Religion Good for Children? Faith and Religion

¶ … Religion Good for Children?

Faith and religion are significant components to every religious family with regards to raising a child or children. Notably, every religious individual and family will always claim that their path or religion is the correct one. Therefore, it impossible to find parents or families that would mistakenly choose the wrong religion or path for their children. In attempts to take their responsibility of raising children to become productive adults later in life, parents choose different progressive and correct paths including religion. However, the responsibility of raising children is not an easy task and is usually the burden of every person that comes into contact with the child. As a result, parents would take necessary measures to ensure that their children are surrounded by examples from approved people and paths. While parents consider religion as one of the correct steps in raising their children, the main question or point of concern is whether religion is good for children.

Religion and Children:

Generally, parents put several things down on their children such as language, behavior, gender and economics, and religion. These things sometimes prove to be toxic because they are a complex mix though they produce good citizens (Giberson par, 9). While these things are occasionally toxic, it's too hard to single out one of them as problematic because of their contribution to a child's development. In the modern pluralistic era, religious affirmations have developed to become complex though they challenge an individual's faith.

Despite of the impact of religion on a child's development, many families are turning away from religion. Actually, a research by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life has discovered that 1 in every 5 adults do not have any religious affiliations (Drexler par, 3). Based on these findings, the numbers of adults without religious affiliations increase to a third for parents under the age of 30. This is a tremendous increase when compared tom more than five decades ago when the percentage of adults with no religious affiliations was 2%. Notably, the biggest increase in these numbers has occurred among people who are largely indifferent. While these people are also known as non-religious, they are neither atheists nor disillusioned former believers; they simply don't care (Drexler par, 4).

As the percentage of indifference continues to increase, it is being transferred to children in a rapidly growing rate. Even though spirituality plays a crucial role in making children happy, religion still has some benefits to children. Notably, involvement in a religious community or society may assist the children to develop a strong moral foundation. This is primarily because religion lessens incidences of teenage pregnancy and drug abuse while enhancing their self-esteem and general hopefulness.

Children have an intrinsic curiosity regarding religion, which makes them to look for organized ways to make sense of religion themselves. Actually, the lack of a structured way of understanding religion makes it difficult for children to make sense of it as they should. The process of raising a child with religious awareness or practice is a relatively difficult process for parents without a particular religious practice. However, these parents can experience a seemingly easy process through showing respect for religious customs while informing their children about sections that don't seem relevant to the family. With regards to religion and children, it's important to note the religion appears to be relatively comforting to children since it provides some stability that is acceptable by kids in the ever-changing world.

Is Religion Good for Kids?

According to the findings of a recent research, religion is good for children because of the numerous advantages it provides to kids. Based on this study, children with parents who regularly engage in religious services and talk about their faith exhibit better self-control, learning approaches, and social skills as compared to children with non-religious parents ("Study: Religion Good for Children" par, 1). This difference is mainly attributed to the fact that regular attendance to religious services by the parents provides three major results. First, these parents access religious networks that provide them with social support that enhance parenting skills while parental messages are reinforced by other adults in the religious networks. Secondly, the values and laws in religious gatherings are pro-family and self-sacrificing that are very important in shaping parents relations with their children and how kids develop in response. Third, the religious networks and organizations instill parenting with sacred significance and meaning.

Based on the findings of a study by Mississippi State University, younger boys with religious parents are well behaved and adjusted unlike those raised in non-religious homes. In most cases, these boys exhibit improved social skills, self-control, and capability of working with others (Drexler par, 5). The improved social skills, self-control, and ability to work with their counterparts is attributed to the fact that participation in a religious community helps them to build strong moral foundation, enhanced self-esteem, and overall optimism. The other positive aspect about religion on children is that religion seems to relatively comforting by providing some form of stability.