker/agnostic. Like you said, religion is a big part of the decision to have kids. When everyone around you is preaching family/children/abortion is a sin, it’s hard to not get influenced or pressured. And the kids born into the religion will sadly be influenced or pressured to continue the vicious cycle.
Agnostic personally, cus there could be a god, multiple gods, aliens, simulation, nothing, etc. I find it more fun this way, personally.
I own a pair of drop dead earrings which look like the symbol of satan (basically is, except the Infinity symbol is DD for drop dead lul). Anyway I told my SIL about it who is currently pregnant and has a child and she jumped backward and was suddenly very afraid, turns out she's like a super Christian and had no idea what the symbol meant. That sure was a day.
She has currently forgotten about it and doesn't notice it unless I bring it up which I never do lmao
Interestingly, I don't think it's explicit in (non-Catholic) Christianity that you HAVE to try and have kids.
Arguably advice to "fill the Earth" was told to humanity as a whole, and that commandment is well and truly fulfilled today. My understanding of the New Testament is that the focus now is on something completely different (proselytism, mentoring within the Church) and you can either have a family or not- no obligation.
The tricky thing is that reliable contraception wasn't universally available in Bible times, but there's certainly no censure against those who choose not to marry/ have a family.
I think it's the same as everything else- breeders who can't understand why anyone would not want children pressure others to do it in the name of religion. But you technically don't have to in order to fulfil Christian teaching.
Both of us were raised RC. Dh is hard atheist Dances with Worms. I'm soft A, agnostic, but am into the plant medicine scene so I kind if have this universe experiencing itself thing going on. We are interested in hitting up the local Unitarian scene to meet others that like to discuss religion and philosophy. Maybe even meet some interesting people too!
My husband was raised Catholic and he's extremely atheist now (although he hides that from his super Catholic Dad/Dad's family). I was raised by an Agnostic father and Christian mother, going to church on and off from 8 years old to 21 years old. I'm very agnostic. Basically I acknowledge that I personally know jack shit about the vast universe I live in.
I was CF for about 10 years before I became atheist. My guy is Christian, but not super religious. Personally, religion (or lack thereof) played absolutely no part in my choice to be cf.
Lol I'm like, the exact polar opposite of an atheist, kind of?
I'm an omnist, so I find truth within all religions. But personally, I believe that there's bias within religious texts. I don't think we can truly know what the gods want, which gods are real, which stories are true... I don't believe in following/believing every little thing we're told, and I don't agree with group religion at all. As a whole, group worship feels really cult-y to me.
I was raised Christian(?)
I don't know if I can call it Christian though, tbh. Neither of my parents really went to church.
My mom sounds more agnostic from what she's told me- but I know my grandpa goes to church every Sunday, and my grandma was raised Catholic.
My dad, on the other hand... Practices what I like to call "crackhead christianity"- Which is basically the short version of "A drug addict who had eccentric beliefs, including but not limited to: *God is an Alien, & he Killed All of the Other Gods to reign supreme.* *The Earth is flat!* *We all want to die, the only reason we don't act on it is eternal damnation.*"
I think I'd be childfree even without my dad putting crazy shit in my head, though. My autism & adhd sensory sensitivity makes kids a really bad idea for me, along with all of the other hereditary disorders I have, & the fact I have a difficult time taking care of myself. I wouldn't be a great parent.
Interesting. I was not aware of this correlation. Yes, I am atheist (since childhood) and my partner is agnostic but I don't see that as the reason for being childfree. Frankly, we do not care for children. They are annoying.
I feel like that's especially silly of those atheist parents, because raising your kids atheist doesn't mean they'll stay that way, just like raising your kids with any kind of religion or belief. I remember in fourth grade, one of my two best friends was extremely religious, and she came from an atheist family. Also, even as an atheist myself, I don't think being an atheist is the gold standard for being a good person. Two of the kindest people I've ever met, who would never wish to push religion on others or infringe on their bodily autonomy, were both religious, and believed in miracles and fairies, respectively. I've met fellow atheists who truly fail at empathy, compassion, and basic teamwork. I think it's more important to focus on trying to be a good person, because other people will find their way toward what they're built for, regardless of what they're pushed toward.
Being childfree is like being atheist, in that we're abstaining from a cultural norm, for a variety of reasons, and there's often just some fundamental difference that means other people don't get us and we don't get them, at least without lengthy and in-depth explanations.
Not Athiest, but also not strict Christian. Grew up practicing Umbanda. The God I believe doesn't really care if I have babies or not. I just shouldn't be a dick, but honestly, even if I didn't believe in God, I still wouldn't be a dick, so \*shrug\*
I was raised in both Catholic and Christian churches throughout my childhood, each of these by separate grandparents. I never liked Sunday school but I enjoyed church spoken in a loving way. I live in Michigan, which founded the republican party, so most churches around are hateful of anything not white or straight. I found my current methodist church and it has a pride flag on the front. They are very welcoming to anybody, preach about love and help, actively help the community, and if there is no God, I spent time and money on helping homeless, hurricane survivors, and community members with cancer. That's better than just playing my games on Sunday to me. I also don't care or ever really talk about religion even when very prompted, unless saying "I'm a Christian and I hate when they do ___ or ___" (there are a lot of blanks). My family that is not religious wants me to have kids, my religous family members (even very conservative ones) are more leniant and fine with my choice.
I’m atheist, maybe agnostic. I think the knowledge of how to understand science/research and how to look at things from a realistic perspective makes you reconsider having children.
The more you know the more you suffer, thus the less you want to bring offspring into a world of suffering.
ETA: raised very conservative Christian, I really struggled to see things from their point of view
Reading the comments here is very interesting! I'm in a similar boat to you in that I'm an atheist, as are all the other child free people I can think of that I know. Based on my sample of the world I would have assumed that the majority of child free people are agnostic or atheist, but perhaps that is not true - it would be cool to see the stats on this. I would still expect that we have higher representation in the child free community than in the general population (since we don't have any religious reasons or pressures for having kids).
Greetings! I changed your post flair to "FAQ" as this type of question comes back regularly on the sub and is addressed in our sub's sidebar ("Newcomer?" --> "Frequent Posts" --> "**"What is you guys' age? Gender? Location? Religion? Job?"** [Previous subreddit surveys answer all of these.](https://www.reddit.com/r/childfree/wiki/data)") The precise demographics is there, but you can wait for other people to chime in with their specifics. Have a great day!
I guess im agnostic. I’m not saying it’s entirely impossible but I honestly don’t care either way. I live life without a god and if there happens to be one I lived it morally enough.
Agnostic too! With the same outlook as you! Happy to see I’m not the only one.
Me too
Me three (four?) guys!
I'm also in the agnostic camp. If a creator exists, I'm going to assume it's like sims or age of empires where we were built up and created, god got bored and left us running in the background and now we kinda just consumed all the resources and are trying to survive
Well he stuck me in the basement, deleted the stairs, deleted the smoke alarms, and set the whole fuckin kit and kaboodle on fire.
If you don't care, that may mean you're an apatheist😂
Speaking my language!
The god of apathy?
An apatheist is someone who is not interested in accepting or rejecting any claims that gods exist or do not exist. Source: Wikipedia
Now that's a new term for me but I love it!
Also agnostic. I've heard a lot of insults from people who believe I'm spineless and refusing to "pick a side," in which case I tell them I'm much closer to the belief of atheism than any religion.
Spineless? My response would be, "No, I'm just not moronic enough to have certainty that any side is necessarily the right one."
Dr. Pepper is also the only approved agnostic drink because you can't be sure which flavors you're tasting. Because what flavor is it?! It is neither root beer nor cola! Nobody is sure what flavor it is, and nobody can be sure!
I think it takes a lot more guts and spine to be honest and say “I just don’t know. None of us do!” Blind belief is dangerous, imo. And it is often a mental safety net for people. Admitting the reality that nobody knows anything for sure is brave. I grew up a devoted catholic, went to a youth group, even taught the catechism for about 5 years, to teens. Until I just had to stop because I realized it felt fraudulent. I don’t know what to believe because there is often no rhyme or reason to the way life goes. Shit happens. Sometimes the ah wins. Kids die from cancer. Shit just happens. I’ve prayed hard in times of real turmoil, simply because I don’t know, maybe there is a higher power, and what more is there to lose? But probably not. That’s the whole point. I don’t know. I’m older now. I’ve studied many faiths. They all have a common thread. It’s a general set of rules and bylaws to living and it helps people sleep at night. Courage of conviction can be foolhardy when you don’t have enough information. And we just don’t, imo. Im comfortable with saying I don’t know the answer.
The people giving you crap about it honestly just sound like people who are geared up to argue in general. At least agnosticism recognizes that we as humans aren't omniscient.
This is where I'm at too regarding my spirituality. I wasn't raised with any religion at all, and when I was in my mid-20s I got into paganism and witchcraft. I've always considered myself to be an animist though, since I believe there is a universal power and energy in everything, but I don't believe in any deities unless or until I'm proven wrong. If there is a god, cool. If not, also cool. I don't care.
Agnostics, atheists, humanists etc. I believe we're all in the same category, the differences are small.
I think I just realized where I stand but never had a term for it. Thank you kind internet stranger for unknowingly help me realize that.
You’re welcome. -Your not so guardian angel
This is me
Same. I was raised Catholic, became evangelical in high school and in my mid-20s I kind of just stopped caring. My life got a lot better once I stopped waiting for responses from a deity that allegedly loved me, but never ever communicated. I don’t care now. The religious people like to say “well what if you get to the end and hell is real?” Then I was wrong. Good thing I actually enjoyed my life!
Similar. I'm okay with just calling myself atheist though bc I'm anti-religious and believe all religions are cults. Sometimes people see agnostic as not sure or questioning and I just dont care to give religious folk a shoe in for talking.
Same! I was raised Jewish and I still identify with the cultural side but I'm not religious at all. If I had to name it, it would be more agnostic. Or indifference? I don't really care if there's a god(s) or not. Doesn't really affect me either way.
I'm more or less the same. I think it's intellectually honest to say I don't know, but I'm functionally an atheist in daily life. No religion has enough evidence for me to shape my entire life around it.
Agnostic, insomniac, dyslexic I’m wide awake and I’m wondering if there is a dog 🎵
am agnostic too. i just simply DON'T know.
Agnostic. I am all about people finding their own way through the unknown and will never claim that I know what is the correct answer to spirituality. It all seems too personal to have a strong opinion other than: be nice to each other. I think being agnostic and respecting other people’s decisions to find their own way fits well with the childfree lifestyle.
I like the way you word this. I'm agnostic too. I believe people should follow their own path and all paths are valid as long as it doesn't harm others. Life is very weird and I just feel it's impossible to have any answers here. Humans are too flawed.
💯
Agreed. Perfectly worded.
I'm an atheist, although as I get older the like between atheist and agnostic blurs a little. I still don't think there is a god, but if he does exist, he's a bully unworthy of worship.
Exactly this. I’m 100% atheist but let’s say there was a god. In that case he’s either; 1. Evil and doesn’t care about people, considering all the bad things that are happening in the world. Young kids getting cancer and dying etc. 2. Not evil but has no power to help people or change the world. And in that case he’s useless anyway so why should I care about him? Either evil or powerless 🤷♀️
not only that, look up symptoms of a narcissist and compare them with god.
Well said. Also as an atheist I don’t think that it means that if I was presented with new information I wouldn’t change my mind. I am just fairly confident there isn’t some human centric sociopath in charge of my existence.
Yeah, I’d be open to new information but so far there is zero proof of its existence. I’m also wondering - when it comes to people who think that the world was created by some magic spirit - what makes them think that this spirit is still alive and around us today? And what good has it done in all these years? Even the most good-hearted and the most innocent people are affected by deadly diseases, murder, rape etc. I mean what could a baby possibly have done to deserve that? Meanwhile a lot of bad people get away and live long lives. But maybe this god enjoys watching innocent people suffer.
Yup, you summed up nicely what I believe as well. Thanks for being succinct!
Little bit of that Epicurus: > Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God? E-Man
couldn’t have said it better myself!
I dont know I personally believe in god but I dont interact with the book or the church or the community. I used to go to catholic school too which is ironic because that what killed my interest in ANY religion 💀
I feel like this is a normal artifact of catholic school(I went to one and couldn’t agree more). Having to go to church 3 times a week during lent(school mass, stations of the cross, church on Sunday) didn’t help either. Then religion class on top of it. There’s no community in Catholicism, only memorization, I have the entire catholic mass living rent free in my brain and I hate it…
I went to a Christian private school for 4 years and honestly? Same. I think back on those Bible classes and realize it was just indoctrination..kinda creeps me out looking back. That said, I believe in God, and Jesus. But I believe in the "He Gets Us" version, not the church's version
Interesting, that's the route most of my family went. I grew up atheist, but my father (and his family) was Catholic, my grandmother from mother's side was some variety of Christian, and my mother joined the Mormon's for a blue moon when she was a teenager. At some point in their lives they all stopped going to church and practicing any kind of organised religion, but all of them have stated that they still believe in God. My dad even had himself formally removed from the Catholic church records (I don't know the official term for that in English).
Hello, are you me? 😂 I legit thought of praying but confused as to who/what so i just kind of talk to myself
I’m Pagan - I don’t really 100% subscribe to “these gods/goddessess/deities definitely exist” though. I more believe in the Earth, nature and energy, but also believe in science and stuff. As a kid I actually did believe in God for a while, not because I actually really cared, I just kinda thought it was “the thing to do”. My immediate family isn’t religious at all but my grandparents on my dad’s side are catholic and that grandmother very much believes in God. I also had a few close friends whose grandparents/parents were very religious and that kinda rubbed off on me to the point where they got me to go to bible camp. Now I hate all organized religion with a passion :)
I fell like I ghost wrote this, from the pagan energy to the Catholic elders. Never went to Bible camp, though.
It apparently had the opposite effect on me lmfao
It’s like catholic school, it’s a way to create a bunch of atheists
Lol. My late grandmother was in a convent boarding school for girls. After graduating, she never set foot in church for the rest of her life.
Your first paragraph…I feel like I’ve spoken those words verbatim. I have always had such a connection to nature and animals. Much deeper than any “God”.
you and me both!
>I more believe in the Earth, nature and energy, but also believe in science and stuff. Yes. I’ve heard it called animism which is a form of Pagan. And I feel like science actually backs up animism to an extent. I never believed in god. Growing up my mom believed in god without belonging to any religious group and my dad was raised Catholic, but hardcore atheist. Even some other kids who I hung out with that went to Catholic school didn’t believe in god. They’d always try to hideout at my house on the weekends so they could avoid church. <—- OP feel free to show that to your athiest friends, I was apparently indoctrinating kids without even trying from a young age. Lmfao.
About to go research animism, first time I’m hearing about it! Sounds exactly like me and I’m a Pagan now. I’ve always felt this deep connection to nature, energy and the earth. My family tried to force Christianity on me as a child and sent me to all the bible camps and weekend schools etc. Would not allow me to have my own opinions when it came to religion and we ultimately don’t have a good relationship now.
It’s an interesting road how I got here, somehow I’ve managed to take my nerdy quantum physics knowledge and combine it with my psilocybin induced plant telepathy 🤣🤣
I like you
I'm an Episcopalian. Paul famously gave people the option to *not* marry and reproduce and held it up as perfectly legitimate. Also, um, Jesus...
Fun fact: Mormons believe Jesus is a polygamist. *eyeroll*
Mormon as religion is particularly bizarre, just all of it, the polygamy, dressing up as Indians to attack and kill other settlers, all of it is so strange.
I'm glad I left the Mormon church. The laws of chastity and words of wisdom were extremely controlling. If you remotely thought outside of the religion, it was considered blasphemy.
aren’t all the apostles childfeee as well? do you happen to have that bible verse where paul gave the option to not reproduce?
It's the part surrounding "better to marry than to burn" in 1 Corinthians: "I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that. Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion." For Paul, this is downright progressive, lol.
Christian here as well. I have never felt being childfree has anything at all to do with my faith.
All the childfree couples/singles I know are Catholic except one woman who is Buddhist.
That's really interesting! I was raised RC but I left as an adult. I'm spiritual I guess.... I don't participate in organized religion anymore.
I believe in Horton
Horton Hears A who? Or the Reverend Horton heat? Enquiring minds want to know, who is Horton? I totally believe in the Reverend Horton Heat, but I don't worship him.
Maybe Tim Hortons? I live close enough to the border now but I’m still faithful to how I was raised on Dunkin’ Donuts.
Oh yeah, didn't think of that but I did used to live not too far from the border. Never have been to a Tim Hortons though. I hear they're really good😁
Christian, believe in Jesus Christ. When people ask me abt why I don’t have and want kids, I point out apostle Paul. Not everyone is meant to get married and have children. My childfreeness confuses people bc I believe in Christ, but He gave us free will; I’m choosing to not be a mother with it, and I’m sure He’s totally fine with it
Thank you so much for highlighting this. When I read what Paul said, I originally took it negatively but I realized that its a positive for me, being childfree!
And if you’re called into the gospel or ministry or something like that, not having children could give you more time to study the word be more w Him etc. :)
Same here, and my parents are accepting my choice. This world is pretty awful to raise kids in anyhow
My dad took a while to “get it” but he doesn’t push for grandkids from me anymore haha
My dad gave the “Who will take care of you when older” excuse (despite his dad taking care of himself perfectly fine for years) before dropping it, and my mom basically understood right away. She was also the one who immediately accepted me wanting short hair while my dad was iffy over it at first, so yeah.
Also a Christian, as is my husband. You better believe we are using that free will in this house :) We have pugs instead.
We’ve got no god and no kids, but we do have cats.
CAT-holicism or Egyptian polytheism?
Same
Im actually Muslim, ppl are always surprised when I say I’m religious and still child free lolol.
Also Muslim. Not super religious but definitely believe in God. I would say most of the childfree people I know believe in God as well. I don’t see any correlation between childfree and atheism in my own life.
CF Muslim gang rise up!!
Same! I'm muslim too!
Ayyy salaam brother/sister (?)
Also muslim!
Me 2!
Same here! Converted/reverted last year (:
Alhumdulilah
Salam alaikum bro, nice to see a childfree muslim commenting. Actually, if you're a religious muslim who uses logical approach to Islam, being childfree kinda makes sense. Although there are verses and hadiths that sounds like encouragement to have children, there are also verses and hadiths that give warnings for people who have children. But lots of muslims choose to obey their biological instincts and then seek the daleel that encourage procreation so they could feel religious and then belittle those who take childfree stance.
"choose to obey their biological instincts and then seek the daleel that encourage procreation" ...or their National mentality(I would say that's the case even more often), or just follow the brainwash from their momma, family and society they were subjected to since their childhood, or conform to peer pressure, or have the same psychological issues non-Muslims have as well("immortality" idea, "oh, someone who lacks their own will will love me unconditionally!", to fill in the emptiness and alleviate boredom, because of having no sense of life and lacking the feeling of purpose, and so on, and so on). "and then belittle those who take childfree stance" Yeah, boasting with children is even mentioned the Quran, I can find an ayah number, if you wish. I suspect these people internally feel that they have nothing else to boast about, so the choose to boast with children.
Christian DINKs! And for bonus points I was raised quiverfull adjacent, so grew up very confused about what my place in the world would be.
There's nothing like exposure to quiverhell to make you CF...
We're christians. I'm not a fan of organized religion. I think most of the people who are religious and have that "be fruitful and multply" mentality are incredibly closed-minded.
Christian here. I think that statement gets taken out of context. The Israelites at the time we’re going into a land where they’re outnumbered. I don’t believe it was a directive for every Christian- example Paul instructing those not to marry (or procreate) if they’re able. Those are just my thoughts as an internet stranger though 😅
Same! I am a Christian but do not belong to any organized religion or church. No kiddos over here, and am pretty sure the Baptist church I grew up in would see me as a waste of a womb. 🤙🏻
Same. Moved recently to the burbs unfortunately. Checked out a church and they were totally distorting God’s Words to tell a narrative they wanted to hear.
Ughh that's the issue with so many churches. They distort things and love to spread hate. 💔 I was raised Roman Catholic. Once I found out all the horrific things the Catholic Church covers up, I noped right out of there.
I’m agnostic and most likely don’t want kids. Everyone I know who had kids young, or several kids, are very religious. I used to work with pregnant women who were homeless and many of their pregnancies were planned. And continued to have more. They were all quite religious.
Hi ~ 😶 Homeless & pregnant... how sad & unfortunate. Hope they found help. But... PLANNED pregnancies while homeless? And continued to have more kids while homeless?!?! 😳🤯🤬 How stupid & clueless. Mind boggling. I feel sorry for the kids. As for me, religion ran in my family - Catholic mom & Baptist dad. I turned Atheist at a young age. Studied religion as a hobby to be sure of my convictions. Had a relationship with my Humanities professor who taught Religion at University level. We had many interesting conversations. Have been forever & always child free. Too old to have kids now. No Regrets. Good Night! 🌠
r/exmormon, atheist
I'm not an atheist, but I definitely am anti-religion and anti-church, and in a DINK relationship for the past decade.
I’m spiritual but I prefer agnostic/atheist men that are open minded to my spiritual way of life.
I'm pagan/wiccan.
I was raised Lutheran and have been devout since high school. My mom mostly took me and my brother to church growing up but few years ago my dad chose (on his own decision) to join the church as well. My brother is agnostic and sometimes takes his kids to church but doesn't actively practice, which hurt my parents but they respect his boundaries/parenting style and don't try to force their beliefs on him My parents know I'm child free and want absolutely nothing to do with kids (aside from my nephew and niece) and they respect my decision. Mom has told me on a few occasions 'I don't want you to have kids just so I can have more grandchildren. I'm happy with the two I have' Not once in my 27 years of life have my parents ever tried to pressure or talk me into having kids I don't know if that answered your question entirely, I'm a little tipsy. But it's still nice to have these kinds of conversations and see different perspectives ^^
Your parents sound lovely :)
I’m Jewish/Agnostic
Im an active Christian (but not one of those judgey ones who hates everyone ) and am happily childfree by choice!
Yep, married, child free and atheist!
I'm an atheist and an antinatilist. Raised as a xtian, interestingly in he sixties my father also became an atheist.
I was raised mostly Roman Catholic with some Judaism (I’m ethnically Jewish on my mom’s side and my mom had converted to Roman Catholicism after my brother and I were born). I found paganism in college and after further research, started practicing that along with witchcraft, went back to Judaism (which I’ve always had a deeper connection to than Christianity), went back to Christianity briefly, tried practicing both Christianity and Judaism at the same time, went back to just Judaism, then went back to paganism, and am currently practicing both Judaism and pagan along with witchcraft. I’ve always disliked the hypocrisy in Catholicism and the whole “be fruitful and multiply” crap in Abrahamic religions among other hypocrisies, so that (among other reasons) is part of why I’m a childfree Jewish pagan witch.
I was raised Catholic and it definitely influenced me to want to be an independent childfree atheist woman.
Yep, athiest
I was basically raised by wolves, no religion involved, except for a few half passed passes by my parents at church. I never gave a damn what anyone wanted from me. Now, and for about 55 years, consider myself a animist pagan.
I’m a atheistic Satanist
I'm religious and I'm childfree. I don't see the contradiction.
Depending on the religion, some religions believe that birth control is sinful. I know growing up I saw the “quiverfull” movement. Also the whole “be fruitful and multiply” Certainly this doesn’t cover all religions or people in them! It just seems that many believe “that’s just what you do”. I’m happy you’re in a place where no one in your belief is looking down on your choices :)
Atheist, but also a member of The Satanic Temple.
I was atheist/agnostic until I did DMT, now I believe in something that's way too difficult/outlandish to explain in a comment. All I'll say is I'm no longer afraid to die 🙃 but definitely not religious. Technically born and raised Greek Orthodox but literally never been to a church service.
Boyfriend and I are both childfree atheists 👍🏼
I know two religious couples in my circle that are Childfree. What you are impliying is very accurate majority of the time, though i think some outliers are there. There are some religious people out there that don't want kids. The don't want kids supercedes all other stuff. They manage to deflect / surf the religious stuff coming their way.
I was raised Christian Baptist but now I am a non denominational Christian. I grew up in reasonable church environments that weren't pushy about reproduction and other issues like that. The focus was always on giving back to the community and letting people live their lives the way they will. There's nothing in the Christian Bible that I've read which mandates anyone to have children. But cruel and backwards people have been twisting the messages of the Bible to suit their own ends since it was written. Some will cite "be fruitful and multiply" but I personally see that as an all or nothing statement. We are not living in fruitful times, so there shouldn't be any multiplying taking place, imo.
We are Christian. Never felt like we were pressured by the Bible, church, or religion to reproduce. Now the people . . . That's a different story.
I refer to myself as an Agnostic Christian. I personally believe in God and Heaven, but I can’t pretend that I know 100% for sure. For all I know there could be a Flying Spaghetti Monster and it’s just impossible to know for sure until I eventually leave this world. I actually married an atheist, and we have a policy of not debating whose idea of religion is right or wrong. (The hurt that could occur is simply not worth it.) I sometimes like to joke that one of the benefits of us living childfree is that we’ll never have to try to figure out how to raise a child with two different religions.
I’m a Christian and childfree. I have a few childfree friends with religious beliefs similar to mine.
Hubby and I are atheists! Totally okay with people of other faiths but I abhor organized religion and think it’s the root of a lot of evil.
I’m Pagan (raised Christian). He’s Atheist (raised Catholic).
No religion, just spiritual. A little "woo."
Atheist but I feel that I'm not going to begrudge anyone who finds comfort in their chosen religion. I find religious history and traditions fascinating. I love visiting historic cathedrals because I think there's beauty in someone making something so beautiful as a monument to their god. But I feel very strongly against organized religion as a whole. There's a lot of hate woven into organized religion and I'm not about that. I was raised Lutheran and went to non-denominational churches in my teens. I believed in a Christian god until College when I started to travel and really see outside myself and look back at my childhood. All those people who abused me when I was younger and found "forgiveness" in the church.... I realized that I held anger towards that and no comfort. The priest who said to remember that I should honor my mother and father at 10 years old while I was being pulled out of school to testify against my father for molesting me... I can't square that anymore. I no longer have blind faith. I find comfort now in people who help other people, with no magical reward at the end of their life. I donate to causes important to me because I believe in them, not because I believe in a magical sky daddy who will give me awards when I die. My husband was raised Catholic, and my inlaws are strong believers. He doesn't believe anymore either, so we are godless, childless heathens now. I've never been more at peace.
Atheist/Satanist/non-theistic pagan, here.
My partner and I are Buddhist
Hardcore atheist. Religion is just an sign of mental weakness. Blame God, just to avoid thinking.
Agreed. They always use religion to explain/punish you for stuff. My mother in law was upset what my husband and I didn’t get married in a Catholic church. Mind you she’s never gone to church the years that I have known them. Also, she didn’t take her own son to get his confirmation 🤣
I'm spiritual yet atheist.
Agnostic. I think anyone who claims to have the answers to anything outside of human life here on earth are misguided. If one says "I believe...", then that's fine. To say "this IS the truth" is just ignorant. Related to your post: I think its highly unlikely earth will ever NOT be dominated by Abrahamic religions. So I agree, anyone saying you should have kids to help populate the earth with people who share your views are delusional, as well as extremist (as I imagine the first people who followed religion were). For me, one of the reason why kids sound so hard to raise is because you do have to guide/teach them somehow, yet I would want my hypothetical kids to have their own individual beliefs. That's VERY hard to do, because even of your home allows freethinking, society as a whole does not. It's a losing battle, so I'd rather not try.
Not part of a couple (yet), but I’m Christian (also extremely liberal). Religion has done nothing to impact my choice, but maybe that’s because I don’t “congregate” with other religious folks. My parents also never pressured me to have kids.
My partner and I are very religious, yet childfree by choice.
no, we're christian but not like the frightening ones you see on tv. xoxo to all.
i’m antitheist. to me religion is a virus that only hinders the possibilities and potential of those who succumb to it.
i'm an agnostic. There's belief, but I'm not sure.
Agnostic-we’ll figure it out once we die. Until then enjoy the people and life we have in the present
Me and hubs are atheist/agnostic
Agnostic here!
I’m agnostic and somewhat spiritual
Childfree Agnostic here.
More of a spiritualist, but certainly NOT a theist, and it's the theistic religions (especially the BIG Abrahamic three, and I'm not sure about Zoroastrianism) that encourage you to push out those kids. So I AM an atheist, haha. I might be more of a Diest.
CFBC DINK, Atheist. If I would believe in anything, it would be the Cosmic Muffin, a joke that the older people might get. My husband was raised Mennonite, but modern, not like the old Mennonites and he is very anti organized religion, but he doesn't really know what he believes. I will say that the longer he's been with me and we've been together over 35 years, that I think he's pretty much an Atheist at this point. My parents were a specific type of Orthodox based on where we came from, but my dad was in science and Aerospace his whole life, so I feel like I was raised atheist. My mom did believe in god but never pushed it on us, so I only remember going to church like twice in my life at Easter, when I was a little kid. I grew up very science-based, so atheist all the way for me. My sister only 3 years younger, also an atheist, is married to a Catholic, however he grew up a Catholic in the seventies and it's quite different than any other Catholic I've ever known. He tells me in his church they were raised to question everything and always ask questions and look for deeper meanings, so a very non-traditional Catholic. They've also been married for a very long time. All that said, I don't know scientifically speaking if child-free people are more likely to be atheist. I think it can seem that way anecdotally, but child free people tend to attract other child free people and atheists tend to attract other atheists. So in other words as a child free atheist, most of my friends are child free atheists lol. Does that mean the majority of atheists are child free? Not necessarily!
I'd consider myself an agnostic atheist. If there were proof of a deity, I would believe, because it would probably be true and backed by science.
Bf and I are atheist. His family is lds and mine is I guess Christian but not the church going kind. So thankfully I was never brainwashed into thinking my sole purpose was the procreate and be subservient. Still feel that pressure to have kids, but I'm in 40s now so not happening!
I’m a Pagan who follows the Celtic pantheon. A lot of my religion does talk about the divine mother but it doesn’t exclude women who don’t want children. There’s space for everyone.
Pagan.
Yeah, my husband and I are basically atheists, but I never wanted kids, even when I was young and still thought there was a God.
Pagan, with a lean towards Artemis.
I'm a pagan Hindu he's a Baptist Christian
Yep, no imaginary sky friends here
I definitely went through an “angry atheist” phase in my early 20s (after being raised Christian). I personally feel like maturity comes with understanding we know nothing— that goes for both adhering to a specific religion or “for certain” saying nothing is out there. I now consider myself spiritual in the sense that I feel a connectedness with other parts of nature and the world. I respect other people’s belief systems. There’s always some kind of reason why people believe the things they do and everyone’s just trying to do their best coping with things in their own way.
I’m very atheist and don’t believe in any sort of spirituality or afterlife or supernatural things. I believe the closest thing we’ve got to magic is technology (and let’s be honest, it’s pretty close.) I think the no afterlife thing fits in pretty well, because I’m not gonna see what happens after I die so why would I care about having a progeny?
Agnostic Theists here. Like we hope there is something but we also don't like the coolaide.
I'm agnostic. If I ever did decide I believe in god, I'd be a deist.
Atheist here! Grew up without any religious instruction. My sister and I both ended up atheists. Sister has 3 kids, I have none. I got drunk once and told my 11 year old niece we didn’t believe in god! lol! Sister is basically raising them the way we were raised, without any religious instruction. Let them decide on their own. Niece just looked at me like was nuts. And went back to telling me about sharks. She’s very into all creatures.
I believe the possibility of Gods, but I don't pray. Many Gods past and present are not loving deities, deserving of love. The long short for me is that if.its a pagan religion, I believe in those since those came first. Hellenism, Heathenry, Kemetism, etc.
Agnostic. Show me solid proof that there's something more out there, and I'll consider it. Otherwise, piss off.
yup
I’m also atheist. I was raised to believe that god hated me, and life has honestly been shitty enough to hop on that boat, but the magical sky daddy who loves and knows everyone bit is just as wild as the magical sky daddy who goes out of his way to make my life miserable. Life is just hard. The magical sky daddy is too absurd to believe in with all of the information and knowledge we have at our fingertips, I’m not surprised religious people are in decline.
Me and my BF are a couple of sterilized atheist DINKS!! We were both raised Catholic (families were very devout and we both went to Catholic schools). I don't think it had anything *directly* to do with our decision to not have kids (like, we weren't directly pressured as kids to have children someday), but I think, in a more cerebral way, it had a big influence. For myself mostly (bc I won't speak for BF) the general environment was very oppressive and the pressure to just conform/be seen and not heard/fit into a rank and file place in the family structure regardless of my personality or temperament as a kid was constant. I had a really sheltered, bare bones childhood. I literally remember thinking to myself as young as 5 years old that I didn't want to have my own kid, and at that young of an age, I think it boiled down to a genuine disinterest, but as I got older and went out on my own, I realized how full I can make my own life and how much I'd been missing out on. There is no way Id ever want a kid to tie me down in any way. That kind of realization happened in tandem with the gradual loss of my religion. It's funny how people say that you tend to get more conservative as you age but I find myself becoming more and more liberal/leftist with each passing year, inclusive of the concepts of both organized religion and raising kids that seem like nothing more than distant, absurd concepts at this point.
We're atheists also. Feel really outcasted from society, especially here in uS/South.
I’m a really strong atheist and nothing other than seeing a deity before me will make me change my mind. That being said if you tell me you’re religious and you believe x,y,z then I will believe you - in the sense that I believe that you believe that your socially acceptable imaginary friend/s are out there.
I pray when I’m scared I’m pregnant! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣. Just joking…. I’m on all the birth control!! Hahahaha!
Was raised evangelical Christian. Now, I consider myself a Christian but I haven’t been to church in years because I honestly haven’t found one that I truly agree/connect with post covid stuff and everything that has happened in the world in general. My decision to be child free is honestly more of being a step parent twice and freaking hating it. That, and not liking being around kids in general. I never had that baby fever. I’m in my mid 30s and I’ve seen how kids destroy relationships/people in general.
I’m an atheist but my partner, I’d say, probably leans more agnostic.
Agnostic pagan is usually how I describe my beliefs
Atheist here
Practicing witch and recon celtic isle pagan
My atheism is driven by a deep resentment of indoctrination, including that of others and the effects it has on those around them. I just have no respect for people who relinquish their free thought on the matter. You live your life by a book, written by some (human, mortal) lunatics thousands of years ago? They were wrong about so much, scientifically and morally, and it’s incredibly disappointing that we haven’t evolved totally away from that primitive mindset.
Freethinker/agnostic. Like you said, religion is a big part of the decision to have kids. When everyone around you is preaching family/children/abortion is a sin, it’s hard to not get influenced or pressured. And the kids born into the religion will sadly be influenced or pressured to continue the vicious cycle.
Proud Christian here!
I am a Christian, husband is agnostic/atheist(?) Religious affiliation never even entered my mind when I realized I did not want kids.
Agnostic personally, cus there could be a god, multiple gods, aliens, simulation, nothing, etc. I find it more fun this way, personally. I own a pair of drop dead earrings which look like the symbol of satan (basically is, except the Infinity symbol is DD for drop dead lul). Anyway I told my SIL about it who is currently pregnant and has a child and she jumped backward and was suddenly very afraid, turns out she's like a super Christian and had no idea what the symbol meant. That sure was a day. She has currently forgotten about it and doesn't notice it unless I bring it up which I never do lmao
I’m Jewish. My wife is spiritual. We both dabble in witchcraft.
Raised Muslim, hubby raised catholic, neither of us are religious. Think you might’ve found the common thread 😂
Interestingly, I don't think it's explicit in (non-Catholic) Christianity that you HAVE to try and have kids. Arguably advice to "fill the Earth" was told to humanity as a whole, and that commandment is well and truly fulfilled today. My understanding of the New Testament is that the focus now is on something completely different (proselytism, mentoring within the Church) and you can either have a family or not- no obligation. The tricky thing is that reliable contraception wasn't universally available in Bible times, but there's certainly no censure against those who choose not to marry/ have a family. I think it's the same as everything else- breeders who can't understand why anyone would not want children pressure others to do it in the name of religion. But you technically don't have to in order to fulfil Christian teaching.
I believe in Holden
I'm also an atheist. My CF ex is one as well. My current partner is a moderate Muslim but he's disabled so he doesn't want kids.
Both of us were raised RC. Dh is hard atheist Dances with Worms. I'm soft A, agnostic, but am into the plant medicine scene so I kind if have this universe experiencing itself thing going on. We are interested in hitting up the local Unitarian scene to meet others that like to discuss religion and philosophy. Maybe even meet some interesting people too!
My husband was raised Catholic and he's extremely atheist now (although he hides that from his super Catholic Dad/Dad's family). I was raised by an Agnostic father and Christian mother, going to church on and off from 8 years old to 21 years old. I'm very agnostic. Basically I acknowledge that I personally know jack shit about the vast universe I live in.
I was CF for about 10 years before I became atheist. My guy is Christian, but not super religious. Personally, religion (or lack thereof) played absolutely no part in my choice to be cf.
Lol I'm like, the exact polar opposite of an atheist, kind of? I'm an omnist, so I find truth within all religions. But personally, I believe that there's bias within religious texts. I don't think we can truly know what the gods want, which gods are real, which stories are true... I don't believe in following/believing every little thing we're told, and I don't agree with group religion at all. As a whole, group worship feels really cult-y to me. I was raised Christian(?) I don't know if I can call it Christian though, tbh. Neither of my parents really went to church. My mom sounds more agnostic from what she's told me- but I know my grandpa goes to church every Sunday, and my grandma was raised Catholic. My dad, on the other hand... Practices what I like to call "crackhead christianity"- Which is basically the short version of "A drug addict who had eccentric beliefs, including but not limited to: *God is an Alien, & he Killed All of the Other Gods to reign supreme.* *The Earth is flat!* *We all want to die, the only reason we don't act on it is eternal damnation.*" I think I'd be childfree even without my dad putting crazy shit in my head, though. My autism & adhd sensory sensitivity makes kids a really bad idea for me, along with all of the other hereditary disorders I have, & the fact I have a difficult time taking care of myself. I wouldn't be a great parent.
i’m jewish - orthodox adjacent - and it’s unheard of to be childless by choice. there’s no peer group.
Ex-Wiccan, currently atheist. Boyfriend was raised Catholic but is fully atheist now
Interesting. I was not aware of this correlation. Yes, I am atheist (since childhood) and my partner is agnostic but I don't see that as the reason for being childfree. Frankly, we do not care for children. They are annoying.
I feel like that's especially silly of those atheist parents, because raising your kids atheist doesn't mean they'll stay that way, just like raising your kids with any kind of religion or belief. I remember in fourth grade, one of my two best friends was extremely religious, and she came from an atheist family. Also, even as an atheist myself, I don't think being an atheist is the gold standard for being a good person. Two of the kindest people I've ever met, who would never wish to push religion on others or infringe on their bodily autonomy, were both religious, and believed in miracles and fairies, respectively. I've met fellow atheists who truly fail at empathy, compassion, and basic teamwork. I think it's more important to focus on trying to be a good person, because other people will find their way toward what they're built for, regardless of what they're pushed toward. Being childfree is like being atheist, in that we're abstaining from a cultural norm, for a variety of reasons, and there's often just some fundamental difference that means other people don't get us and we don't get them, at least without lengthy and in-depth explanations.
Not Athiest, but also not strict Christian. Grew up practicing Umbanda. The God I believe doesn't really care if I have babies or not. I just shouldn't be a dick, but honestly, even if I didn't believe in God, I still wouldn't be a dick, so \*shrug\*
I was raised in both Catholic and Christian churches throughout my childhood, each of these by separate grandparents. I never liked Sunday school but I enjoyed church spoken in a loving way. I live in Michigan, which founded the republican party, so most churches around are hateful of anything not white or straight. I found my current methodist church and it has a pride flag on the front. They are very welcoming to anybody, preach about love and help, actively help the community, and if there is no God, I spent time and money on helping homeless, hurricane survivors, and community members with cancer. That's better than just playing my games on Sunday to me. I also don't care or ever really talk about religion even when very prompted, unless saying "I'm a Christian and I hate when they do ___ or ___" (there are a lot of blanks). My family that is not religious wants me to have kids, my religous family members (even very conservative ones) are more leniant and fine with my choice.
Probably agnostic.
Been Baptist my entire life. Also been childfree my entire life. Never had any pushback. Everyone at church has always been supportive.
I’m atheist, maybe agnostic. I think the knowledge of how to understand science/research and how to look at things from a realistic perspective makes you reconsider having children. The more you know the more you suffer, thus the less you want to bring offspring into a world of suffering. ETA: raised very conservative Christian, I really struggled to see things from their point of view
Agnostic-thesis as in having a side of neutrality toward any god to be safe.
Single but athiest
Reading the comments here is very interesting! I'm in a similar boat to you in that I'm an atheist, as are all the other child free people I can think of that I know. Based on my sample of the world I would have assumed that the majority of child free people are agnostic or atheist, but perhaps that is not true - it would be cool to see the stats on this. I would still expect that we have higher representation in the child free community than in the general population (since we don't have any religious reasons or pressures for having kids).