One of my frequent commenters tugged my heartstrings
yesterday with her tale of the marriage that ended with an annulment over the
child issue and whose ex—who refused to convert when they were married--has
since joined the Catholic church and attends with his new fiancée. He even
stands up front and sings solos. This has made it hard for her to keep going to
that church. If he had converted when they were married, their story might have
turned out quite differently.
I have probably mentioned this before, but I was amazed in
researching Childless by Marriage to find that almost no one included religion
in their decision-making about babies. How could so few think about God in
making this huge decision? I don’t get it.
In the U.S.,
statistics show that nearly half of Americans report that they go to church
every Sunday. But do they really? According to a recent NPR story called “What We Say About Our Religion, and What We Do,” one in five say they aren’t
affiliated with any religious denomination, and many of those who say they go
to church don’t actually do it. Personally, I know a lot of good people who don’t
have anything to do with any kind of religion.
No matter what kind of religion one practices, wouldn’t it
make sense to pray, meditate, or light a candle when deciding whether or not to
have children? The Bible tells us to “go forth and multiply.” The Catholic
faith dictates that married couples must welcome children and raise them in the
faith. Most other religions at least preach that babies are a good thing, if
not an essential part of life. Yet couples are making this decision without any
consideration of their faith.
I’m trying hard not to preach here. I’m as bad as everyone
else. Did I pray over it when motherhood was still an option? I don’t think so.
Did I use birth control when my church says I can’t? You bet. I may even have asked
that I NOT be pregnant a couple times when I was single. Maybe I got what I
deserved.
Dear readers, help me understand. Why do so many people
leave God out of the baby decision? I know even asking the question could make
some readers angry or make them turn away. But I’m asking. Where is God in all
of this?
