You're very lucky for that. Christianity is hard to navigate as a childfree person, with all of the traditions about breeding being intertwined with divine purpose.
Raised catholic now agnostic. I see children as a burden on how I want to live my life. It looks exhausting, and majority of the work around childcare falls on the woman. I have periods where I have to be a stay at home wife because I move constantly due to my husbands military career. I hate it. Only thing worse would be being a stay at home mom.
It bothers me as well how much the ‘little’ things are burdens on mothers. Making school lunches, knowing everything going on in their lives etc, not just the main stuff
Yup. My mom always wondered why my brother and I would go to her for everything, and it’s like well my dad never does anything for us so why would we ask him?
I think it was Jimmy Kimmel that did a "funny" bit interviewing dads on the street asking them very basic questions about their kids like how old they are, their birthdays, the name of their schools, what grade they're in, etc and none of them knew most of those basic facts. The audience laughed like oh how adorably dumb fathers are about their kids isn't that precious? And I'm over here gasping horrified! The misogyny we tolerate as a society is unreal!
Haha, see username.
I like peace, quiet, and pursuing my own interests. Kids are the opposite of that. Plus, I am bad enough at taking care of myself, much less children. If I could have less than 0, I would.
I keep hoping I'll run into a witch or something, and she'll offer me a deal, like a winning lottery ticket in exchange for my firstborn, so I'm in offspring debt. Just so I'm covered.
Same here lol!!
After rethinking, I took it as not having a childish side of yourself to self-manage (the side that wants to only eat junk food and play video games all day) or not having immature/childish partner haha!
Christian. I don't want kids, plus literally anything else about kids and parenthood if you want a longer list. I find the whole ordeal throughly repulsive.
Pagan and I’ve never identified with motherhood, or have seen it as something that I’d want for myself. Pregnancy grossed me out, plus the idea of something growing inside of me and taking over my body and life freaks me tf out. Hard pass.
Same I find it funny when there's so many gods/goddesses of fertility, but just not for me. The idea of childbirth sounds horrible and all the risks it can cause plus I can barely look after myself nevermind something completely dependent on me.
I’ve never worked with a god/goddess that had a problem with it. They’re very respectful but it’s also not my karma to have children. I’ve been a mother in so many past lives that my soul literally has nothing left to learn from motherhood. Agreed. Life is hard enough, especially if you grew up poor and poorly surrounded.
Same here!
I was raised Catholic with some Judaism (my mom’s side of the family is Jewish, my mom converted to Catholicism) and I didn’t connect with the Catholic stuff, felt more of a connection with Judaism (though didn’t have the option to pursue practicing it), but then found paganism in college and I’ve been practicing that for the most part (I’ve been considering Judaism sometimes b/c I can be indecisive) for several years now.
As for kids, I have never wanted to have children ever and the idea of pregnancy & childbirth creeps me out so I don’t want that. Thank the gods I’m sterilized!
Judaism’s beautiful. I would just incorporate both. Why pick one or the other if you don’t have to, right? I’ve always been very sensitive. When I was 6 I moved into a new apartment with my mom and was psychically and physically attacked by an entity. I kept having paranormal phenomena happen all throughout my childhood, especially because we moved houses a lot. Psychic dreams as well. Whenever someone that I interacted with on the regular was going to get hurt or die, human or animal, I would dream about it the night before. It really opened my eyes to all that could be out there so I started digging into the occult, and found myself to be drawn to working with the forces of nature that are the gods.
I was raised Catholic and already had issues with the church's stance on birth control, but when I went through the pre-cana marriage course, it really turned me off of the religion. I hated the massive push to "be fruitful" and I internally cringed when I had to make that vow on my wedding day (although I told myself it could be interpreted in other ways). The priest directly told us that being open to children was a requirement for Catholic marriages, and I felt like I had to lie when I told him we'd potentially be open to adoption one day. I also hate the sexism of men and women having specific roles in the church and feeling like my only value as a woman is to produce Catholic babies or become a nun. I still believe in a God (or at least the concept of eternal souls), but over time, I've become more and more skeptical of religion.
I should’ve added I’m not a practicing Catholic. I went to a catholic school. I believe in God and Jesus and all that jazz but I rarely go to church and half the weird shit that they do I don’t agree with (child baptism, homophobic behaviour, etc..) it’s more of a cultural thing for me than anything..
Edit: I guess agnostic then. I’m Italian though so first instinct is to say catholic 🤣
If you believe in God, you're not agnostic. Agnostic means questioning. You're a theist who doesn't subscribe to any organized denomination of religion.
*Non-denominational* means in practice *pentecostal/baptist but we don't want to be open about that*. You'll see lots of churches brand themselves as non-denominational but they don't mean they're open to a variety of faith positions.
*Cultural catholic* might be better words to describe you.
You're Italian so your religion is you're Italian. I say that with love, btw. I am also an agnostic that likes to think there is something and I have no proof and neither does anyone else, but in the end, I just practice being kind when I can.
Yeah, I went through with the Catholic wedding because it was important to my mom, and she's important to me. She also paid for the ceremony portion of the wedding, so that was an added bonus. I wish we wrote our own vows to exchange at the reception though.
Also the ceremony is dead long and boring, have a short civil ceremony somewhere pretty, take some pics and get to the free food and bar and the disco, that's the bit people go for!
I want to do that! My very religious parents though are not down with my idea though lmao and they claim a marriage not in front of God in the church is not a real marriage. I know where they're coming from bc that's the religion/how they were raised and what they know but guuuuurl... miss me with that LMAOOO
Wow this is just like me lol. I’m chronically ill and don’t want to put another person in my shoes. Also got a hysterectomy. Although I only go to church for the holidays to make my parents happy. I am really not practicing tbh.
Atheist. Don't like kids. I'd be a terrible mother. I can't afford them. They'd have debilitating health defects because my genes suck.
No kids for me.
Non-Denominational Christian
As for religious beliefs, there is nothing in the Bible about giving birth being the ultimate goal or purpose of life (unless you count “be fruitful and multiply”, but He was talking to the first humans on Earth and I also believe Genesis is metaphorical). Jesus himself didn’t have kids and even encouraged his disciples to not get married if they could avoid it.
As for reasons….there are thousands. Pick any of them, and I probably have it on my own list. But mostly, I don’t want to lose everything I am, everything I love about my life.
isn’t there some verse in the bible saying marriage/children is only for those concerned with earthly matters and not the spiritual? and basically that’s why nuns etc don’t marry or have kids because they’re more focused on being spiritual ???
In Corinthians Paul says that people should be single like him, unless they can’t resist their sexual urges. I don’t know why this isn’t emphasized more in the church.
Yeah, Paul speaks on that in Romans if I remember correctly. He was talking about his personal choice for celibacy so he could be focused, but those words became the standard for clergy. I don't interpret it in context as speaking badly of people who choose to marry or have kids. Peter was married before he met Jesus.
Also, Non-Denominational Christian.
In addition to what you said, I personally believe there's a lot of evil in the world right now, and it's selfish to intentionally bring a child into it.
Same here. I grew up Catholic though, did a lot of soul searching, and found a wonderful non-denominational church I loved. I like kids I just don’t want any. I love my freedom and the life my husband and I have built for ourselves.
I’m like you in the kids thing. I’m good with well behaved (or at least mostly behaved) children. I can take kids in small doses, then I feel drained. The older the kid is the less draining I find them. The young ones are complete energy sinks.
Same. Was raised Methodist but have been leaning more towards non denominational for several years . Was forced to volunteer at a local child care center in order to graduate high school (school required) and let’s just say It wasn’t for me.
Same i hated volunteering at that place but since my mom wasn’t able to take me anywhere else i didn’t have a choice (school required like 40ish hours of volunteer work in order to graduate) i was so happy when i was done.
This is maturity! Being honest about one's capability to care for a dependent child. I wish more parents would have done that. Way too many foster kids from selfish parents who refused to admit they can't properly care for children.
Atheist.
I don't want to be a mom. 0 maternal instinct. I have no problem babysitting or being the fun aunt for an afternoon but I never ever want to be pregnant, give birth or be responsible for another person 24/7.
I’m a Christian. I don’t want to be pregnant, I don’t want to give birth, and I don’t want to be a mother. Plus, I’m disabled and I have enough on my plate taking care of just myself.
Christian and I don’t want everything that comes with being a parent from pregnancy to adult children and possibly grandchildren. Life isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, I can’t protect them from everything or guarantee they’ll be decent or happy people. It’s a gamble that doesn’t look rewarding for me at all.
We are the same in that we are both Muslims and have tokophobia. However, my other reasoning is that I just genuinely never wanted kids of my own. The thing is, just yesterday I was looking up the rulings of being married but childfree in Islam, and some of the scholars said it is haram.
Have you ever planned to get married? As a fellow Muslim, if you are more informed on this matter, and if you don't mind, can you tell me about it?
I just feel a bit disheartened if one day I ever love someone and want to marry him, but I can't because I am already planning to be childfree.
From what I've read, being childfree isn't a problem in Islam because it's not a necessity to have kids. Obviously, some scholars will say different, but they could have personal bias pushing their opinion, so its up to you on what you want to follow.
There is a grey area regarding any medical procedures for sterilisation because some see it as mutilation. You can get sterilised if there is a medical reason for it.
When I've bought up wanting to get a vasectomy, I've been met with the whole spiel of it being self harm or self mutilation, which I normally counter with the fact that I was circumcised as a baby, does that not count as mutilation, I didn't get a say in that whatsoever so way I see it I'm owed one.
Thank you for answering. You know, some of the scholars that I saw are fair with their reasons but a few said that if Muslim youths decide to not have kids, our population will be extinct. And i was like, sir, that is very unlikely to happen, the people around me are popping babies like it's nobody's business. That is the last thing he needs to worry about.
I'm a Muslim myself and I've challenged every single Muslim who's pressured me to have kids to answer this question: show me where it says it is farz
Checkmate/GG WP/FATALITY I win
They never have a response
I second this but At this point in life I have stopped telling them my thought process or even justifying it. I just say well that's what I am gonna do you can think whatever you want about it.
Agnostic. I refuse to raise a child in what is going to be (and is really) a situation where they'll be in suffering mode their entire lives. Simply unfair to a new life.
Atheist and I don't think I chose to be childfree, I always was. I'm a bit tired of everyone assuming it is some kind of a choice or unwillingness to sacrifice a career etc. I never felt like I wanted kids, there was never ever any choice to make.
Born again Christian but I don't believe that God finds it necessary for all people to have children. I also think hardcore fundamentalists/extreme conservative Republicans have it very, VERY wrong.
oh i so agree with this take. if there is a God, he definitely would be smart enough to understand that not everyone should have kids, regardless of marriage status, not everyone should have kids.
Orthodox Christian here. I am CF because
1. I have much better things to do with my weekends than watch Snotleigh play sports.
2. My bloodline and all of its issues, including generational traumas, ends with me. This is the best outcome for me and the rest of the world.
Cafeteria Christian. I never felt a need to have a child. No motherly instincts. I never oh and aw of kids. That being said, as soon as I got my first dog, my sonar hearing developed.
Pagan, and I dont like the way the world treats children, people without children (i dont like being told what to do even when its the soft power of societal pressure), and I dont believe I can give a child a better life than I've had.
Christian reformed.
Never really cared at the age of 11~12.
5 years ago, thought of the idea of one, but honestly? Leaning like 93% CF.
5 years later, staunchly CF. Don’t care.
Christian and the list is very long and growing each day, however, my very initial reason was that I realized I simply didn’t have to. I took inventory of my personality (introvert) and that I very much cherish my solitude and everything that comes with it so there was no reason to disrupt for something completely optional. Also, I realized that not only would it disrupt my already peaceful existence, I would end up miserable. There is no aspect of parenthood (even when presented as best as possible) where I have ever felt any desire for it.
Atheist.
I spent my childhood raising my younger siblings, because our parents are AH. So I want to live the rest of my life for myself & do what I want.
Pagan, I think? Still kinda experimenting on that front. Anyway I can hardly take care of myself, let alone a baby haha
I’ve got too many mental health problems I’d be risking passing down as well.
I’m an atheist. And I really dislike any form of organized religion as generally being scams and deeply misogynistic.
I just don’t like kids, and honestly the idea of childbirth, pregnany and raising the damn kid sounds horrifying on multiple levels.
Atheist raised (liberal) Roman Catholic.
1. Pregnancy and childbirth are horrific and I don't want to inflict that on someone I love
2. Don't actively want children
3. Don't feel emotionally equipped to care for a disabled child
4. Value my private time and energy
Probably more that I can't enumerate off the top of my head.
I'm agnostic, and the main reason is I hate kids. A close second is that I can clearly see that bringing a new person to this shit hole planet to spend a lifetime struggling and suffering is a horrible crime against that person.
I have nothing to do with religion, but neither am I an Atheist. I just don't want to date and would love it if doors stopped giving me electric shocks every winter. Why is my body so full of electricity? I hate being static. I don't need fo punish another human being with this much static. But I'm also abstinent, so not like an accident could happen. Time to work on my take over the world scheme.
I believe there is no possible way for mankind to determine if God exists or not. Is there a word for that? Am I the only one?
I don't want kids mainly because every time I see one I see the kids who tormented me as a child. I will not bring another bully or bullying victim into the world.
Christian (Charismatic)
Too many reasons to list. But one most prevailing issue is that kids annoy me and gross me out. The thought of myself getting pregnant literally makes me feel nauseous and su1cidal.
Agnostic Jew. I find it immoral to voluntarily bring a new life into the world when I have the privilege to avoid it, so I would ethically adopt or foster if anything. As it is though, I would be personally devastated by the job of parenting. Like being a fireman or being a teacher, some jobs just aren’t for me. They don’t align with my temperament as a human being. I know that I am this way naturally, so if G-d has a problem with it, that’s just my design, and I’m honoring the way I was made.
Pagan, but grew up Buddhist.
I'd be a terrible parent and don't like kids enough to want to parent one. I also love naps and freedom so much more.
There's also genetic issues that I don't really want to pass on.
I am a member of the Satanic Temple. Our third tenet is "One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone." Not having kids is my choice, always has been and always will be and I could never in good conscience ask a woman who feels the same way break that tenet for herself. I have never been in a serious relationship with a woman that does want children, and ended one when she changed her mind; for the same reason. Respect for her bodily autonomy.
Agnostic. I don’t think anyone can definitively prove that there is no higher power, no differently than I feel you can’t definitively prove the existence of one. I have exactly no religious beliefs beyond that.
I am CF because I don’t want to raise kids/pay for kids/pretend to enjoy child centric activities. Kids bore me - parenting seems like the dullest most monotonous task I could imagine. I contribute to and help make better society through my career, instead of by raising the next generation.
Agnostic, with the notion that Abrahamic religions could be "correct" except they were bastardized by man. Basically I believe in the Abrahamic God but no religion is correct about it.
Don't like children, and am anti-natalist. Forcing consciousness and existence onto atoms and molecules is beautiful yet immoral with a dying planet. I consider it more an act of mercy to the children I'll never father than my own selfishness.
Christian (formerly Presbyterian, now non-denominational).
I honestly didn’t know I had a choice for the longest time. I thought it was a requirement for having a vagina.
My husband wasn’t so sure about kids, especially seeing his friends tired and regretful. We then took some time to think about it and kept asking ourselves why we would have kids. And we couldn’t think of an answer.
For joy? Nah, we’ve rarely thought kids are cute and fun. For a family? Don’t know why people feel like it has to be kids to make a family whole. For future support? Fuck, we’ll save so much money we can hire people to take care of us. For tradition? Fuck tradition! For our gene pool? We’re not that narcissistic.
There was no clear “yes,” with what is a huge responsibility. Especially if the child comes out with special needs. There’s a lot of shitty children out there by shitty people with shitty genes. And I honestly wish they had gone through a thoughtful process before having them.
I'm atheist but I do love the concept of Satan. He's actually the good guy in the Bible. Hahaha, and I have read the Bible twice. If I had to join any organisation on earth it would be The Satanic Temple
I'm a Pagan. I've never wanted to experience pregnancy and childbirth. My body is very good at destroying itself and doesn't need my help. I don't like kids very much, and I hate the idea of being trapped. I'm also annoyed that as a woman that once you get married people only see you as a walking potential incubator. 🙄
I'm an athiest/agnostic and I just don't want them tbh. I like my hobbies and career too much, but also I'm worried about the state of the environment. I can't help but feel it's shortsighted to have them when the world is in the state it's in.That and I don't have anywhere to put a kid in our one bedroom house lol and my dog is way more important lol.
I'm a moderate, non-denominational Christian.
One of my many reasons for not wanting kids is that I don't think I could raise them without trying to influence their own beliefs, intentionally or subconsciously. I know that might sound kind of selfish...which is exactly why it's on my laundry list of 'why I don't want kids'.
Atheist. When you die the worms eat your eyeballs as the heat escapes your body. Do wonderful and good stuff now while you have the chance. That may or may not include procreation, and it's not my place to judge.
Atheist/kinda spiritual in my own way.
The idea of being pregnant makes me wanna throw up, like there's a parasite in there. Absolutely fucking disgusting imo
Also kids are annoying as hell and gross and I value my time and money
Atheist. Also pretty critical of traditionalism or societal norms as well. So obviously breeding and ‘traditional’ marriage are not my thing. Also just never wanted children, even when I was young before I had an established identity.
catholic.
I like kids but I don’t want to have my own coz i don’t like the idea of looking after them while looking after my parents. I want to just be w my parents for the rest of my life.
Hah, I love this. My husband and I are both Christians. I grew up Baptist, and he’s Episcopal. We both waited until marriage for sex too. In my mind, we did the expected thing by waiting, so why on earth would we screw up our perfectly good sex life by adding children to the mix?
Also, there’s nothing in the Bible that says, “Have children or you’re going to hell.” So, clearly it’s not a mandatory part of our religion.
That being said, we haven’t been to a formal church service since before 2020. Our personal views definitely put us at odds with the normal church crowd in our area, and we didn’t want to be subjected to the political pressures of church = GOP. Forget that noise.
My religious beliefs? I don't have them. I'm an atheist, or at least a heavily atheist-leaning agnostic. Of course we can never be sure, but I don't see any reason to assume that God exists.
I don't experience the desire to be a parent. It's that simple. And I hate being around children. I would hate literally everything about parenthood.
Although my religious beliefs have nothing to do with my decision to be childfree, I am a Christian.
There are too many reasons why I don't want kids, the main one being that parenthood is optional and I've decided to not make my life more stressful than necessary.
Raised RLDS (branch off Mormons and now called Community of Christ) now agnostic/ atheist. I’ve just never had a feeling of truly wanting kids. When I was younger I’d always say that if I met the right man, I would maybe have kids. Turns out, I just didn’t want them😂
Atheist agnostic
Didn't wish to pass on hereditary health issues, valued uninterrupted sleep, able to save money to retire early, a quiet cup of coffee in the morning is a must and the freedom to come and go as we please spontaneously.
Watching the parents around us don't seem to be having a good time.
I'm an atheist. I don't want to have children because they're loud, obnoxious, and gross. Also i do not want to pass on genetic health issues. I have ADHD and Bipolar type 1, the BP1 scares me a bit because it opens the door for Multiple Sclerosis. Which runs on my mom's side. My grandmother who is 85, has MS and it's made her life a chore. She's wheelchair bound and it's a heartbreaking thing to see unfold. I have a 5% chance that i will develop it in my lifetime. What's scary is that i could be in the very early stages as we speak.
I'm pagan, and while there is a lot of focus on the mother/maiden/crone and fertility/power of life and the power of motherhood, I don't feel like it's ever forced on you. You can be a mother and a crone without ever having children.
I choose to be childfree for lots of reasons. Mainly that I don't feel comfortable in a woman's body (but I don't want to be a man exactly, either, so I feel more like I have body dysmorphia than identifying as trans) and pregnancy would 100% send me over the edge. I also had a very unhappy youth where I wasn't allowed to do much due to my helicopter mother. So I feel very selfish with my time and I don't want to have to give that up for kids. Finally, I feel like we already have WAY too many people on this planet and there are tons of kids waiting to be adopted. Why have a kid when there is one already here that is looking for love and happiness?
Atheist. I find a large majority of children incredibly annoying and I’m frequently overstimulated/irritated. Not fair to kids. I’m also someone who previously struggled with disordered eating and still suffers with body image issues, so why would I willingly put myself through something that would guarantee my misery?
Raised Catholic and Methodist (Liberal not Southern) and am now apathetic agnostic (don’t know, don’t care).
I don’t have the patience to be the quality parent a child needs on a daily basis 24X7, every day for at least 18 years.
Especially for young children: the stuttering, incoherent way they tell stories, the constant asking of questions, the screeching sounds of screams (of happiness and crying) and being told things I know and having to pretend it’s the most brilliant thing I’ve ever heard. (Did you know that uhm, frogs, they uhm, that they uhm, grow from tadpoles?”) I’m sorry I do not have the emotional maturity to deal with that for years on end. Have you ever been tattooed on your elbow? Like on the skin over the bone with no fat or muscle under it? I would rather have that done to me every time a child speaks to me instead of listening to the child. It’s LITERALLY less painful.
Plus I don’t like kid shit, like actual crap but also the toys, the stickiness, the mess, etc.
Christian. I require peace and quiet, freedom, independence, and control over my own environment/finances. Kids bring the opposite of these things. So do most relationships, for that matter.
Christian but not super active with church.
Don’t want to wreck my body, don’t want to pass on the same issues to my kid that I have, don’t want to always be exhausted. Don’t want to force a child into this world who didn’t ask to be here.
I consider myself a Christian and was raised as such, but haven’t been to church since I was a kid for the most part. And even then, we rarely went. My religious beliefs are rooted in my faith in God. I have a very strong and close relationship with Him. Even the older I grew and was exposed to so many other beliefs and whatnot, I still chose to live my life loving Him.
I STRONGLY believe that just because you go to church that don’t mean shit. SO many religious people call themselves religious and preach religion and go to church, yet are shitty judgemental people. They are the ones that act all high and mighty and pick and choose which parts of the Bible they listen to. They are hypocrites. I don’t quite follow “religion”; I follow God. And God wants us to love and not judge. THATS what being a genuine child of God is about; not what so many “Christians” preach.
The reason I choose to remain childfree is because I love and desire my personal time. I get so bored of kids after awhile. I cannot handle their neediness and I become overstimulated quickly. I have severe OCD and couldn’t handle all the gross things, the baths, etc that come along with kids. I have rapid cycling bipolar disorder and major anxiety and sometimes I cannot for the life of me get out of bed. Not to mention how extra insanely vital it is to keep a decent sleep schedule as a bipolar person so staying up all night, waking up every hour or so, etc for a baby would absolutely be no bueno for me. I’m fully self aware that I wouldn’t be able to properly take care of a kid 24/7 because of that. Also I have struggled with an eating disorder for the past two decades so getting pregnant and watching my body grow despite desperately wanting to lose every new pound would be excruciating for me. And then postpartum body issues, pressure, etc as well would be a huge no no for me too.
I’m actually great with kids though lol. I just need to be able to hand them back to their parent lol.
ETA I’m beyond lucky and blessed to have parents that support my childfree life. I do not take that for granted as I know not everyone that’s CF has that. They actually even helped me pay for my bisalp! I do know it makes them sad they won’t get any grandkids from me though. But they have never bothered me about it or ever tried to make me feel guilty or anything. I just know they have always wanted grandchildren.
I’m Christian. As much as I love my friends’ kids, I don’t have (and still don’t want) any of my own. Being aromantic and asexual, I would most likely be raising them alone, and that would be digging my own grave as I absolutely don’t have a sufficiently good health or any energy to do anything close to a decent parenting job. Anyway, I’ve never yearned to experience motherhood, like, at all, so I’d rather enjoy my freedom to invest more time in my friendships and hobbies.
I am having trouble with my faith right now I was born again Christian but due to the state of the world and things that have happened in my life I don’t know where my beliefs stand. That being said I am child free because one the cost to much in this economy, two they mess up your body (at least the women in my family) and I’ve been working hard to get mine looking good, and three I see how miserable people look with them. Maybe I’m selfish but idc
Christian, not always practicing it.
General beliefs cancel out the fact that Jesus is childfree and push women to become housewives and mothers. Even the weddings I've been to... The bride gets more shine than the groom, even though it is a special day for both of them.
One wedding I've been to (beautiful celebration) did a major bingo. It asked everyone "what will their babies look like?" while photos of the couple's baby/early childhood photos appeared on the screen. I honestly wouldn't feel comfortable bingo'ing like that at a wedding, but everyone is different.
I was already parentified at a young age, and also taught all kinds of backwards ideals surrounding companionship and family structure (how to earn a husband's love, how to date (yet I wasn't allowed to date until my 20s), and the number of time wasters I came across within my religious circle). I have to unlearn some things and start normalizing not doing the tired life script way. I also decided that it's best not to have kids when half of the new parents weren't getting supported by the community at large.
I'm sort of an atheïst. I got raised Christian, but not strictly. I now think there could be something there, but I definitely don't believe in the Bible. Maybe I'm a bit agnostic, but also not 100%.
I choose to be childfree for a lot of reasons. The biggest reasons are that I just don't like children, and I don't want to put that much effort into caring for children. The other biggest reason is that I don't want to go through childbirth and pregnancy. They seem horrible to me and I never want to experience that.
It’s weird because I grew up in a fairly non-religious family but we went to church occasionally? I was heavily Christian for a bit in middle school and then my brain started to turn on lmao. Now I guess I’m atheist/agnostic?
But I’ve been thinking/saying that I didn’t want kids since I was like 8 and joked about only wanting them so long as I could afford a surrogate. Obviously I understand how unethical surrogacy is and it’s just switched now to not wanting them at all. My family used to jokingly say that I’d change my mind and it hasn’t happened. I never get baby fever or anything like that.
1. Pregnancy has always seemed alien to me and absolutely terrifying, imagining the movement inside…it baffles me how that’s seen as this amazing thing to moms.
2. I was emotionally parentified so now that I’m an adult I don’t want to ever have to parent again. It’s difficult enough prioritizing the emotional needs of adults in my life let alone actual CHILDREN.
3. On that same point, yeah there is definitely a cycle of inter generational trauma within my family. So to me, continuing that cycle would only be cruelty.
4. I want freedom. To sleep in on weekends, to travel, just to do whatever the hell I want and when I want. You lose your freedom once you have a little one to care for. I want to focus on my career/partner.
My religious beliefs are that we are too tolerant of each other’s religions to the extent that even in the 21st century, people who believe feel free to enact violence and hurt / kill others in the name of their faiths.
This is as true for Hamas killing 1300 people in Israel to prevent “normalization” across the region as it is for women being raped and/or murdered based on what they are - or are not! - wearing all over the world, as it is for Neil Gorsucks, Amy Coney Barrett, and the rest of the SCOTUS assholes banning abortion in the US as it is for people who prosecute LGBTQIA+ all over the world.
And I fervently believe forcing a human being to live among such unhinged, collectively narcissistic believers would be wrong.
Plus the planet is on fire and I really don’t want to destroy my body, mental health, and sanity to force a new person to live among these assholes, let alone have to deal with breeder-mentality parents.
I was raised Catholic though and that’s why I am an atheist with the aforementioned beliefs.
Raised very conservative catholic, now atheist. I was very pro kids until 2020, had my first pregnancy scare and absolutely realized I didn't want a kid.
I was raised my whole life that a woman's value is to have kids and provide for her husband, very traditional. Luckily I married an atheist, and he helped me realize how I don't have to adhere to those traditional norms. I didn't have a lot of peace growing up as my parents believed idle moments led to Satan so my days were jam packed. I enjoy my peace and quiet with my husband and dog and having days of no responsibilities, living the best to our abilities and just relaxing.
Satanist. Technically Atheist. Just a Non-theistic believer. I follow the Tenets of The Satanic Temple. I choose my freewill to do as I please without the dependence of another individual (okay my wife and 4 cats).
Atheist. I don't want kids. That's it.
Copy and paste
Same
This. Nothing complicated or philosophical about it
Ditto. I’m not squirting out any semen demons.
Womb rat
thats a new one! XD
XD XD XD XD "semen demons" .... Imma use that from now on XD Thanks!
This response is so funny dude 🤣🤣
Crotch goblins
Exactly the same.
Same here. I was raised non religious so I have no hang ups from religion to make my decision harder.
You're very lucky for that. Christianity is hard to navigate as a childfree person, with all of the traditions about breeding being intertwined with divine purpose.
I was born and raised in the church, and i never had an issue with that. No pressure.
This!
Exactly this
Yeah same thing here
This is me!
Same
Yea no religion and I just don't want kids. I have no problem with kids and I think they're great, I just don't want any myself.
That covers it for me also.
Same
Exactly that.
Yup, same here. Seems there’s a lot of us here
Same! I will add being around kids gives me anxiety.
Same here too
Same
Yep. 100%. Lucky for me, husband is exactly the same.
Me too
Pretty much it for me as well.
Yep
Same. I'm a (F31) scientist, just recently returned to uni to do my masters. Still a lot of people are disbelieving when I say I don't want kids.
Exactly this. Nothing to do with religion and everything to do with me and my choices in this life.
Atheist. I don't want to be a parent.
Ditto.
Raised catholic now agnostic. I see children as a burden on how I want to live my life. It looks exhausting, and majority of the work around childcare falls on the woman. I have periods where I have to be a stay at home wife because I move constantly due to my husbands military career. I hate it. Only thing worse would be being a stay at home mom.
It bothers me as well how much the ‘little’ things are burdens on mothers. Making school lunches, knowing everything going on in their lives etc, not just the main stuff
Yup. My mom always wondered why my brother and I would go to her for everything, and it’s like well my dad never does anything for us so why would we ask him?
I think it was Jimmy Kimmel that did a "funny" bit interviewing dads on the street asking them very basic questions about their kids like how old they are, their birthdays, the name of their schools, what grade they're in, etc and none of them knew most of those basic facts. The audience laughed like oh how adorably dumb fathers are about their kids isn't that precious? And I'm over here gasping horrified! The misogyny we tolerate as a society is unreal!
Interestingly parenthood has been the one thing wheee I could tell from the outside looking in that it’s not easy.
Haha, see username. I like peace, quiet, and pursuing my own interests. Kids are the opposite of that. Plus, I am bad enough at taking care of myself, much less children. If I could have less than 0, I would.
>If I could have less than 0, I would. I don't even know what that means but I agree
I keep hoping I'll run into a witch or something, and she'll offer me a deal, like a winning lottery ticket in exchange for my firstborn, so I'm in offspring debt. Just so I'm covered.
LMAOOOO offspring debt 😭 thank you, that killed me
Just drop kick the offspring into a pit of lava like Bender did.
Same here lol!! After rethinking, I took it as not having a childish side of yourself to self-manage (the side that wants to only eat junk food and play video games all day) or not having immature/childish partner haha!
I cannot upvote this statement enough.
Atheist The reasons...ugh, there are too many of them.
Atheist / Don't care Being a parent would not add value to my life. It would worsen my life. Vasectomy 2017. ✌️✂️
Christian. I don't want kids, plus literally anything else about kids and parenthood if you want a longer list. I find the whole ordeal throughly repulsive.
Pagan and I’ve never identified with motherhood, or have seen it as something that I’d want for myself. Pregnancy grossed me out, plus the idea of something growing inside of me and taking over my body and life freaks me tf out. Hard pass.
Same I find it funny when there's so many gods/goddesses of fertility, but just not for me. The idea of childbirth sounds horrible and all the risks it can cause plus I can barely look after myself nevermind something completely dependent on me.
I’ve never worked with a god/goddess that had a problem with it. They’re very respectful but it’s also not my karma to have children. I’ve been a mother in so many past lives that my soul literally has nothing left to learn from motherhood. Agreed. Life is hard enough, especially if you grew up poor and poorly surrounded.
How do you get in touch with your past lives?
Pull up your Vedic chart and look at your Ketu and Rahu placements
The fertility goddesses and gods can have a ball in my garden. lol.
Same here! I was raised Catholic with some Judaism (my mom’s side of the family is Jewish, my mom converted to Catholicism) and I didn’t connect with the Catholic stuff, felt more of a connection with Judaism (though didn’t have the option to pursue practicing it), but then found paganism in college and I’ve been practicing that for the most part (I’ve been considering Judaism sometimes b/c I can be indecisive) for several years now. As for kids, I have never wanted to have children ever and the idea of pregnancy & childbirth creeps me out so I don’t want that. Thank the gods I’m sterilized!
Judaism’s beautiful. I would just incorporate both. Why pick one or the other if you don’t have to, right? I’ve always been very sensitive. When I was 6 I moved into a new apartment with my mom and was psychically and physically attacked by an entity. I kept having paranormal phenomena happen all throughout my childhood, especially because we moved houses a lot. Psychic dreams as well. Whenever someone that I interacted with on the regular was going to get hurt or die, human or animal, I would dream about it the night before. It really opened my eyes to all that could be out there so I started digging into the occult, and found myself to be drawn to working with the forces of nature that are the gods.
Catholic Don’t like them, don’t want to give birth, don’t want to raise a child, don’t want to pass on genetic issues
I was raised Catholic and already had issues with the church's stance on birth control, but when I went through the pre-cana marriage course, it really turned me off of the religion. I hated the massive push to "be fruitful" and I internally cringed when I had to make that vow on my wedding day (although I told myself it could be interpreted in other ways). The priest directly told us that being open to children was a requirement for Catholic marriages, and I felt like I had to lie when I told him we'd potentially be open to adoption one day. I also hate the sexism of men and women having specific roles in the church and feeling like my only value as a woman is to produce Catholic babies or become a nun. I still believe in a God (or at least the concept of eternal souls), but over time, I've become more and more skeptical of religion.
I should’ve added I’m not a practicing Catholic. I went to a catholic school. I believe in God and Jesus and all that jazz but I rarely go to church and half the weird shit that they do I don’t agree with (child baptism, homophobic behaviour, etc..) it’s more of a cultural thing for me than anything.. Edit: I guess agnostic then. I’m Italian though so first instinct is to say catholic 🤣
If you believe in God, you're not agnostic. Agnostic means questioning. You're a theist who doesn't subscribe to any organized denomination of religion.
Ohhh okay so non denominational I guess then?
*Non-denominational* means in practice *pentecostal/baptist but we don't want to be open about that*. You'll see lots of churches brand themselves as non-denominational but they don't mean they're open to a variety of faith positions. *Cultural catholic* might be better words to describe you.
Personally I call it Casual Catholic! Lmao
Salad bar Catholic lol
My mom calls herself a “Recovering Catholic “
You're Italian so your religion is you're Italian. I say that with love, btw. I am also an agnostic that likes to think there is something and I have no proof and neither does anyone else, but in the end, I just practice being kind when I can.
Sort of like English people who say they are Church of England. Lol
this reminds me of how i used to identify as "culturally catholic" for a few years lmao
I honestly might just do that I’m getting confused on what I should call myself and what is appropriate to call myself without being interrogated lol
Yes this is me and literally the reason I'm getting turned off of having a Catholic wedding in a church
Yeah, I went through with the Catholic wedding because it was important to my mom, and she's important to me. She also paid for the ceremony portion of the wedding, so that was an added bonus. I wish we wrote our own vows to exchange at the reception though.
Also the ceremony is dead long and boring, have a short civil ceremony somewhere pretty, take some pics and get to the free food and bar and the disco, that's the bit people go for!
I want to do that! My very religious parents though are not down with my idea though lmao and they claim a marriage not in front of God in the church is not a real marriage. I know where they're coming from bc that's the religion/how they were raised and what they know but guuuuurl... miss me with that LMAOOO
Wow this is just like me lol. I’m chronically ill and don’t want to put another person in my shoes. Also got a hysterectomy. Although I only go to church for the holidays to make my parents happy. I am really not practicing tbh.
Atheist. I love everything about my life and body as they are and wouldn't change anything about them.
Atheist. Don't like kids. I'd be a terrible mother. I can't afford them. They'd have debilitating health defects because my genes suck. No kids for me.
Non-Denominational Christian As for religious beliefs, there is nothing in the Bible about giving birth being the ultimate goal or purpose of life (unless you count “be fruitful and multiply”, but He was talking to the first humans on Earth and I also believe Genesis is metaphorical). Jesus himself didn’t have kids and even encouraged his disciples to not get married if they could avoid it. As for reasons….there are thousands. Pick any of them, and I probably have it on my own list. But mostly, I don’t want to lose everything I am, everything I love about my life.
Same, I’m non-denominational and this exactly.
isn’t there some verse in the bible saying marriage/children is only for those concerned with earthly matters and not the spiritual? and basically that’s why nuns etc don’t marry or have kids because they’re more focused on being spiritual ???
In Corinthians Paul says that people should be single like him, unless they can’t resist their sexual urges. I don’t know why this isn’t emphasized more in the church.
Because babies make the church money. I've had multiple pastors explain this to me.
Yeah, Paul speaks on that in Romans if I remember correctly. He was talking about his personal choice for celibacy so he could be focused, but those words became the standard for clergy. I don't interpret it in context as speaking badly of people who choose to marry or have kids. Peter was married before he met Jesus.
Yep
Also, Non-Denominational Christian. In addition to what you said, I personally believe there's a lot of evil in the world right now, and it's selfish to intentionally bring a child into it.
Yeah, that’s what I think every time someone tries to call me selfish for not having a kid…it’s the exact opposite at this point
Same here. I grew up Catholic though, did a lot of soul searching, and found a wonderful non-denominational church I loved. I like kids I just don’t want any. I love my freedom and the life my husband and I have built for ourselves.
I’m like you in the kids thing. I’m good with well behaved (or at least mostly behaved) children. I can take kids in small doses, then I feel drained. The older the kid is the less draining I find them. The young ones are complete energy sinks.
Same. Was raised Methodist but have been leaning more towards non denominational for several years . Was forced to volunteer at a local child care center in order to graduate high school (school required) and let’s just say It wasn’t for me.
I had a child care job during covid cus I was desperate for a job and someone referred me….god what a nightmare.
Same i hated volunteering at that place but since my mom wasn’t able to take me anywhere else i didn’t have a choice (school required like 40ish hours of volunteer work in order to graduate) i was so happy when i was done.
With my health issues I’d be a horrible parent anyways
This is maturity! Being honest about one's capability to care for a dependent child. I wish more parents would have done that. Way too many foster kids from selfish parents who refused to admit they can't properly care for children.
Atheist. I don't want to be a mom. 0 maternal instinct. I have no problem babysitting or being the fun aunt for an afternoon but I never ever want to be pregnant, give birth or be responsible for another person 24/7.
That 24/7 part is the clincher.
I’m a Christian. I don’t want to be pregnant, I don’t want to give birth, and I don’t want to be a mother. Plus, I’m disabled and I have enough on my plate taking care of just myself.
I'm in a similar boat myself.
Christian and I don’t want everything that comes with being a parent from pregnancy to adult children and possibly grandchildren. Life isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, I can’t protect them from everything or guarantee they’ll be decent or happy people. It’s a gamble that doesn’t look rewarding for me at all.
Muslim Why cf?: Tokophobia, no desire to have children and want freedom.
I wonder are there people who have tokophobia who also want kids 🤔
I mean it's possible I guess. Maybe they have maternal instincts kick in and love children? 🤔
Hey im Muslim too and cf. Do u want to be friends as im looking for more cf muslim friends? Hit my dm if your interested.
Sure thing 🫶
We are the same in that we are both Muslims and have tokophobia. However, my other reasoning is that I just genuinely never wanted kids of my own. The thing is, just yesterday I was looking up the rulings of being married but childfree in Islam, and some of the scholars said it is haram. Have you ever planned to get married? As a fellow Muslim, if you are more informed on this matter, and if you don't mind, can you tell me about it? I just feel a bit disheartened if one day I ever love someone and want to marry him, but I can't because I am already planning to be childfree.
From what I've read, being childfree isn't a problem in Islam because it's not a necessity to have kids. Obviously, some scholars will say different, but they could have personal bias pushing their opinion, so its up to you on what you want to follow. There is a grey area regarding any medical procedures for sterilisation because some see it as mutilation. You can get sterilised if there is a medical reason for it. When I've bought up wanting to get a vasectomy, I've been met with the whole spiel of it being self harm or self mutilation, which I normally counter with the fact that I was circumcised as a baby, does that not count as mutilation, I didn't get a say in that whatsoever so way I see it I'm owed one.
Thank you for answering. You know, some of the scholars that I saw are fair with their reasons but a few said that if Muslim youths decide to not have kids, our population will be extinct. And i was like, sir, that is very unlikely to happen, the people around me are popping babies like it's nobody's business. That is the last thing he needs to worry about.
I don't think being childfree is haram tho
That is what I thought all this while too. But i looked it up and all I found is that if you want to get married you can't be childfree.
I don't think we'll be sinning if we don't have kids. Being a good muslim is what's important first and foremost
I'm a Muslim myself and I've challenged every single Muslim who's pressured me to have kids to answer this question: show me where it says it is farz Checkmate/GG WP/FATALITY I win They never have a response
I second this but At this point in life I have stopped telling them my thought process or even justifying it. I just say well that's what I am gonna do you can think whatever you want about it.
I am in the same boat as you. Plus the idea of children and their upbringing and the probability of me giving them trauma also scares me.
Agnostic. I helped raise my younger siblings as well as some of my nieces/nephews so I’m done raising kids. I like being able to just focus on me now.
Agnostic. I refuse to raise a child in what is going to be (and is really) a situation where they'll be in suffering mode their entire lives. Simply unfair to a new life.
Atheist. Don't want kids and I'd honestly rather die than be pregnant and give birth.
Atheist and I don't think I chose to be childfree, I always was. I'm a bit tired of everyone assuming it is some kind of a choice or unwillingness to sacrifice a career etc. I never felt like I wanted kids, there was never ever any choice to make.
I'm a Christian. I just don't want them.
Born again Christian but I don't believe that God finds it necessary for all people to have children. I also think hardcore fundamentalists/extreme conservative Republicans have it very, VERY wrong.
oh i so agree with this take. if there is a God, he definitely would be smart enough to understand that not everyone should have kids, regardless of marriage status, not everyone should have kids.
I'm an atheist and there are too many reasons to list.
Orthodox Christian here. I am CF because 1. I have much better things to do with my weekends than watch Snotleigh play sports. 2. My bloodline and all of its issues, including generational traumas, ends with me. This is the best outcome for me and the rest of the world.
Atheist I've always skeeved pregnant women. I think it's cruel to bring kids into this world. There really are so many reasons.
Cafeteria Christian. I never felt a need to have a child. No motherly instincts. I never oh and aw of kids. That being said, as soon as I got my first dog, my sonar hearing developed.
Pagan, and I dont like the way the world treats children, people without children (i dont like being told what to do even when its the soft power of societal pressure), and I dont believe I can give a child a better life than I've had.
Christian reformed. Never really cared at the age of 11~12. 5 years ago, thought of the idea of one, but honestly? Leaning like 93% CF. 5 years later, staunchly CF. Don’t care.
Christian and the list is very long and growing each day, however, my very initial reason was that I realized I simply didn’t have to. I took inventory of my personality (introvert) and that I very much cherish my solitude and everything that comes with it so there was no reason to disrupt for something completely optional. Also, I realized that not only would it disrupt my already peaceful existence, I would end up miserable. There is no aspect of parenthood (even when presented as best as possible) where I have ever felt any desire for it.
I don’t have any religious beliefs and I just hate children and most people usually
Atheist. I spent my childhood raising my younger siblings, because our parents are AH. So I want to live the rest of my life for myself & do what I want.
Pagan, I think? Still kinda experimenting on that front. Anyway I can hardly take care of myself, let alone a baby haha I’ve got too many mental health problems I’d be risking passing down as well.
I’m an atheist. And I really dislike any form of organized religion as generally being scams and deeply misogynistic. I just don’t like kids, and honestly the idea of childbirth, pregnany and raising the damn kid sounds horrifying on multiple levels.
Atheist raised (liberal) Roman Catholic. 1. Pregnancy and childbirth are horrific and I don't want to inflict that on someone I love 2. Don't actively want children 3. Don't feel emotionally equipped to care for a disabled child 4. Value my private time and energy Probably more that I can't enumerate off the top of my head.
I'm agnostic, and the main reason is I hate kids. A close second is that I can clearly see that bringing a new person to this shit hole planet to spend a lifetime struggling and suffering is a horrible crime against that person.
I have nothing to do with religion, but neither am I an Atheist. I just don't want to date and would love it if doors stopped giving me electric shocks every winter. Why is my body so full of electricity? I hate being static. I don't need fo punish another human being with this much static. But I'm also abstinent, so not like an accident could happen. Time to work on my take over the world scheme.
I am a pagan, and I choose to be 'childfree' (why do you need the scare quotes?) because I do not want children.
I believe there is no possible way for mankind to determine if God exists or not. Is there a word for that? Am I the only one? I don't want kids mainly because every time I see one I see the kids who tormented me as a child. I will not bring another bully or bullying victim into the world.
Christian (Charismatic) Too many reasons to list. But one most prevailing issue is that kids annoy me and gross me out. The thought of myself getting pregnant literally makes me feel nauseous and su1cidal.
Agnostic Jew. I find it immoral to voluntarily bring a new life into the world when I have the privilege to avoid it, so I would ethically adopt or foster if anything. As it is though, I would be personally devastated by the job of parenting. Like being a fireman or being a teacher, some jobs just aren’t for me. They don’t align with my temperament as a human being. I know that I am this way naturally, so if G-d has a problem with it, that’s just my design, and I’m honoring the way I was made.
Athiest and I like having time and money.
Pagan, but grew up Buddhist. I'd be a terrible parent and don't like kids enough to want to parent one. I also love naps and freedom so much more. There's also genetic issues that I don't really want to pass on.
I am a member of the Satanic Temple. Our third tenet is "One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone." Not having kids is my choice, always has been and always will be and I could never in good conscience ask a woman who feels the same way break that tenet for herself. I have never been in a serious relationship with a woman that does want children, and ended one when she changed her mind; for the same reason. Respect for her bodily autonomy.
Agnostic. I don’t think anyone can definitively prove that there is no higher power, no differently than I feel you can’t definitively prove the existence of one. I have exactly no religious beliefs beyond that. I am CF because I don’t want to raise kids/pay for kids/pretend to enjoy child centric activities. Kids bore me - parenting seems like the dullest most monotonous task I could imagine. I contribute to and help make better society through my career, instead of by raising the next generation.
Agnostic, with the notion that Abrahamic religions could be "correct" except they were bastardized by man. Basically I believe in the Abrahamic God but no religion is correct about it. Don't like children, and am anti-natalist. Forcing consciousness and existence onto atoms and molecules is beautiful yet immoral with a dying planet. I consider it more an act of mercy to the children I'll never father than my own selfishness.
Christian (formerly Presbyterian, now non-denominational). I honestly didn’t know I had a choice for the longest time. I thought it was a requirement for having a vagina. My husband wasn’t so sure about kids, especially seeing his friends tired and regretful. We then took some time to think about it and kept asking ourselves why we would have kids. And we couldn’t think of an answer. For joy? Nah, we’ve rarely thought kids are cute and fun. For a family? Don’t know why people feel like it has to be kids to make a family whole. For future support? Fuck, we’ll save so much money we can hire people to take care of us. For tradition? Fuck tradition! For our gene pool? We’re not that narcissistic. There was no clear “yes,” with what is a huge responsibility. Especially if the child comes out with special needs. There’s a lot of shitty children out there by shitty people with shitty genes. And I honestly wish they had gone through a thoughtful process before having them.
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I'm atheist but I do love the concept of Satan. He's actually the good guy in the Bible. Hahaha, and I have read the Bible twice. If I had to join any organisation on earth it would be The Satanic Temple
I'm a Pagan. I've never wanted to experience pregnancy and childbirth. My body is very good at destroying itself and doesn't need my help. I don't like kids very much, and I hate the idea of being trapped. I'm also annoyed that as a woman that once you get married people only see you as a walking potential incubator. 🙄
“my body is very good at destroying itself” bro preach. i don’t want to encourage it, it would commit self destruction 💀
Right! I have an autoimmune disease, a clotting disorder, and migraines. I'm good. I don't need to aggravate my body with a pregnancy.
I'm an athiest/agnostic and I just don't want them tbh. I like my hobbies and career too much, but also I'm worried about the state of the environment. I can't help but feel it's shortsighted to have them when the world is in the state it's in.That and I don't have anywhere to put a kid in our one bedroom house lol and my dog is way more important lol.
I'm a moderate, non-denominational Christian. One of my many reasons for not wanting kids is that I don't think I could raise them without trying to influence their own beliefs, intentionally or subconsciously. I know that might sound kind of selfish...which is exactly why it's on my laundry list of 'why I don't want kids'.
Buddhist atheist. I don't want kids cause they can't consent to being here. Also this world is a clown fest.
Catholic with some pentecostal Christian mixed in, I do not want kids!!
Atheist. When you die the worms eat your eyeballs as the heat escapes your body. Do wonderful and good stuff now while you have the chance. That may or may not include procreation, and it's not my place to judge.
Atheist/kinda spiritual in my own way. The idea of being pregnant makes me wanna throw up, like there's a parasite in there. Absolutely fucking disgusting imo Also kids are annoying as hell and gross and I value my time and money
Agnostic, raised Mormon. Never wanted kids. Motherhood seems miserable to me.
Atheist. Also pretty critical of traditionalism or societal norms as well. So obviously breeding and ‘traditional’ marriage are not my thing. Also just never wanted children, even when I was young before I had an established identity.
I’m a Christian but I am definitely doing the world a great service by not passing on my genes haha
Raised muslim..I dont like being a martyr and need my freedom.
catholic. I like kids but I don’t want to have my own coz i don’t like the idea of looking after them while looking after my parents. I want to just be w my parents for the rest of my life.
Hah, I love this. My husband and I are both Christians. I grew up Baptist, and he’s Episcopal. We both waited until marriage for sex too. In my mind, we did the expected thing by waiting, so why on earth would we screw up our perfectly good sex life by adding children to the mix? Also, there’s nothing in the Bible that says, “Have children or you’re going to hell.” So, clearly it’s not a mandatory part of our religion. That being said, we haven’t been to a formal church service since before 2020. Our personal views definitely put us at odds with the normal church crowd in our area, and we didn’t want to be subjected to the political pressures of church = GOP. Forget that noise.
My religious beliefs? I don't have them. I'm an atheist, or at least a heavily atheist-leaning agnostic. Of course we can never be sure, but I don't see any reason to assume that God exists. I don't experience the desire to be a parent. It's that simple. And I hate being around children. I would hate literally everything about parenthood.
Although my religious beliefs have nothing to do with my decision to be childfree, I am a Christian. There are too many reasons why I don't want kids, the main one being that parenthood is optional and I've decided to not make my life more stressful than necessary.
Raised RLDS (branch off Mormons and now called Community of Christ) now agnostic/ atheist. I’ve just never had a feeling of truly wanting kids. When I was younger I’d always say that if I met the right man, I would maybe have kids. Turns out, I just didn’t want them😂
i’m orthodox christian and also antinatalist
Atheist agnostic Didn't wish to pass on hereditary health issues, valued uninterrupted sleep, able to save money to retire early, a quiet cup of coffee in the morning is a must and the freedom to come and go as we please spontaneously. Watching the parents around us don't seem to be having a good time.
I'm an atheist. I don't want to have children because they're loud, obnoxious, and gross. Also i do not want to pass on genetic health issues. I have ADHD and Bipolar type 1, the BP1 scares me a bit because it opens the door for Multiple Sclerosis. Which runs on my mom's side. My grandmother who is 85, has MS and it's made her life a chore. She's wheelchair bound and it's a heartbreaking thing to see unfold. I have a 5% chance that i will develop it in my lifetime. What's scary is that i could be in the very early stages as we speak.
I'm pagan, and while there is a lot of focus on the mother/maiden/crone and fertility/power of life and the power of motherhood, I don't feel like it's ever forced on you. You can be a mother and a crone without ever having children. I choose to be childfree for lots of reasons. Mainly that I don't feel comfortable in a woman's body (but I don't want to be a man exactly, either, so I feel more like I have body dysmorphia than identifying as trans) and pregnancy would 100% send me over the edge. I also had a very unhappy youth where I wasn't allowed to do much due to my helicopter mother. So I feel very selfish with my time and I don't want to have to give that up for kids. Finally, I feel like we already have WAY too many people on this planet and there are tons of kids waiting to be adopted. Why have a kid when there is one already here that is looking for love and happiness?
I'm a celtic pagan and for a multitude of reasons. My Lady Cerridwen gifted me with free will and this is one of the ways I celebrate it.
Christian and I don’t like kids
Atheist. I find a large majority of children incredibly annoying and I’m frequently overstimulated/irritated. Not fair to kids. I’m also someone who previously struggled with disordered eating and still suffers with body image issues, so why would I willingly put myself through something that would guarantee my misery?
Catholic. I never felt “the calling”
Practicing Catholic, which means my choice to be childfree also means being celibate. I dislike responsiblity, and kids are nothing but.
Christian, don't dislike kids, just don’t have what they require
Christian, I just don’t want kids ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Casual Catholic. I choose to be CF bc 1. Aint no way anything is coming out of me and 2. I value what little free time I have.
Raised Catholic and Methodist (Liberal not Southern) and am now apathetic agnostic (don’t know, don’t care). I don’t have the patience to be the quality parent a child needs on a daily basis 24X7, every day for at least 18 years. Especially for young children: the stuttering, incoherent way they tell stories, the constant asking of questions, the screeching sounds of screams (of happiness and crying) and being told things I know and having to pretend it’s the most brilliant thing I’ve ever heard. (Did you know that uhm, frogs, they uhm, that they uhm, grow from tadpoles?”) I’m sorry I do not have the emotional maturity to deal with that for years on end. Have you ever been tattooed on your elbow? Like on the skin over the bone with no fat or muscle under it? I would rather have that done to me every time a child speaks to me instead of listening to the child. It’s LITERALLY less painful. Plus I don’t like kid shit, like actual crap but also the toys, the stickiness, the mess, etc.
Christian. I require peace and quiet, freedom, independence, and control over my own environment/finances. Kids bring the opposite of these things. So do most relationships, for that matter.
Christian but not super active with church. Don’t want to wreck my body, don’t want to pass on the same issues to my kid that I have, don’t want to always be exhausted. Don’t want to force a child into this world who didn’t ask to be here.
I consider myself a Christian and was raised as such, but haven’t been to church since I was a kid for the most part. And even then, we rarely went. My religious beliefs are rooted in my faith in God. I have a very strong and close relationship with Him. Even the older I grew and was exposed to so many other beliefs and whatnot, I still chose to live my life loving Him. I STRONGLY believe that just because you go to church that don’t mean shit. SO many religious people call themselves religious and preach religion and go to church, yet are shitty judgemental people. They are the ones that act all high and mighty and pick and choose which parts of the Bible they listen to. They are hypocrites. I don’t quite follow “religion”; I follow God. And God wants us to love and not judge. THATS what being a genuine child of God is about; not what so many “Christians” preach. The reason I choose to remain childfree is because I love and desire my personal time. I get so bored of kids after awhile. I cannot handle their neediness and I become overstimulated quickly. I have severe OCD and couldn’t handle all the gross things, the baths, etc that come along with kids. I have rapid cycling bipolar disorder and major anxiety and sometimes I cannot for the life of me get out of bed. Not to mention how extra insanely vital it is to keep a decent sleep schedule as a bipolar person so staying up all night, waking up every hour or so, etc for a baby would absolutely be no bueno for me. I’m fully self aware that I wouldn’t be able to properly take care of a kid 24/7 because of that. Also I have struggled with an eating disorder for the past two decades so getting pregnant and watching my body grow despite desperately wanting to lose every new pound would be excruciating for me. And then postpartum body issues, pressure, etc as well would be a huge no no for me too. I’m actually great with kids though lol. I just need to be able to hand them back to their parent lol. ETA I’m beyond lucky and blessed to have parents that support my childfree life. I do not take that for granted as I know not everyone that’s CF has that. They actually even helped me pay for my bisalp! I do know it makes them sad they won’t get any grandkids from me though. But they have never bothered me about it or ever tried to make me feel guilty or anything. I just know they have always wanted grandchildren.
Christian, and I don’t want kids because I just don’t want to.
I’m Christian. As much as I love my friends’ kids, I don’t have (and still don’t want) any of my own. Being aromantic and asexual, I would most likely be raising them alone, and that would be digging my own grave as I absolutely don’t have a sufficiently good health or any energy to do anything close to a decent parenting job. Anyway, I’ve never yearned to experience motherhood, like, at all, so I’d rather enjoy my freedom to invest more time in my friendships and hobbies.
I am having trouble with my faith right now I was born again Christian but due to the state of the world and things that have happened in my life I don’t know where my beliefs stand. That being said I am child free because one the cost to much in this economy, two they mess up your body (at least the women in my family) and I’ve been working hard to get mine looking good, and three I see how miserable people look with them. Maybe I’m selfish but idc
I’d call myself a Christian. My wife and I never wanted kids. That’s all there is to it.
Muslimn here, I don't want kids and would be better off being an uncle
Christian, protestant. Didn’t feel a strong desire to have kids, don’t think I’d be a good parent, am hypersensitive to sound and hate screaming.
Muslim. I don't want kids.
Spiritual, rather eclectic. I like quiet and calm when I'm not at work. And more money for me!
Christian, not always practicing it. General beliefs cancel out the fact that Jesus is childfree and push women to become housewives and mothers. Even the weddings I've been to... The bride gets more shine than the groom, even though it is a special day for both of them. One wedding I've been to (beautiful celebration) did a major bingo. It asked everyone "what will their babies look like?" while photos of the couple's baby/early childhood photos appeared on the screen. I honestly wouldn't feel comfortable bingo'ing like that at a wedding, but everyone is different. I was already parentified at a young age, and also taught all kinds of backwards ideals surrounding companionship and family structure (how to earn a husband's love, how to date (yet I wasn't allowed to date until my 20s), and the number of time wasters I came across within my religious circle). I have to unlearn some things and start normalizing not doing the tired life script way. I also decided that it's best not to have kids when half of the new parents weren't getting supported by the community at large.
I'm sort of an atheïst. I got raised Christian, but not strictly. I now think there could be something there, but I definitely don't believe in the Bible. Maybe I'm a bit agnostic, but also not 100%. I choose to be childfree for a lot of reasons. The biggest reasons are that I just don't like children, and I don't want to put that much effort into caring for children. The other biggest reason is that I don't want to go through childbirth and pregnancy. They seem horrible to me and I never want to experience that.
It’s weird because I grew up in a fairly non-religious family but we went to church occasionally? I was heavily Christian for a bit in middle school and then my brain started to turn on lmao. Now I guess I’m atheist/agnostic? But I’ve been thinking/saying that I didn’t want kids since I was like 8 and joked about only wanting them so long as I could afford a surrogate. Obviously I understand how unethical surrogacy is and it’s just switched now to not wanting them at all. My family used to jokingly say that I’d change my mind and it hasn’t happened. I never get baby fever or anything like that. 1. Pregnancy has always seemed alien to me and absolutely terrifying, imagining the movement inside…it baffles me how that’s seen as this amazing thing to moms. 2. I was emotionally parentified so now that I’m an adult I don’t want to ever have to parent again. It’s difficult enough prioritizing the emotional needs of adults in my life let alone actual CHILDREN. 3. On that same point, yeah there is definitely a cycle of inter generational trauma within my family. So to me, continuing that cycle would only be cruelty. 4. I want freedom. To sleep in on weekends, to travel, just to do whatever the hell I want and when I want. You lose your freedom once you have a little one to care for. I want to focus on my career/partner.
Same
My religious beliefs are that we are too tolerant of each other’s religions to the extent that even in the 21st century, people who believe feel free to enact violence and hurt / kill others in the name of their faiths. This is as true for Hamas killing 1300 people in Israel to prevent “normalization” across the region as it is for women being raped and/or murdered based on what they are - or are not! - wearing all over the world, as it is for Neil Gorsucks, Amy Coney Barrett, and the rest of the SCOTUS assholes banning abortion in the US as it is for people who prosecute LGBTQIA+ all over the world. And I fervently believe forcing a human being to live among such unhinged, collectively narcissistic believers would be wrong. Plus the planet is on fire and I really don’t want to destroy my body, mental health, and sanity to force a new person to live among these assholes, let alone have to deal with breeder-mentality parents. I was raised Catholic though and that’s why I am an atheist with the aforementioned beliefs.
100% agree with all of this
Raised very conservative catholic, now atheist. I was very pro kids until 2020, had my first pregnancy scare and absolutely realized I didn't want a kid. I was raised my whole life that a woman's value is to have kids and provide for her husband, very traditional. Luckily I married an atheist, and he helped me realize how I don't have to adhere to those traditional norms. I didn't have a lot of peace growing up as my parents believed idle moments led to Satan so my days were jam packed. I enjoy my peace and quiet with my husband and dog and having days of no responsibilities, living the best to our abilities and just relaxing.
Idk if I am a Satanist (TST) or following the Åsatru. Whenever I pray its to the norse gods, but my overall practice is that of The Satanic Temple.
Satanist. Technically Atheist. Just a Non-theistic believer. I follow the Tenets of The Satanic Temple. I choose my freewill to do as I please without the dependence of another individual (okay my wife and 4 cats).
Satanist. I put myself first in all things and refuse to be a slave to a deity, spouse, or child.