Faith and family often go hand in hand to ensure children are raised with values that give them a strong moral compass. So, by raising your kids in a religious household, you’re given a better chance at instilling a sense of purpose, compassion, and empathy that will stay with them and guide them even as they become adults. If you’re considering whether or not to live a life of faith with your kids, check out this list of the top 20 pros of raising your kids religiously!
Religion Helps Shape Kids to Have a Strong Moral Compass
As a parent, you are responsible for instilling a strong moral compass in your children. Fortunately, you are not alone in this endeavor. The church, an institution dedicated to guiding children through life’s complexities, plays a pivotal role. It teaches us that by adhering to God’s teachings, we can make sound and well-thought-of decisions that benefit all.
Religion Allows Kids to Have a Sense of Community, Sense of Belonging, and Support
It takes a village to raise a child, and one of the best villages you could ever raise them in is a church. Aside from the people they’ll meet as friends, the church can also provide them with mentors who will guide them through the different stages and phases of life. Gospel-Centered Parenting explains, “The family unit is the primary place for the discipleship of our children. But the church can and should play an exciting and important part in displaying and proclaiming the gospel to our children and raising them to be those who love Jesus and see how His kindness and grace wonderfully impact everything.”
Religion Instills Good Virtues and Proper Conduct in Kids
Respect, self-control, self-discipline, and more are all virtues that one’s child cannot develop overnight. This is because instilling good virtues and proper conduct in humans is a lifelong project. It starts at home but branches into different areas of society, and this is precisely where the church and its members come in.
Religion Teaches Kids How to Behave Ethically
Raising your child in a religious household doesn’t only mean teaching them about God or going to church every Sunday. As they live and practice the morals the church tries to instill in them, they are shaped to become more ethical. ScienceDirect shares, “Religious belief is a determining factor in attitudes and behavior because religion is a social institution and social control in life.”
Religion Serves as a Buffer Against Stress and Negative Effects of Trauma or Negative Environments
Life can get hectic and filled with stressful scenarios that can feel impossible to escape. However, religion gives us respite amidst the chaos of life. Through the sense of community and coping mechanisms it offers, the church can provide individuals with a sense of comfort and meaning amidst the stress and trauma they’re going through. An article published in the National Library of Medicine suggests that “intrinsic religiousness was associated with fewer depressive symptoms.”
Religion Guides Kids Toward Becoming Better Individuals
Religion often instills compassion, empathy, and respect in children. Kids learn how to better navigate ethical dilemmas through these teachings and practices. Additionally, because they’re guided by religion from their formative years, as they get older, they are shaped to become individuals who strive to live virtuously and ethically.
Religion Cultivates Empathy, Compassion, and Forgiveness in Kids
Jesus’s teachings center on empathy, compassion, and forgiveness; through the church, kids can embody these values, too. Following this, if kids grow up learning about the importance of these values, they become adults who foster kindness and attentiveness with a compassionate and nonjudgmental heart. And, in a world that’s unfortunately becoming increasingly apathetic, these values are truly much-needed.
Religion Instills Kids With a Sense of Purpose
The church is an institution with a mission to guide people toward God’s ultimate purpose. So, if you raise your children religiously, you are helping them live a life with a purpose—a purpose that brings them closer and closer to fulfilling the mission God has for them. Brigham Young University adds, “Religion endows meaning to life through providing a way for worshippers to discover and ultimately fulfill the purpose that God has assigned to their lives. Religion allows an individual to become part of a larger whole and subsequently feel that his or her life has meaning outside of itself.”
Religion Helps Hold a Child’s Family Together
The church and the family work together to raise God’s children, and because of this, religion and the family will always be interconnected. By working together, the church and the family reinforce morals and ethics to a child, teach them how to love their neighbor, and provide a stronghold where they can shield themselves from life’s storms. So, in the same way that the church strengthens one’s family, the family strengthens the church, too.
Religion Nurtures a Child’s Sense of Self-Worth
Sadly, sometimes, people can’t see the true value and beauty of their uniqueness. However, thanks to religion, parents and families can reinforce and nurture a child’s sense of self-worth. Religion reminds us that every human being is made in the image and likeness of God; as such, we all have a divine purpose, and we can all make a difference in the world. We all have value and worth that cannot be taken away or destroyed—no matter what happens or no matter what other people say.
Religion Allows Kids to Learn and Showcase Resilience in Times of Distress
Challenges, stress, and failure are all inescapable parts of life, but that doesn’t mean people should cower in fear of something going wrong. When parents raise their children religiously, they give them additional ammunition to counter these negativities with resilience. After all, in times of distress, religious teachings, practices, and faith offer children a source of strength, comfort, and hope.
Religion Gives Kids Hope for the Future
It’s scary to navigate life if we always think that death is the end. However, with religion, we’re able to equip our children with the hope that there is something more after death—that there is life after death with God. Aside from this, religion allows us and our kids to trust that when everything else is falling apart, God’s love will remain constantly burning.
Religion Equips Kids With Tools for Better Decision-Making
Raising kids religiously allows them to gain the necessary foundations to live a moral life. Through religious teachings and practices, they learn about values like honesty, responsibility, and integrity, allowing them to make sound decisions. This, too, goes hand in hand with how religion helps shape kids to have a strong moral compass.
Religion Helps Kids Find the Tools They Need to Live a Longer, Healthier Life
Religion offers respite in our world’s chaotic storms; it allows people to be more mindful and to meditate in times of distress. These things all contribute to better physical and mental health outcomes and decisions for children. According to an article published in The Guardian, “Measures of someone’s religious commitment, such as how often they attended church, were consistently associated with a range of outcomes, including a lower risk of depression, anxiety and suicide and reduced cardiovascular disease and death from cancer.”
Religion Offers Kids the Keys to Attaining True Happiness in Life
Many things make us happy in life, but the pursuit of true happiness can only be completed with the help of religion and faith. As St. John Paul II said on World Youth Day in 2000, “It is Jesus that you seek when you dream of happiness.” No matter how hard you try to be happy with your worldly successes and possessions, a person would only truly, genuinely be satisfied with God’s grace.
Religion Instills a Strong Work Ethic in Kids
St. Josemaría Escrivá, the founder of Opus Dei, a Catholic Church organization, has a resounding message and teaching about the concept of work. He urged everyone to do ordinary things extraordinarily well and believed that something holy and divine was hidden in even the most ordinary situations. Through him and other teachings of the church, religion is able to instill strong work ethic and values in children.
Religion Paves the Way for a More Successful Life
At first, you may not believe there’s a direct correlation between religion and success. However, because the church helps kids avoid negative and harmful decisions, it, in turn, pushes them toward a path of success. Aside from this, moving through life with a defined sense of purpose and support from a community can significantly contribute to one’s personal fulfillment.
Religion Enhances Kids’ Social Skills
One of the most apparent things children gain from going to church is a support system—a community of mentors and friends who will guide them through the ups and downs of life. Aside from this, when kids engage in religious activities such as services, volunteer work, and youth groups, they can interact with diverse individuals and peers who can help develop and improve their social skills as a whole.
Religion Guides Kids Toward Establishing a Healthy Relationship With God
Raising one’s kids religiously equips them with the faith they need to get to know God on a deeper, more profound level. Children raised with religion understand that a relationship with God isn’t only about prayer or attending mass; it involves true and lasting joy and love. They learn to be as committed to God as God is committed to them.
Religion Fosters a Sense of Patriotism in Children
Religion can bring people together and help them feel a sense of responsibility toward their community or country. This can often translate to people feeling proud of their nation, eventually giving them a deeper sense of patriotism.
