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Should An Atheist Be Barred From Seeing Her Grandchildren?

Question:

Grandmother is Atheist and the son doesn’t want his children around her. Is this right?

Answer:

It is difficult to say what is right or wrong in many family situations, because the answer depends heavily upon the specifics of the family dynamics, and sometimes the claimed grievance is not the real grievance but is only being used as a public excuse.

In general I would say it is not right to deprive a grandparent from visiting with grandchildren simply because of their faith or lack thereof.  Family bonds are good things that should be encouraged. Life cannot be all about only being around those who agree with us 100%, otherwise someone would have a virtually non-existent social circle.

If, however, the grandparent is not being respective of the natural rights of the parents to raise their children in their faith then that would be certainly moral grounds for discontinuing the relationship or at least curtailing it. Grandparents need to respect the parents of the child.

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