| When we raise children, life becomes hectic. | | | | others develop a moral sense completely |
| Between work, after school activities, | | | | separate from organized religion. |
| homework, team sports and social events, | | | | |
| there is very little time left to think about | | | | Children start thinking about spirituality at |
| spirituality, unless you are a parent already | | | | about the time they learn language. By the |
| involved in church, temple, religious and/or | | | | age of 4 or 5 most children are intensely |
| spiritual practices. Even having a strong | | | | interested in right and wrong, good and evil. |
| religious and spiritual belief system, it is | | | | The researcher, Maria Bindl noticed that up |
| difficult to teach this to our children. The | | | | to the age of about six or seven, children |
| questions I hear most often are "How do I | | | | have a "naive relatedness" to God after which |
| share my spirituality with my children? How | | | | there is a noticeable decline in "spontaneous |
| do I teach my child to meditate? My child | | | | experience of the numinous". |
| does not like going to church or temple, | | | | |
| should I force them? My child has no interest | | | | In thinking about spirituality, many parents |
| in guided meditations and prayer. Is he not | | | | give their children a religious education |
| spiritual?" | | | | because it's part of the family's spiritual |
| | | | values and cultural identity. It's a way to |
| In the past it was assumed that children's | | | | connect with a heritage going back thousands |
| religious education must match their capacity | | | | of years. Spirituality encompasses religious |
| to think and reason. So religious education | | | | beliefs, ethical behavior, social |
| focused on learning prayers and bible | | | | responsibility and faith to name a few. Some |
| stories, and left the exploration of the | | | | ancient religious philosophers believe that |
| capacity to have deep spiritual concerns to | | | | if a child is utterly convinced that his or |
| adulthood. Today we know that even very young | | | | her existence has meaning and his/her deeds |
| children ask the kind of questions that can | | | | have consequences and we can teach them that |
| only be called spiritual. "Who created the | | | | our every thought and deed is of real, even |
| earth? Why am I here? How do I know what's | | | | global, significance, then I belief we have |
| right and wrong?" Some children find answers | | | | succeeded in blending all aspects of |
| to these questions in church or temple, | | | | spirituality. |