Religious Freedom 101
By: Trish Allison
Tags: Equality, Kids, Religious Freedom, Holidays, Parenting

Teach your kids the basics during the holidays.

Let’s be honest. Religious freedom isn’t top of mind for any kid right now (or adult, for that matter). But if you can subtly weave the subject into daily conversations, you’ll be doing your kids an enormous favor. Once the 2020 nightmare is over, equality, human rights, and decency will (hopefully) become a priority again.

Randomly offer nuggets of information about religious equality by discussing your own family’s religion (if you have one), all religions’ common denominator (hope), and the importance of respecting others. Keep it simple. ​

Discuss your family’s religious traditions

Before talking about other religions, your child must understand their own family’s religious background. Share your family’s religious history as part of the fabric of your family.

When you broach the subject, make your child feel like you’re sharing special information with them. The goal is to help them feel pride in their own faith, first, so they can connect that feeling to friends and family who worship a different religion.

Does your family have any religious rituals? Traditional ones? New ones? Kids love to talk about things their family does together.

​After you have helped your child feel a sense of pride about your own family’s religious traditions, be sure to mention that other families most likely have their own religious traditions that give them the same kind of warm feeling. ​ ​

Offer a ‘religious equality’ simple definition

​Here’s a definition of religious equality you can offer that’s easy to understand:

‘Religious equality means treating all people who have different religious beliefs with kindness and respect.’

By providing a simple explanation, you’re not only giving your child an easy-to-process definition, but you’re also giving them confidence in their ability to understand a complicated subject. Confidence is key here. You want to get them interested in the subject.

This is a good time to offer a personal scenario. Kids seem to absorb information most efficiently when related to a personal story told by their parent(s). Maybe you talked with a friend and misspoke about a certain religion without knowing it was their faith? Describe how you felt. Anything else?

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Sharing your own feelings is a good way to emphasize that just because someone follows a different religious faith with unique traditions does not make them bad. Just different.​

Explain the common threads of worldwide religions

Now that you’ve offered a simple definition of religious equality provide a way to connect all religions. The goal is to teach children that all religions are equally worthy of kindness and respect, not just the one that’s most popular.

Even though the way that individual religions celebrate their faith (e.g., holidays, food, clothing, music, etc.) might be different, all religions share the same basic principles. ​The common threads of all worldwide religions are ‘hope’ and ‘love.’

​Connect this concept to how your family feels when they do their own rituals together. Is there anything your family does to express hope and love for each other after a ritual? Hugs? Gift-giving? Food? Talking about life’s blessings? The future? It can be anything.

Hopefully, the idea of a ‘common thread’ will make it easier for your child to fully digest the importance of religious freedom.

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However, while discussing common religious principles, keep in mind that if you try to convince your child that all religions are the same without acknowledging individual differences, you’re giving them a reason to distrust anything else you say about the subject. Your child is likely quite aware that religions can be very unique, so trying to convince them they’re not different is a losing battle.

​Finally, the truth is that every family has their own way of celebrating holidays and parenting styles vary among households. Whether your family is strongly religious or decidedly not religious, when your kids exit your front door, they’ll be growing up in a diverse world with people who have a variety of religious beliefs. Take time to teach them the basics now.

Please note: This article offers talking points to consider only. Of course you know your child best.​​