Briefly in another thread, I saw somebody stating that it is not okay to lie to one's parents about one's religion. This reminds me of something that has largely bothered me about many Pagan discussions I have witnessed.
Due to the fact that my parent's actions caused me to end up in foster care, I am certain I'm rather biased - but the whole "Your parents deserve (insert anything other than 'the respect they've earned' here) because they managed to breed" bothers me. I agree that many, possibly most, parents have earned a lot more respect than that which their children give them. However, religion is a private thing which does not require being told or explained to ANYONE, let alone a person that will judge and attempt to control said religion - whether or not that person is a parent. A lie to an owner - and a parent owns a child's body (not soul) unless they beat or molest said child, at which point the state owns the child's body - is not the same as a lie to a partner, friend, or kin-minus-ownership.
A long time ago, I memorized this bit of The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. It easily and eloquently explains my feelings on the topic at hand:
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
What are your views on the relationship between child and parent as mandated by your spiritual beliefs?
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