Have you taught your children about other faiths?

wil

wil

UNeyeR1
Veteran Member
Messages
25,070
Reaction score
4,436
Points
108
Location
a figment of your imagination
My kids were about 3 when my wife decided they should go to Sunday School to get some religious education.

Now we (neither of us) were religious, in the thirteen years we had been married we only stepped in church for weddings, funerals, baptisms and the occasional midnight mass when she wanted to go for old times sake.

So I said there is a Lutheran church down the block....we can send them with 5$ for the offering, "No, we need to go, to set an example"

So I took them to a Unity Church that I was told I might like. Dropped them off and went into the service, in the sanctuary there were wall hangings down both sides of the various religions. I thought hmmm. The speaker was a native American speaking of the great spirit and the way of her people...hmmm.

The kids enjoyed it, I enjoyed it, and within a month or two I was helping with the kids once a month and attending service every week. And until they went off to college I began teaching Sunday school every week (for teachers the church gave us a cd or audio tape of the service.so I rarely attended church and listened while commuting)

As a.sunday school teacher I brought in books or worksheets or lay people from various religions to talk a out Judaism, Islam, Baha'i, Buddhism, Hinduism, And more, Catholicism, Methodists (we were a liberal Christian denomination...who incorporated thought from other sources....so there beliefs differed as much as the others)

My kids ended up as atheist/agnostic as I. (Maybe more) My son took world religions in college and took me to mosques and temples as part of his studies when he was home.

Now I see teaching one belief a d eschewing others as more religious indoctrination than education, but again, this is my belief.

How about you? What did you teach/share with your kids, and what did they end up?
 
No. They will probably learn the way I learnt. If they don't, then also it makes no difference. Life goes on.
 
  • Like
Reactions: wil
While I didn't actually teach any religions unless they asked specific questions about them, my daughters understood/understand that they were/are free to explore different paths and settle on one that fit their views and needs or not to settle on anything at all. They were/are aware of the path I walk and the path their mother, grandparents, and great-grandparents followed, but were not required by me to attend any services or worship.

My elder daughter was a Christo-Pagan and my younger daughter is agnostic.
 
I only have one child who has been at the age to understand religions. But she is my stepdaughter who I eventually adopted. She was raised Catholic, so I respected her biological father's wishes and had her attend Catholic services. But she eventually started picking up on my curiosity of other religions. She has learned a lot about other religions just by being around me. It has been nice because she doesn't feel odd being around other cultures. She is aware of customs and practices that are norms in other cultures. She also knows a bit about ancient pagan and native American religions. I raised her to be honest and to have an open mind. Her religious beliefs are her own, but she is on her own path. She is an absolute sweetheart who is full of love and happiness. So I know she'll do well in life.
 
Aupmanyav said:
They will probably learn the way I learnt. If they don't, then also it makes no difference. Life goes on.
Click to expand...
They has learnt (the elder grandson), they are learning (younger grandson), by traditions that we follow in our house, their interaction with their friends, by what they read and experience. They will revise what they have learnt as they grow older. That is how it happened with me.
 
moralorel said:
She is aware of customs and practices that are norms in other cultures
Click to expand...

I think learning about other cultures and religions is huge in personal development.

I have met many in my area who have not seem the ocean...and it is 3 hours away.

Nearly six in 10 young adults live within 10 miles of where they grew up, and eight in 10 live within 100 miles, according to a new study by researchers at the U.S. Census Bureau and Harvard University.
 
wil said:
Nearly six in 10 young adults live within 10 miles of where they grew up, and eight in 10 live within 100 miles, according to a new study by researchers at the U.S. Census Bureau and Harvard University.
Click to expand...
Place and the house where we grew up has a strong attraction to many. My son says he won't sell the house where he grew up.
But we did sell our ancestral house in Jodhpur. Four families of us brothers are now in Delhi for upward of 50 years. But it remains in my thoughts, as I was most connected with it.
 
wil said:
I think learning about other cultures and religions is huge in personal development.

I have met many in my area who have not seem the ocean...and it is 3 hours away.

Nearly six in 10 young adults live within 10 miles of where they grew up, and eight in 10 live within 100 miles, according to a new study by researchers at the U.S. Census Bureau and Harvard University.
Click to expand...
I live over a thousand miles from the ocean. I made sure my daughter and my son were able to experience it. When my wife was pregnant with our first son, she spent a lot of time by the ocean talking to him while he was in the womb. After he was born we took him there and he immediately fell in love. If he sees the ocean on TV he gets excited and shouts out "oshun!". Our next son is due soon and he will get to see the ocean in a few months. My wife and I were born into close-minded families. I swear we were both adopted because we both hate staying in one place.

When my boys are little bit older we'll continue international travel. My daughter gets to pick our next international trip so I guess we're going to France. You are definitely correct that learning about other cultures and religions is huge in personal development. That's why I refuse to allow my children to be content with life in just one place, eating the same foods over and over, speaking only one language, and being ignorant to the outside world.
 
  • Like
Reactions: wil
SalixIncendium said:
While I didn't actually teach any religions unless they asked specific questions about them, my daughters understood/understand that they were/are free to explore different paths and settle on one that fit their views and needs or not to settle on anything at all. They were/are aware of the path I walk and the path their mother, grandparents, and great-grandparents followed, but were not required by me to attend any services or worship.

My elder daughter was a Christo-Pagan and my younger daughter is agnostic.
Click to expand...
Is she not still a Christo-Pagan?
 
We try to include the kids in on whatever we're doing, and let them ask questions as they're interested.

My oldest is 18 now, and isn't terribly interested in religion. He says his beliefs are probably Pagan, and he's strongly polytheistic, but he isn't interested in practice.

The first time he had a religious question, he was in 1st grade. He hardly talked back then, but came off the school bus and asked "Mom, can you tell me about Buddha?" I did my best. He had an affinity for him, and kept a picture of him at his desk, to remind him to be mindful at school.

My middle son, at 11, has severe disabilities. He's aware of religion, but isn't aware that there's multiple ones. Its all the same to him. He likes religious icons. Krishna is his friend. Mother Mary is his friend. Papa Legba is his friend. Booba(Buddha, he struggles to pronounce it) is his friend. The idea of reincarnation makes him giddy.

My youngest son is 6, and largely not concerned yet. But, he'll listen to stories and likes to hear about where his name came from.
 
One of my daughters has a degree in Religion and Philosophy. She did her final thesis on Buddhism.

A friend of hers did her final on Christianity, and my daughter asked if I'd be happy to answer questions. I was doing my degree at the time.

So we had a fruitful exchange where she would ask questions and I would answer with background and views and suggested reading.

One day, she asked my daughter, "Is your dad God?"
"No," she said. "But they get on quite well."

My wife once said to me, "You're more Buddhist than you care to admit."

+++

Teaching your kids about other faiths is like teaching your kids about other football teams ... you can teach them to have an open mind, but if someone wants to know a faith they gotta do it, there's no other way.
 
Thomas said:
Teaching your kids about other faiths is like teaching your kids about other football teams ... you can teach them to have an open mind, but if someone wants to know a faith they gotta do it, there's no other way.
Click to expand...
Spot on in my "belief".

To me...not exposing your children to other faiths is setting you both up for some disappointment

Thomas said:
"You're more Buddhist than you care to admit."
Click to expand...
I can see that and I have been accused of similar.
 
wil said:
My kids were about 3 when my wife decided they should go to Sunday School to get some religious education.

Now we (neither of us) were religious, in the thirteen years we had been married we only stepped in church for weddings, funerals, baptisms and the occasional midnight mass when she wanted to go for old times sake.

So I said there is a Lutheran church down the block....we can send them with 5$ for the offering, "No, we need to go, to set an example"

So I took them to a Unity Church that I was told I might like. Dropped them off and went into the service, in the sanctuary there were wall hangings down both sides of the various religions. I thought hmmm. The speaker was a native American speaking of the great spirit and the way of her people...hmmm.

The kids enjoyed it, I enjoyed it, and within a month or two I was helping with the kids once a month and attending service every week. And until they went off to college I began teaching Sunday school every week (for teachers the church gave us a cd or audio tape of the service.so I rarely attended church and listened while commuting)

As a.sunday school teacher I brought in books or worksheets or lay people from various religions to talk a out Judaism, Islam, Baha'i, Buddhism, Hinduism, And more, Catholicism, Methodists (we were a liberal Christian denomination...who incorporated thought from other sources....so there beliefs differed as much as the others)

My kids ended up as atheist/agnostic as I. (Maybe more) My son took world religions in college and took me to mosques and temples as part of his studies when he was home.

Now I see teaching one belief a d eschewing others as more religious indoctrination than education, but again, this is my belief.

How about you? What did you teach/share with your kids, and what did they end up?
Click to expand...
I have not 'taught' my kids about 'any' religions/faiths/belief systems, rather I have a very large library in my home to which I encouraged them to explore. All of my kids are devout atheists.
 
Yes I taught my children about other beliefs. I also taught them why Christianity is the truth. Both are followers of Jesus Christ. I feel very blessed because so many parents these days are not secure in their childrens salvation.

Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.
 
No thats a Proverb. I raised my kids to revere God. You cant force Christianity on people. They made the choice to accept Jesus Christ in their teens.. they chose to be baptized on their own. There was no pressure from me or it would be false. I just gave them the tools.. the bible and prayer. And biblical answers to lots of questions. Both of them faced persecution from athiest teachers in school.. they would come home and ask questions from things their teachers said while mocking them for their beliefs. Thats not right.

I taught mine that God establishes all authority and while its ok to question we still have to submit.
 
Faithfulservant said:
Yes I taught my children about other beliefs. I also taught them why Christianity is the truth. Both are followers of Jesus Christ. I feel very blessed because so many parents these days are not secure in their childrens salvation.

Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.
Click to expand...
No, I was aware of religious indoctrination, including my own Beliefs (Satanic) very early on and I never wanted to impart anything onto my children's clear slate of mind. I only offered information instead of indoctrinating them into a parental mindset.
 
Faithfulservant said:
Yes I taught my children about other beliefs. I also taught them why Christianity is the truth. Both are followers of Jesus Christ. I feel very blessed because so many parents these days are not secure in their childrens salvation.

Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.
Click to expand...
Here's some of that 'HARD' stuff everyone has been pushing me to address

1) How do you know Christianity is the truth?
2) "Train Up a Child" seems to me like religious child indoctrination, which means that a parent(s) has decided to take a clean slate of a child's mind and poison it with ideas that cannot be verified or proven. The child doesn't have a chance to explore other belief systems without feelings of guilt and shame.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top