When do you teach your child about other religions?

[Anonymous]

Our children learned in Religious Exploration in our UU Congregation. When they were there, 3rd grade and 7th grade were whole year curriculums devoted to learning about other religions and some of their holidays. The curriculum has undergone a drastic overhaul, so I am not sure what years cover those topics now. There were other Congregation wide activities that also brought in other religions throughout the year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Public school’s insistence of ensuring that kids are educated on different religions = me not having to do anything.

Kids learn about whatever in school but know that we are Protestants and go to a Methodist church and accept Jesus as lord. That is our life and our family. I don’t go out of my way to ensure any other religion gets “equal exposure.” Do we wuestion Muslims about how much their kids know about Christianity or Judiasm or atheism?

It is not a pissing contest! I want my kids to know and understand all major religions! The key for us is to have friends of all different faiths and share in their celebrations and rituals as well as visit their houses of worship. We definitely started the “conversation” around three - by five it got clearer for them.

All of us shared books on our faiths.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD is almost three-years-old and goes to a Jewish preschool. We don’t keep kosher or have any food restrictions at home but her one set of grandparents are more observant and do keep kosher. We celebrate Shabbat every Friday. DD’s beloved nanny and her best friend are Catholic. Her best friend’s nanny is Muslim.

How do we teach our religion while introducing other religions? She will not be attending a Jewish school beyond preschool.

TIA

Your child will easily grasp your religion as part of family tradition. When nanny and best friend are at your Shabbat, invite them to say their Grace too - same with the nanny and an Islamic blessing. Start there, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Probably around 2 when she noticed Christmas lights. "Other people believe _____. We believe _______."

I am not crazy about telling my child what she believes. Is there another way to phrase this as a Jewish parent?

Atheist, but same. I will say “Your dad and I believe...”

Just say “Jews believe...”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public school’s insistence of ensuring that kids are educated on different religions = me not having to do anything.

Kids learn about whatever in school but know that we are Protestants and go to a Methodist church and accept Jesus as lord. That is our life and our family. I don’t go out of my way to ensure any other religion gets “equal exposure.” Do we wuestion Muslims about how much their kids know about Christianity or Judiasm or atheism?

It is not a pissing contest! I want my kids to know and understand all major religions! The key for us is to have friends of all different faiths and share in their celebrations and rituals as well as visit their houses of worship. We definitely started the “conversation” around three - by five it got clearer for them.

All of us shared books on our faiths.

You are quite ignorant. Muslims know a lot about Judaism and Christianity. A large portion of the Quran is dedicated to Jewish and Christian beliefs - some portions focus on the similarities between Judaism, Christianity and Islam (Jews and Christians are considered to be people of the book); while other portions focus on the differences. Muslims believe in the Jewish prophets as well as Jesus, John, and Mary. However they believe that Jesus is merely a prophet and not the son of God. Believing in the prophets is an article of faith for Muslims as is believing in the holy books (Torah, Bible, Psalms of David, etc). However they believe that the message has been tampered with. They vehemently oppose the trinity and in that sense are closer to Jews in their beliefs

[Anonymous]

Everyone is different.<insert appropriate example here> Ie They celebrate Christmas, we celebrate Chanukah.

The end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Probably around 2 when she noticed Christmas lights. "Other people believe _____. We believe _______."

I am not crazy about telling my child what she believes. Is there another way to phrase this as a Jewish parent?

“They do this. They may believe that. Our religion espouses (says) this other thing. I believe some variation of whatever. You are still learning, and you’ll figure out what you believe.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This may be OT, but how do you teach your child WHAT a religion is in the first place? It seems awfully abstract for children who take everything literally. Like if they learn a creation story, isn't that going to conflict with scientific explanation later? What do you tell them, there are just two stories and some people believe one . . . ?

I think you have to get your head around your own idea of religion first. We teach (and were taught by our own parents) that there are many stories of different faiths (and even within a single faith, variations on a story) to explain the world, and different people believe different things to different degrees. You can believe in a story down to the specific details, or believe in a story conceptually but not literally. (This actually prompted a great conversation with my then-5yo about the difference between a story that you know is not true and a lie.)

Obviously, though, this doesn't work with a more rigid faith.

Well, there’s new Earth creationism which decries evolution and geology, old Earth creationism which supports geology (and maybe some evolution, usually not evolution of humanity), and intelligent design (can encompass everything scientific, including the Big Bang). The more Orthodox the faith, the closer you get to new Earth creationism. I personally believe in intelligent design, as I don’t know that so many coincidences would have happened (science says that it’s a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a percent) without an intelligent brain and compassionate heart behind it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public school’s insistence of ensuring that kids are educated on different religions = me not having to do anything.

Kids learn about whatever in school but know that we are Protestants and go to a Methodist church and accept Jesus as lord. That is our life and our family. I don’t go out of my way to ensure any other religion gets “equal exposure.” Do we wuestion Muslims about how much their kids know about Christianity or Judiasm or atheism?

It is not a pissing contest! I want my kids to know and understand all major religions! The key for us is to have friends of all different faiths and share in their celebrations and rituals as well as visit their houses of worship. We definitely started the “conversation” around three - by five it got clearer for them.

All of us shared books on our faiths.

You are quite ignorant. Muslims know a lot about Judaism and Christianity. A large portion of the Quran is dedicated to Jewish and Christian beliefs - some portions focus on the similarities between Judaism, Christianity and Islam (Jews and Christians are considered to be people of the book); while other portions focus on the differences. Muslims believe in the Jewish prophets as well as Jesus, John, and Mary. However they believe that Jesus is merely a prophet and not the son of God. Believing in the prophets is an article of faith for Muslims as is believing in the holy books (Torah, Bible, Psalms of David, etc). However they believe that the message has been tampered with. They vehemently oppose the trinity and in that sense are closer to Jews in their beliefs

And what do you teach your children about Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, Zorastrians, Jains?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This may be OT, but how do you teach your child WHAT a religion is in the first place? It seems awfully abstract for children who take everything literally. Like if they learn a creation story, isn't that going to conflict with scientific explanation later? What do you tell them, there are just two stories and some people believe one . . . ?

I think you have to get your head around your own idea of religion first. We teach (and were taught by our own parents) that there are many stories of different faiths (and even within a single faith, variations on a story) to explain the world, and different people believe different things to different degrees. You can believe in a story down to the specific details, or believe in a story conceptually but not literally. (This actually prompted a great conversation with my then-5yo about the difference between a story that you know is not true and a lie.)

Obviously, though, this doesn't work with a more rigid faith.

Well, there’s new Earth creationism which decries evolution and geology, old Earth creationism which supports geology (and maybe some evolution, usually not evolution of humanity), and intelligent design (can encompass everything scientific, including the Big Bang). The more Orthodox the faith, the closer you get to new Earth creationism. I personally believe in intelligent design, as I don’t know that so many coincidences would have happened (science says that it’s a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a percent) without an intelligent brain and compassionate heart behind it.

You should consider watching the NOVA episode on the Dover School Board case. It's available on YouTube here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HZzGXnYL5I

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This may be OT, but how do you teach your child WHAT a religion is in the first place? It seems awfully abstract for children who take everything literally. Like if they learn a creation story, isn't that going to conflict with scientific explanation later? What do you tell them, there are just two stories and some people believe one . . . ?

I think you have to get your head around your own idea of religion first. We teach (and were taught by our own parents) that there are many stories of different faiths (and even within a single faith, variations on a story) to explain the world, and different people believe different things to different degrees. You can believe in a story down to the specific details, or believe in a story conceptually but not literally. (This actually prompted a great conversation with my then-5yo about the difference between a story that you know is not true and a lie.)

Obviously, though, this doesn't work with a more rigid faith.

Well, there’s new Earth creationism which decries evolution and geology, old Earth creationism which supports geology (and maybe some evolution, usually not evolution of humanity), and intelligent design (can encompass everything scientific, including the Big Bang). The more Orthodox the faith, the closer you get to new Earth creationism. I personally believe in intelligent design, as I don’t know that so many coincidences would have happened (science says that it’s a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a percent) without an intelligent brain and compassionate heart behind it.

You should consider watching the NOVA episode on the Dover School Board case. It's available on YouTube here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HZzGXnYL5I

I’m aware. I also know it’s just about the only way I can reconcile faith and science. Since I’m a firm believer in teaching religion basics only in the context of history and cultures, definitely not in science class, I don’t see an issue. And I think it’s a travesty that a students artwork was destroyed because someone decided their opinion counted more than someone else’s.

[Anonymous]

I don't plan on teaching my kids a whole lot about other religions. This is the religion we practice. Her preschool is already teaching about different holiday traditions and religions of other cultures.

[Anonymous]

I have talked to my kids about different beliefs since they hear things from their friends. So we talk about how jesus, buddah, mohammed were all spiritual leaders. Some people believe in one god and some believe in many. We talk about greek gods and some hindu, since I only know a few of them. Some believe in nature and god is in everything. Some people don't believe there is a god. But no one is right or wrong and we respect everyone's right to decide for them self what works for them.