Everyone talks about the nature versus nurture debate, but I've not heard anything about the effects of being raised with a philosophy. (And when it comes down to it, isn't religion, or even a lack of religion or faith, really a philosophy, a way of living?) Being raised without a religion, I can't really participate in the debate of what it means to be Jewish or Catholic or atheist or anything else. I wasn't raised atheist--my parents just never talked about God at all. I know that the effect it had on me was that after a lot of research, I found my own faith, and I think that's really worked out for me. I've often said that I'm the type of person who would have automatically rejected any dogma just because it was dogma, so I'm glad that I was left to find my own path. Then again, you never know--things could have turned out completely differently, so speculation is really quite useless.
Looking at how your parents' philosophy affects your own philosophy and the results of your life would be an interesting study, though. I think that designing it would be somewhat daunting, though, because where do you start? What kinds of questions can you ask that would gauge how a fundamental belief/world outlook affects one's life?
I'm just brainstorming here... Sorry about the puddles.
