I was asking really if people thought that regilgion could have a positive effect on the decline on chrildren of todays behaviour.Im talking about religion in general, dosent have to be Christianity. As i said, many do not celebrate christmas and never have done as they may be of another religion but i wouldnt say that those kids are any worse off because they have never recieved a christmas gift. I personally do beleive though that xmas is celebrated for all the wrong reasons.

i cant see how anyone can take Christmas away from a child,to see their faces on Christmas morning, is well worth everything, and if the parents learn them about, what it is all about,i cant see the harm, everyone has their own beliefs,and who are we to judge that

The fear of god is actually in the bible. The fear of god is the begining of wisdom & knowledge so the bible says. What i was getting at was that disipline in children is going out the window because they have nothing to fear these days. "Fear" produces a certain behaviour, knowing how to behave towards others. Many kids around the world of whatever religious background know that god dosent like lies, dishonesty, stealing and because they want to please god, when they are faced with temptations it helps them to make the right decision. Kids also behave in a certain way because they "fear" their parents, their parents reaction, or that they dont want to upset their parents. As for cancelling Christmas for a child, not everyone celebrates Christmas you know! Many kids do without or have never celebrated Christmas and may be better off for it. There are many times during the year that kids could recieve a present or something that they have been longing for, it dosent have to be at Christmas. Lots dont appreciate it anyway and cant even remember what they recieved by January! Lots of kids around the world who do celebrate Christmas, do it for the right reasons and you will see them pouring out the churches on christmas morning with their gifts which may be a few sweets or a new dress {eg India for example}. Western countries feel they have to shower their kids with presents for them to enjoy the day! Shouldnt that day be more about spending time with loved ones than a load of toys that get chucked in the toybox and forgotten about in a matter of days? Alot dont even know WHY their getting the gifts even. There are 365 days in a year that you could reward kids for behaving well, it dosent have to be on Dec 25th so yes i could easily "cancel Christmas". The presents side of it anyway. This is partly WHY kids think they can get whatever they want and some do, turning them into spoilt brats who have no feelings or respect towards anyone else. They can misbehave all year or leading up to Christmas then be rewarded for that by being showered with presents??

i dont think your wording sarky "put the fear of god into our children" will put them on the right track at all... Firstly i think many ppl will agree you dont haave to go to church to "pray or talk" to god. All crime,greed,children out of marriage as you have stated,IS MAN MADE,not gods doing,so i doubt very much religion will play too much of a part. I personally dont feel i have the right to choose my childrens faith..i believe in spiritualism,which is becoming a recognised religion-but this is my choice,and i will not try and influence my children to believe what i do.Like so many others do...your right lets take this one example..christenings..how many christenings have there been where neither parent or child attends church afterwards...Rarely..its an excuse for a good p***up in my eyes,so point taken on some of your comments,christmas being one of them..but having said that..ARE YOU WILLING TO CANCEL CHRISTMAS FOR A CHILD...just because you dont belive in the bible...

I think religion is dying out amount younger people due to the fact that "more scientific" reasons are studied more and more rather than the religious beliefs side. Also in many ways religious texts can be seen as "out dated"... but i don't see why people can't "adjust" certain morals to fit in with todays world. I'm not religious myself anymore, but i always like to try and look on all sides of matters. I most certainly think that if religion was more prominent (or at least the values of religion) there would be more respect from the younger generation.

I ask this as many folk who claim to be christians have only ever been to visit a church for a wedding or funeral, They live their live as THEY see fit, the churches seem empty, people prefering to go to the pub on a Sunday or shopping instead. Theres a sharp rise over the years in unmarried mothers, kids seem to have no fear, rises in crime etc etc. Is this due to a decline in religious values? People celebrate Christmas to get drunk, stuff themselves silly and recieve gifts or leaving themselves in dept as people expect too much. Many kids these days cant even recite the Lords Prayer or even KNOW WHY they recieve an easter egg! Isnt that down to the parents? Should we put the fear of god into our kids to put them on the right track?