Dear Parents,
Lately there have been a lot of posts going around Facebook and other social media sites where parents have refused to allow their children to complete school assignments regarding other religions. This behavior has been applauded and encouraged by many. As someone who grew up with Muslim neighbors and close Jewish friends, I always knew a good bit about those religions. I attended many bat mitzvahs and bar mitzvahs and went to temple a few times. I had discussions with my Muslim neighbor many times, and she would explain her views to me. I found it interesting to know why she believes what she believes, but our conversations just made me more certain that I made the right decision to follow the religion I was raised in.
I am a Christian. I’m not a perfect one by any means, but I do know what I believe in. In 6th grade, I went to a private Christian Academy. In biology, they made us completely skip the part of the textbook that explained the Big Bang Theory. Instead, we brought our Bibles to school that day and read Genesis 1. When I transferred to a public school the next year when we moved, I was so confused when I had to read about the Big Bang Theory. But learning about the Big Bang Theory taught me how to argue against it. In 7th grade, I learned about all of the other religions for my World History class. I had to know The Pillars of Islam, The Ten Commandments, and many other elements of different religions. My parents weren’t offended. If anything, my dad was upset when I got any grade below an A.
The best offense is a good defense, and you can’t have a good defense against people who have different beliefs if you aren’t prepared. If you don’t learn the opposition, how are you supposed to know what you stand against?
My parents always encouraged me to learn about other religions, and learn more about other factions of Christianity. I was raised Baptist, but I have attended Presbyterian and Methodist churches, and I’ve gone to Catholic mass a few times in college.
It is ridiculous to tell teachers that your child will not be doing classwork that teaches about Islam or Judaism. If you do not let your child learn about the world while they’re young enough that you can shape their thoughts and answer their questions, then they’ll learn it later on when you have no control. If you’re scared to let them learn more about the world, then you have to question your own parenting skills. If you’re doing your job as a parent correctly, you shouldn’t have to worry about your child learning about other religions. They might have questions or doubts about Christianity when they learn about other religions, but that gives you an opportunity to build them up more and teach them more.
I know I don’t have kids, but when I do, they will be raised the same way I have been. I'm 21 now. Not a child, but definitely not ready to be a parent. However, I don’t have to have kids to know the right thing to do because I look at my parents and know that they taught me the right way. I understand being concerned that your children will be negatively influenced or that teachers will teach more about one religion than your own; but there are so many things that students learn at school that their parents don’t know about, and you just have to believe that you raised your child to make the right decisions. If you’re worried you didn’t raise them to make the right choices, then you have to look in the mirror and make a change.
In the meantime, keeping your child in the dark about other religions and belief systems just sets them up for failure. If you’re not teaching them how to effectively answer the hard questions, then someone some day will ask the hard questions and they won’t have an answer. Furthermore, the more you know about other religions and their beliefs, the more equipped you are to lead someone to Christ when they ask you the hard questions. Set your child up to succeed--not to be ignorant and xenophobic.
Sincerely,
A {grown up} kid like yours.
