Is Everyone on This Site a Christian?

I'm not and if this were a strictly <insert any religion here> site, I wouldn't be here.

I think there's a good bit of diversity here, which is good. People's responses are going to be colored by their own experiences and their own moral code. It's always nice to see different points of view.

I'm not, and I do have to admit that it does bother me sometimes when people assume everyone else is.

Do not assume so. Some of us may be more religious than others. I try hard not to let my beliefs show, but allow each person the chance to speak and then support and help without any dogma.

I am interested in what kinds of answers you have received or seen.

I am a Christian and am proud to stand up and say so :)

I am! God is so important in my life and definately when it comes to raising my children!

I am a Christ follower just trying to make it through my life and be the best person I can be. I offer my advice and opinions based on personal experience but not based on religion. Religion is a bunch of man made rules, being a true Christian is following Christ and loving all people regardless of their circumstances or choices because that is what Christ did.

This site is for mama's/women from all over, Christian or not.

I am a Christian. = )

God bless us all.

I've never gotten that feeling. I happen to be a Christian, but I have seen a lot of postings that specify that the writer is otherwise. There are probably a lot of Christians on the site... but if you were to do a survey it would likely fit within the parameters of the same percentage as population.

The reason you probably see references, is that raising children (primarily what this site is about) evokes parenting choices/lifestyle.. which are usually rooted in our beliefs regarding theology/religion (whatever that may be... even if it is none). So if you ask someone how to handle this or that, their answer will be reflective of their religious philosophy.

No, not everyone is a Christian. I came across at least one person who described themselves as a Hellenic Pantheist (Zeus, Posiden, Apollo, etc). A few were raised Christian but are not actively practicing any more. Some are atheist (don't believe in any higher being(s)) or agnostic (don't know for sure, but they have their doubts). I'm fairly certain there are plenty who do not wish to share their particular religious beliefs. The site is about people (mostly women, and a few men) who share concerns and lessons learned about child raising. A lot of the information is wonderful, and some you have to take with a grain of salt. And of course you can listen to all the advice you want but you don't have to act on it if it's not something that appeals to you. Some people take offense at things I just don't understand, but then everyone is entitled to a bad day once in awhile. For the most part, I think it's a pretty good place.

I just recently joined, but I wasn't aware that it leaned toward any spacific faith. I just answer the questions from a mom's experience, or from what I feel in my heart. Because someone is not a christian, doesn't mean the don't have a good heart. I am a christian, but there are some who profess to be christians that I wouldn't want to live next door to.

I'm Catholic-which is Christian, but this is not supposed to be a Christian site. I do know what you are talking about though---I have seen a lot of responses (especially since it went from mamasource to mamapedia) that say things about the bible, God provides, even some quotes. Personally I don't agree with bringing religion into it on a public site, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion-religious or not. If I get a response that is like this, I just ignore it as I would any other remark I don't feel is helpful. The only religious remark I feel I am guilty of making is when I respond to a post that is about someone who is sick or died---then I may say something along the lines of "I'll keep you in my prayers", but that is as far as I would take it. I do notice that if a woman even brings up abortion on this board--she immediately gets all the your going to hell--abortion is a sin stuff, which I don't think is appropriate or helpful to the woman. People should be free to practice any religion or no religion and still count on coming here for honest helpful answers.

I think that you are just seeing a normal crosssection in the adult parenting population. The people on this group do tend to lean more towards attachment parenting, but that is unrelated to religion. You should know though that this particular post is probably going to only draw Christians to read it so you won't get many other opinions. I haven't read your other posts responses earlier, but I suspect that you got a lot of flack for mentioning Abortion. Well Christian or non Christian - a lot of people on this site are moms who just can't imagine wanting an abortion for a pregnancy you planned or at least contemplated.

Hi K.,

No, everyone on this site is not Christian. This is a website based in America. The USA is populated by people of many beliefs and lifestyles. Mothers from within that population are welcome to join this site to lend support to one another in a cooperative, friendly manner. Advice is given from their own experiences, guesses, and suggested websites and may be flavored by their beliefs. This site is based upon the trust that all will respect one another. As for any advice you receive, you can take it or leave it. What is greatly comforting is that if you receive advice, you'll know someone cares. If you don't receive advice, everyone else is probably baffled too.

Welcome,
: ) Maureen

Are you kidding me, Laeh-maggie G.? You just basically obliterated the entire concept of religious freedom based on your comment. And this goes for anyone else who speaks like this.

I don't like the idea of religion for that matter and I am pretty disgusted with the self-righteous attitude on this site, but I would never want to tell anyone what they can or cannot say if I want my voice to have just as much freedom. There's personal beliefs and then there's blatant attack on someones religious freedom. And you are doing just that (still talking to Laeh-maggie G.)

btw, I am Christian for 16 years. And am very knowledgeable about the Bible. I go to studies every week. But you will never see me answer any questions the way some have on this site. You can see all my answers for yourself. You would'nt have had a clue about my background if I didn't mention it right now.

I blatantly disagree with some of the way other Christians have come off. I'm not saying about those people who answer with good intentions, like "bless you", "i'll pray for you"..non-preachy. Or even those, especially, who may have read a person's profile and know that they're also a Christian; hence, may respond with comments specifically to their faith. That's fair enough!

It's the other types..we know who they are. But I'm not hear to judge anyone. So, I say..if you don't like it, ignore it. Don't take it personally. Even I ignore those comments myself.

I'm an atheist and I'm here! =)

I am most definitely a Christian but I have no problems taking advice from a person with another religion or belief because just because they don't believe in what I believe in doesn't mean they can't give me good advice on being a mom. I believe this is a site for moms to help other moms out on things they don't know much about or maybe haven't experienced yet.

K., I know exactly what you are saying. Some people believe that "pray" is the answer to every question asked. But no, we aren't ALL this way! :)

I'm not sure what kind of questions you are posting, but religion seems to only come up occasionally in my experience. Hot-button topics like breastfeeding vs formula feeding seem to inspire far more emotion and controversy than religion on this site. I come from a mixed religion family (christian married to agnostic). But this site is about parenting experiences, not promoting or defacing anyone's religion.

I am a Christian, however I don't think this is a Christian site. Many of my answers are based on my parenting experience, not my religion. I try to respect everyone's belief (or non-belief) in life and on this site.

I'm East Orthodox but I don't bring my religion as a topic when I answer questions but I've notice some moms do. That shouldn't bother you. Our religions are different, we are coming from different cultures and yes, all that affect our answers, because this is what we are and what we believe in. I would say this site is about being a mom and trying to be a better mom. You will find the word "poop" and potty training issues more often than "God" and worships. I hope I was helpful!

I'm a non-believing heathen here along with Catherine C.

No, it isn't. Though I will say when I was first invited to join 7 outta 10 responses were a little heavy-handed with the god business. Now it is closer to 4 outta 10.

And let me be clear, I really don't take offense at responses based out of someone's spirituality. I just find them unhelpful to my personal situation. So I guess I appreciate that someone's political agenda is made clear in their response so I can skim past it.

its a site for who ever I am christian and will not push it down your throat unless you ask. but occasionally god will come into my listings. such as god will never give you more than you can handle. preachy maybe but very true wether its preachy or not depends on how you interpet it. I have learned life is so much easier with god than without but I dont believe in shoving it down peoples throat. My grandma did that when I was growing up and I quit going to church because of it.
I feel all you can do is plant the seed god has to water it we can't yell grow and expect it to grow until its ready to grow. it takes lots of people telling you about god in the right way before you pay attention. so it takes hundreds of seeds combined to make a strong plant.

Not to my knowledge - I am Unitarian, (which is not Christian, but can include Christians). Many answers I've seen are of no particular religious background. I'm guessing that because there are MANY Christian denominations (from Catholic to Methodist to Baptist, etc.) that there tend to be a greater % of Christian moms on a "generic" site, whereas Wiccan, Bhudist, etc., moms may have an online community they already have access to.

But I could be completely wrong LOL :)

Nope. Some are, some aren't.

no.. Just a site for mothers to ask questions :)

I'm not. It never occurred to me that the whole site was religion based. There are certainly some people who are and will refer to their religion.
I'm curious as to why you would ask this?

No but we live in a Christian nation which means many people in it are Christian.

No it's not but people do feel comfortable enough to let their Christians views known. That might be a good thing b/c you know what angle an individual's response is coming from. Most times they seem to be respectful of other views though.

No, I'm not Christian. Its just a great site for mommies!

Nope. Not just a Christian site. From the couple years I've been here, everyone is welcome! :D

no, but that doesn't mean I don't support people who are Christian or other religions. I think that it is very important to those people who believe. I am a Unitarian.

And for all those atheists and agnostics, this country was not founded by Christians and was not meant to be a Christian country. Now that will open up a can of worms!

im not sayin im not but i believe in god but am not currently goin to church

I wouldn't say it's Christian based. I am Catholic, but never have mentioned God or prayers in any of my answers.

No, but I think that since Christianity has such a large following in the U.S., there are just more Christians on this site. I'm sure that there are also many of us on here who are atheist, agnostic, and non-Christian too. I'm a non-practicing Catholic, but consider myself more spiritual than religious. It's great that when you ask a question, you can get perspectives from all walks of life:)

Not that I am aware of. I'm not Christian. I have been using this site for a long time and have not ever noticed a religious affiliation. I'm actually Muslim by birth, raised in the US, non-practicing of any religion (respectful of all). Hope that adds to the dialog!

No, not everyone. I happen to be partnered with another woman and jewish, raising our daughter jewish. This is not a faith based, heterosexual based or only mother based website. I think most people welcome comments from everyone and take each one at face value. We are all different people that make up our community, and you will get all of those answers.

Hi K.,
This is not a Christian site and I come from a Jewish background, not any denomination of Christian. Some members are simply very up front about their religious views, and in some cases, don't consider that others may not share them. This isn't true of every person who belongs to a Christian faith.

Are you getting a lot of answers based on what you think are Christian points of view?

I don't think this is a Christian site, per se. I'm not a Christian, in so many words. I was raised going to church, but I don't anymore. I don't have a problem with many of the concepts I learned there, but don't believe in many of the ideas, either. (it's complicated....but I don't consider myself "a Christian" anymore, technically) I have some spiritual beliefs, but don't feel the need to slap a tidy little label on them.

I have had the experience of seeing some differing opinions here, as far as what seems like a pretty wide spectrum of philosophical values. There is a big enough group for a nice big pool of answers, with many differing opinions, at least some of the time. I've always been pretty happy with what I've read/heard.

The experiences of other parents are really helpful to me, sometimes I am sort of on the lookout for a more liberal point-of-view, but sometimes it doesn't matter as much as some other kind of thing about parenting.

You do see a lot of answers that refer to God and religion, but I definitely don't get the idea that this is a Christian site. I have been on it since it started and mamasource (the old version) for 2 yrs. It is a forum that is open to all. You just see Christian answers because I think the majority of people are Christian compared to other faiths/non-believers. And Patricia is probably right, I'm sure there are specific forums tailored to other faiths.

Hi K., I'm not a Christian! A lot of the people who post answers say things like "god bless", and "i'll pray for you", and some people take it to a more annoying level by claiming to know what "god wants..." However, this is not a Christian site, and there are a lot of mamas posting good stuff. Even the Christians have some good things to say. I suggest you take what you like and leave the rest! Also, when someone says "i'll pray for you" or "god bless", I find it annoying but it helps me to remember that they're really just trying to help, the best way they know how... :)

I am not a member of any organized religion. I have also thought the answers that I read on this site lean heavily towards a Christian belief. It may depend on the question asked, or it may be that those of us that are not Christian don't go out of our way to say so in answering a parenting question.

The site is for any one of any or on no particular religion. I am a christian though.

No, but it sure seems like it sometimes.

Although I don't beleive this to be a site based on any religion, I have noticed that some of the responses I received sometimes have quite a bit of religious context in them. I think that's just a testament to the fact that there are ALL types of moms on here.

This is not a Christian site

Nope, I'm a non-believing hooligan :)

As you have already read, not everyone on the site is christian. I think it's great to get the diversity.
If you ARE looking for a christian site, I know ivillage has message boards that are chrisitan moms asking other christian moms. There aren't as many viewers/contributors there, so you wouldn't get as many answers.

Not everyone is. I'm certainly not. But I do read a lot of answers to questions saying stuff related to the Christian religion. So I would say that at least 75% of people on this site are Christian but I think that that's to be expected since one of the most common religions in the world is Christianity. I don't think that this is a purely Christian site however.

nope, not me.. athiest and proud of it =)

I don't care what someone believes in. As far as I can tell their are pretty good people here on this board from all walks of life. Religion almost never comes up.

Nope, not everyone is. It's a public site with people of various backgrounds. There's lots of Christians in the world so it's likely there are lots here too. But, as in the general populus, not everyone.

Me neither. Our family is atheist.

I don't think so, necessarily. Many are, including myself, but I know from some of the answers that not everyone is.

I don't think so....

Not me! I'm very accepting of most religions (all?), but not tied to a religion myself.

I honestly have no idea what belief system everyone else lives by. I belong to a christian church. However, my beliefs are not fully the "christian" beliefs. Maybe I am wrong, but I allow my upbringing, experiences, etc. to sway my beliefs just as much as what I learn in church. One thing I am definately not, is a preacher!

A lot of people give me some sort of religious answer also but I know there are a few like me who are not religious at all. So not all of us.

I am a Jewish Grandma who raised 4 fabulous sons and this wonderful website is open to anyone who wants to be a better mom and grandma. Everyone has different viewpoints to bring to the surface and it is terrific that everyone can learn something from it. Enjoy!

Nope, I'm an atheist with a strong interest in Eastern (Buddhist) philosophy :-)

not that I am aware of. I personally don't believe in god and use this site regularly. It probably depends on the questions you ask.

Not sure, but I'm not a Christian and haven't really felt inundated with Christian comments or anything while on this site. My understanding is the site is meant for any mother to connect with other mothers not just for Christian mothers only.

Nope, don't go to church or anything like that. I was baptized but that is the extent of my religion.

I know a lot of responders give answers to pray about it, talk to your church about it, I will keep you in my prayers, the bible says.... This is not "Christian" site it is a "Mommy" site. I am a Christian! I would never answer anything spewing my personal religious beliefs.

I noticed you are a charter member of this site, so you might know the answer to your own question better than the rest of us.

Hey, I just looked at my profile and I'm considered a charter member too! Imagine that! Well, I am a Christian; and I thank God for this site and for all the mamas on here! But clearly, this site has no particular faith affiliations.

this is not a christian site it is a site for parents so I am not sure what kind of answers you are talking about.

I happen to be a Christian, a Mormon in fact, but have never felt that this was a Christian site, at least not with the responses I get. But, I've noticed from reading responses that it really depends on the type of question you ask - mine have mostly been about cleaning, traveling, and dealing with family, any questions I have that I think may have a spiritual response I tend to ask my friends at church and my family because I know they have the same beliefs as me, so that is my take with how I use this site. I think it is great for asking broad questions and finding out what other Moms do.

i don't see anything wrong with saying god bless or you are in my prayers. i feel that is a loving phrase and would not be offended if other religions used similar. lighten up a little...

I don't believe this to be a Christian site at all.
There may be moms who give their opinions based on their christian beliefs, but those are few and far between.
There are Jewish moms on here and mothers of different spiritual backgrounds.
But no....this is not a christian site.
I don't think anyone has ever tried to convert anybody.
If you disagree with a response....you have the right to disagree with it.

NO, I don't think this is a religious site. However is very upsetting to read some responses H., ones pretty offensive and disrespectful.
I don't think it is an important issue H.. We support, help, give advice and share experiences each other without knowing or trying to find if someone is religious or not or what race or belief someone has, etc....DOES NOT MATTER H.!
I think that if someone does not like this site because this kind of prejudices (which I don't have) there is just a click away to cancel the subscription and that is!!

i don't know, to tell you the truth. i am Catholic but I have never answered a post saying: God wants...i don't do that in real life either. I have asked once for prayers, and wouldn't you know, I got nothing from Christians :), you know the preachy ones. I got two ladies that send me a private email saying they will, and i appreciated those so much.
i hope this is not a Christian site, though i will continue posting.

Heck no. It's just moms looking for answers.

i am not a christian

S.