Should I Raise My Child Christian?
66Your a Christian...
Being a Christian parent you may be debating on whether you want to raise your child to be Christians.
The more logical answer is yes. Go ahead. Take your child to church and practice Christianity in your home.
But, I wouldn't force your children into Christianity.
There are a few different reasons as to why you may be asking yourself how you should raise your child in terms of religion.
- You're a new parent who came onto religion and Christianity later in life.
- You're already a parent and have come to religion and Christianity with older children.
- You were raised Christian and hated it as a child, but still remained Christian throughout your life.
- Your spouse is Christian and you're not.
I've seen parents force religion onto their children, and I've seen children react two different ways.
- The child will readily accept the teachings and practice them.
- The child will boycott, so to speak, and refuse what's being taught.
If you force your child to do something that he would rather not do, then you may be working in the opposite direction. Your child may chose another religion to practice, become agnostic, or become atheist.
With anyone, you want to be very careful how you approach religion and Christianity, especially with children.
With younger children, you can bring them up in a religious house, but when you, as an adult make a personal change while the child is older, you want to be careful how you go about the change.
Remember that if you force your older child to go to church and participate with discussion and family prayer, you risk causing your child to grow to hate God and religion. It all depends on your child and his personality.
So, to the question "should you raise your child Christian," that's a decision that only you can decide.
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Comments
Oh yeah right krizar - that will be the Christian values of hate and war as represented by the Crusades, the Civial War in Englahd, North Ireland and numerous others!
According to the Word, you cannot force anyone to believe in something. To force a child to live as a Christian, does not make that child a Christian. It takes a personal belief in God to become a Christian.
I would suggest that the child be raised to know what it actually means to be a Christian. I thought it good that you showed more than one side of the situation. Very well written hub.
I believe there is no wrong in trying to inculcate good beliefs in children .But, we should not develop bias or intolerence towords any other religion or race. on the other hand, we must go on saying that, every religion has something good in that.
much to my surprise I find myself agreeing with you SirDent - that's what happened to me- I was raised Christian but never forced to make a commitment which I didn't believe in . I think one of the reasons that people fall for cults and radical pentocostal sects is because they have no idea what a rational religion is and it certainly isnt a 1 size fits all answer to all your problems in life!
Simple and clear. Faith based issues are matters of love not force. You can teach and pray for your child, but it is up the them. Well done article.
If my kids don't grow up to believe in Christ, I will have failed as a father. I personally believe that I am responsible to show my kids Jesus in my life. He's is wonderful to me, if I can show that to my kids they will want him too.
So far my elder son has turned out fine. I am looking forward to his teenage years, when he will really have to choose how he will live in this world, as a Christian or not. I am looking forward to arguing and debating with him when I lift up the shields and let him discover the ideas of those who disagree with Christianity. He'll come out stronger for it, I'm certain! :)
We as christian parents have the responsibilities to point our kids to God. I believe the answer is pretty clear that we need to expose them to learning about Christ at a young age. However, there is no guarantee that they will definitely become christians in future. Its a personal decision that they have to make. But we as parents can only do our part and be accountable to God ourselves.
i have no religion but im am not a good person. i am 23 and have nearly a 2 year old child i want to get him christian because i wont him to have a better life then i did. how do i go about it and what do i do?
I believe children should be expose to the truth, not religious gobblygook. My children have been reared free from any religious restrictions or repression and as a result they have growing to be fine, well-balanced individuals. This is how it should be. In short, I think you are gravely misguided.
If I have children, I plan to raise them in no religion at all. Then let them choose. That is how my family raised me, and I found it wonderful, as it doesn't take very long to be brainwashed by a religion if forced upon you. The syndrome of being brainwashed (sorry I forget the proper term) is something like only 30 days to be brainwashed by somebody or something.
It depends on the child. I was raised with absoultely no religion in my household & that was very hard for me. Later in life when I found God I became aware of everything that I had missed out on as a child. God gives you hope and faith...two very important things, especially for children who are so vulnerable when they're young. It think it is good to atleast expose and education your children about some type of religion so that they know how to believe. Knowing that someone is watching over you and loves you unconditionally is a great comfort to kids if they are ever to feel as if they are alone. It is also the truth, from my point of view. If you don't support organized religion, perhaps some type of universalist beliefs could be incorporated.
I agree with Kate. While some parents may have all the right intentions in allowing their children to make their own decisions when it comes to religion...they sometimes just don't make the conscious effort to instill gratitude, faith, hope, honor, and kindness into their children the way religion can. Today's world is so fast passed and centered around such superficial things that it is easy to forget about the underlying principles of religion.
I would let the child decide to become a Christian and pick out the right Christian Denomination when he/she comes of age which is roughly around 13 years old. No one should force their religion down their children's throat. Utimately it will come back up. My entire family were born Protestant but Born Again Christian Catholic.
The way I see it is, if you are a Christian parent, then it is only right that you take your children into your church and teach them what your faith is. It is funny to me that some parents say they don't want to force their child to follow a set of rules like faith. Well, they force them to learn to read and go to school and do all the other things they, as parents, believe are important. If you are agnostic or atheist,you are teaching your children your beliefs, but if you are a person who follows the teachings of Jesus Christ, and you believe in a Heaven and a Hell, then you should be praying every single day that your child chooses Jesus. No, you can not force them, that is an individual choice, but if they are not trained and taught about Jesus, then how can they possibly know? Let the world teach them? That won't happen. They will learn either falsehoods or turn towards other things. Yes, some of you will disagree with me, and even judge me (funny how nonchristians love to judge Christians eh? ), but I am just writing what I feel led to. If you area Christian then YES you should raise your child to be Christian. If you came to Jesus later on in your child's life, do what you can. If they are still at home, then yes, let them be part of finding a church and fellowship, teach them at home, pray for them. That is all you can do.
krizar says:
2 years ago
Your child and children,respectively, must be raised as Catholics/Christians, if they want to embed the Western Civilisation values. If not, you can move to Islamic countries and (accordingly) have a great time with your child and Allah there.