How to teach a child about religion?
By GemmaR
@GemmaR (8517)
October 25, 2012 3:40pm CST
I have always been a believer that the most important thing with regards to religion is that every single person is allowed to have their own beliefs, and these should not be mocked by anybody. However, how would you teach your child about religion without just trying to make them believe what you do, as surely this wouldn't give them their OWN beliefs.
Would you encourage them to read the bible (or the book of your religion) or to listen to information in school, or even search the internet to find discussions about it?
I think that I would bring up my child to believe in the same things as me, but then I would also have to make sure that I gave them the chance to change their mind if there was anything that they didn't agree with me on.
2 people like this
6 responses
@Pose123 (21635)
• Canada
25 Oct 12
Hi GemmaR, I would not want them indoctrinated into any religion as it would make it more difficult for them to choose for themselves as an adult. I agree with you that each person should decide for themselves and that includes the choice to be an atheist. I feel that atheists too should go along with this and not put down those who believe in a God or Gods etc. When we push our beliefs unto our children, we are really taking away their freedom to make their own choice as an adult. I see nothing wrong with the schools teaching the different religious beliefs without comment. Of course schools should also teach the theory of evolution. If a child wishes to read the Bible or any other Holy book, of course they should be allowed to do so, but they should be encouraged to wait and see how they feel about the whole thing when they reach adulthood. It might be okay to take your child to church sometimes if they want to go, but they should not be sent to Sunday school, although there could be a play time for young children and a discussion on morals and good citizenship for older children.Children should not be encouraged to go to church as that would be a sign of pushing them in a certain way. If a child wants to attend a church with different beliefs from their parents, than the parents should go along as we can all learn something from each other. I realize that all of this would be difficult but teach children such things as respect for others,honesty, compassion, good citizenship etc and they will make wise choices as adults. Blessings.
@Pose123 (21635)
• Canada
26 Oct 12
Hi again GemmaR, I understand your point of view but I'm not saying that any belief should be taught as being true. The children should be told that this is what some people believe and it would include the theory of evolution and the different Christian views, as well as that of other religions. No one would be trying to push one thing on a child but they hear different points of view. Blessings.
@GemmaR (8517)
•
26 Oct 12
I agree that religion should not force people into believing things, but I think that it is hard for children to remain open minded when they are constantly in the presence of people who hold certain beliefs about things. For example, if a child was taught something at school, I am sure that they would believe in that thing because of the fact that there is no reason for them to believe that their school should be lying to them. So I am not sure how I would act if they were told information that I do not believe to be true.
@mariaperalta (19073)
• Mexico
25 Oct 12
I think we should leave the church to teach our kids religion. We can show them the way, but the church should teach them. Thats just my opinion.
@GemmaR (8517)
•
26 Oct 12
But this is just it; every church teaches a different way, so how do we make the decision about which church our child will go to? Of course it makes sense that they should go to the same one as us when they are very young, if only because of the fact that they're not able to look after themselves, but what about when they get older and can start thinking about other churches that they could go to which hold slightly different beliefs? Would you allow your child to make their own decisions or just force them to carry on worshipping at your church.
@luizpetherson (1)
•
26 Oct 12
the best way to teach a child about god is, not teach him at all. Why because when you make a child believe in god, that child will give all of his responsibility's to something that is not existent, hopping that his responsibility's are made. So don't tell him about god let him make his own decisions.
@savypat (20216)
• United States
26 Oct 12
In my childhood home, religion was taught as history. All things were possible and no religion was wrong, at the same time all the results of use of religion for powerwere examined. But I also went to church school and was exposed to the dogma of formal religion. This made for a rocky road and as a teenager I was asked to leave that school. But this also contain a valuable lesson, I learned that fear was often a great item in many formal religions. The end result was that I have no religious beliefs but am a spritual person.
@GemmaR (8517)
•
26 Oct 12
I think that the lesson that no religions are wrong is certainly an important one. A lot of the children who are taught that their religion is the only one that is any good are the ones who will get into trouble in the future for not being able to see other people's point of view and judging them as wrong just because they don't hold the same beliefs as they do. It's good that you learned lessons from your teenage years, and it is certainly very important that we all learn things even though they might sometimes go wrong.
@natliegleb (5175)
• India
26 Oct 12
well it all depends,just encourage them and make them believe which is quite important for sure at the end of the day
@GemmaR (8517)
•
26 Oct 12
The point that I am trying to make is that I don't think that I could "make" them believe anything. I wouldn't want to, because one of the things that I didn't like when I was at school was that the beliefs of the teachers were presented as fact, and there was nothing to say what people could do if they didn't have these beliefs. I always want my children to have the freedom of choice, as it is incredibly important that they're able to believe in something fully because they think it's the truth rather than because other people tell them that they should believe in it.
@auwielady (116)
• Philippines
26 Oct 12
I guess the first thing that we should teach our kids (future kids) about this aspect is respect. They have to learn to respect the religion and beliefs of others at a very young age. They will surely be exposed to different kinds of religions and beliefs most especially if they start to go to school.
Aside from that of course is their relationship with God. Just like what they say, real education starts at home. Then most likely, their relationship with God will also start if they will witness their parents' relationship with Him and God's greatness in their lives.
@GemmaR (8517)
•
26 Oct 12
Yes I do think that you're right about having to talk about respect to your children. There are a lot of people who have different beliefs and are different in other ways, but this doesn't always mean that they don't deserve exactly the same amount of respect as other people do. If children learn from when they're very young to be able to tolerate differences in people then this is something that is almost certainly going to mean that they will get a head start in life rather than having to learn this the hard way through wars and things like that.
