Posted byAmber sent this question about teaching kids about religion — what do you do when you want your kids to know about as many religions as possible but you aren’t well-versed in them?
Does anyone out there know of any books we can read (especially children’s books, as our children are one and three right now)? We’d also love to get as much advice as possible. This has been an ongoing argument with my husband and I, and we are trying to find a compromise and not inflict our children with our own tainted beliefs.
How have you guys introduced your children to various religious and spiritual thoughts and beliefs?
I’ve found the best thing to say is “I’m not sure; what do you think?”
We say this all the time at the dinner table. I think that kids will start out asking what you believe and following that, but will branch out to think other things as they grow older. You don’t necessarily have to teach them about other religions to let them decide on their own what they believe. My husband recently took a religion class and we would talk at the table about things that he had learned. Our boys are now older enough (7 & 9- not counting the baby) to participate in discussions. We make a point to say “Dad and I believe this”, rather that “We believe this”. We’ve asked them what they think on the subject. We keep the door open for them to ask us any questions on religious stories that they hear.
When they were younger, I think they liked the routine of religious things, like prayer. So, I created a prayer out of a couple of poems that I would say to them every night. Now that they are older, they have grown out of it. When they were younger, we made more of a point to celebrate the seasons, like Easter, in our own way, so that they didn’t feel like they were being left out of something that their friends got to do. This year, they’ve said they just really want their baskets, not games and stuff (read: all I want is chocolate).
I don’t think one answer or style works all the time. As parents, we look at what the child needs at the moment and find a way to provide what the child needs, like a community to provide security, prayers to provide comfort, or chocolate…lol.
My partner and I love our Unitarian Universalist church! Our daughter is one, and for her dedication (similar to a baptism, except better!) our minister included our beliefs of a Goddess and what not…amazing!
Here are some books from the UUA website that may be of help to you!
http://www.uua.org/publications/skinnerhouse/browseskinner/13875.shtml
I think there’s nothing more offbeat than a UU Mama!
It’s weird because in my family I’m the atheist and my husband is agnostic. He is more spiritual than me, but bristles at the idea of even letting our child near a religion. My mother is agnostic, but she sent me to a Christian elementary school so I could get both sides of the coin… thus enabling me to make an informed decision when the time came.
Although I consider myself atheist, I also know that this is a decision that will never be permanent, (since no stance on it is 100%.) I know this is something my child will encounter often in their life, and I want them to be educated and informed.
I’m not sure how we are going to work this one out, but since I’m only 18 weeks, we have some time!
Am I the only person who was raised nothing and is a Christian? Actually, I’m more of a Universalist for whom Christianity happens to work as a spiritual path. I don’t believe in the Trinity either, so maybe that makes me a unitarian too. Anyway.
The things that are important to me about Christianity as a religion (being generous, righting injustice, reserving judgement, bridging barriers, anti-materialism…seriously, read the gospels) are present in a lot of other religions, and I can appreciate anyone’s religion or spirituality that leads someone to think outside of themselves and care about/for others. I attend a small church plant back home that is technically Free Methodist, but practically whatever we make it. While in England, I’ve got back in with the Quakers or Friends, who are open to interpretations of God as God speaks to them (they hold “open worship” which is mostly just silence). http://quaker.org For them, social justice, simplicity, and environmentalism are spiritual practices. I like Quakers because they’re EXTREMELY short on talk and long on action. Exposing kids to a spirituality that is open to inspiration from any religion gives them a choice, and gives them a connection to you as a person of faith, even if they don’t identify with your personal faith
I fully intend to take my kids to Spiral Scouts, a kind of pagan alternative to Boy/Girl Scouts, even though I’m not pagan. http://www.spiralscouts.org/
Thank you all for the idea of attending a UU church! My husband and I are both atheist but have been missing out on the joys of attending church. Church-goers are so nice and welcoming. We want to be a part of that-have that joy in our lives. We are also expecting our first child and want to show them their options. So I googled UU and sure enough, we have a church in our area. Thanks again!
No one’s mentioned Quakerism yet? Or are we on the second page? 🙂
We’re raising our daughter in a Quaker family (British, so unprogrammed/liberal) with one Christian and one Agnostic parent. I’m still working out how to raise her without pushing any beliefs on her, though I hope that ‘that of God in everyone’ and ‘live adventurously’ stick!
I’m trying to give her an understanding of the main religions, and I’m interested to see where her spiritual journey takes her.
Wow! This is fantastic. First, I find this awesome site…then…I see posts about UU! It warms my heart to see so people cheering for the UU.
And I agree. The UU is a great way to teach your children about different ideas and faiths. 🙂 I’m the current Religious Education Chairperson at my UU – and I agree with the resources that people have suggested earlier. The UUA website has many book suggestions about this very topic. Check it out.