As would be expected, in an overwhelming number of cases, Mom and Dad will raise and mentor their child following the same spiritual path that they are on. If they are Jewish, the child will be raised Jewish, if they are Muslim, the child will be raised Muslim, and so on. I have had many conversations with individuals of different faiths and I was amazed at the reluctance to introduce the premise of faiths other than the one being followed in the household. It was not as benign as, they just did not think to do it.

When they were asked to consider this, the resistance was immediate, and in some cases, very passionate. Perhaps naively, I was even more surprised to see some of the greatest reluctance come from spiritual leaders. The excuses for not doing this were largely based on not wanting to confuse the child, but in follow up conversation, it became apparent that this was just a veiled attempt to disguise the real concern, that being that they might offer the child an options that they might not otherwise have had. Believe what you will, but this was blatantly obvious as these discussions wore on. More than just exposing the child to options, there was also a sense from many of these folks that they would almost be dishonoring their own faith by introducing the concept of other faiths to the child. As a parent who has raised a son and a daughter, I have earned the right to my own view which is totally opposite to those that I have shared herein.

To be clear, I propose that other faiths should be introduced only after the child has started to develop their own spiritual identity, but this can be as simple as attending children’s care at the place of worship over a small period of time. When the child can easily identify them self as a Christian or as a Buddhist, he or she has the identity that I am speaking of. For him or her to learn of the existence of other faiths, and that it is ok to interact and play with children of other faiths, in my experience has been a very healthy thing for my children’s early childhood learning experience in many different ways. I am not at all suggesting that you bring any aspect of the other religions to bear, be it scripture or any particular nuance. I have simply opened my children’s eyes to the existence of other faiths. More to the point, I have used the aspect of spiritual child development as the basis for teaching life lessons in respect, compassion and understanding for others, be it different color, creed or faith. To recap, I certainly want my child to be able to identify him or herself in the faith that I have raised them. But once this has taken root at an early age, I am all about them viewing the world through an inclusive lens where children may be of different faiths, but they are all part of one world.