Teaching Religion

A popular motive for families choosing to homeschool is to teach their children moral and religious lessons. Religion is not taught in public schools, and some curriculum is contrary to religious beliefs, but it is a subject that can be easily taught at home. Some families want the Bible to be taught alongside math and literature. Some families just don’t like the negative influences of a public school environment. Parents can choose the curriculum at home that suits their preferences. The majority of homeschool curriculum for sale is not for secular education, but some accredited schools publish lesson plans that are secular rather than religious. In short, religion is easily taught at home because most homeschool material available has religious influences. Faith-based homeschooling material teaches the fundamentals of a subject, but it also incorporates religious morals and issues into every lesson.

At young ages in particular, kids are in the “grammar” phase of learning, where they are just absorbing facts without being able to distinguish between truth and errors. As a child advances into higher grade levels, they are able to determine what they believe when an idea is presented. However, families choose to homeschool at younger ages in order to provide a strong religious foundation and positive influence while a child is still developing ideas and maturing.

It is hard to teach any subject from a neutral position. A science lesson or history class will be taught very differently depending on whether the world is believed to be all there is or whether a spiritual realm is thought to exist. For religious families, public school education is therefore a common concern because curriculum can potentially go against a family’s beliefs. The most common homeschooling approach is Christian teaching, but families from other religions can weave their own religious values into curriculum. These families generally opt for a secular lesson plan and then reserve a single class for teaching their religious beliefs. This concern for religious matters can go both ways too. In some districts, intelligent design is taught in science classes, so concerns can go the other direction. Atheists may choose to teach their kids at home in these cases.

A number of religious materials are available online. Parents may decide to teach from secular books for literature and from religious texts for science. The decision depends on each family, but all the options are out there. Religious groups are always eager to help homeschool families in the community. Youth programs like Awanas or youth groups offer group religious teaching for young children, which will not only teach religious beliefs, but also offer social settings for learning and bonding. It is often helpful to have this group environment for students to explore their beliefs together. Although, parents especially of young children enjoy the time spent learning and growing in faith together. Religion is not something that is taught in school, but it is easily and frequently taught at home. Resources are readily available for families of all religions.

Homeschooling is a challenge, but it can have outstanding rewards for yourself. At the same time, it can be reat for your child. Just be sure to take it very seriously and try to make an effort to separate your roll as an everyday parent with your roll as a home school teacher.


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