Explaining Religion to Kids

[samelly]

I am an atheist and I am raising my kids that way.  However, I also feel it is important to be accepting of other people's beliefs.  

We recently had a family vacation and we went into a couple of old churches because they were beautiful pieces of architecture. My four and a half year really fixated on all the images of Christ inside the building and it opened up a ton of questions.  The images of a dying man on a cross was a normal part of my childhood (I was raised Catholic), but this was very strange to her.  So I ended up telling her some of the stories, which lead to more questions.

I think I did an okay job, but it is tough to explain what some people believe in and explain that I don't believe in it.  She is also very young, so I know she doesn't understand everything.  But I do feel it is important to be honest and to answer her questions as they come up.  

I'm just wondering if anyone else has experiences where they had to answer some questions that their children had.

[Unknown]

I'm sure you did a great job. We are in the same situation. We plan on being very open with our kids about our beliefs and what others believe.

I would explain who you believe Jesus is and who other people believe Jesus is. For us we aren't necessarily raising them atheist, we are raising them with the knowledge of as many religions and different beliefs as we can and let them know they are the only ones who can decide what they believe and why. We personally believe Jesus existed and was a preacher, but obviously not the son of Christ. I believe his role in history exists and is an important one, so I would explain why churches and art revolving around Jesus and other religious figures are important to history as a whole not just to me as a person w/ religious beliefs (or lack there of). As they grow I will expound on the good and bad of religion. At a young age I would keep it simple that Jesus was an important man in history. Since we don't attend church or worship there isn't concern from us that basic knowledge would be confusing.

[samelly]

Unknown, thanks. I have the same approach that I answered questions about Jesus as a historical figure who had a lot of influence on the world. I know more questions will come up when she is older and can understand more. I want to be open to her learning about religions too.