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Passing on the Faith

How do we pass on our faith to children? This is a question most religious traditions care about deeply. We are concerned, perhaps, for our children's spiritual well-being, their moral grounding and behavior, and perhaps for the ultimate state of their souls. Without the commitment, creativity, and zeal of the next generation, our own values and beliefs may die with us. But what is the best way to communicate faith? If faith is "caught, not taught," then what can we do to make our spirituality contagious?

We invited scholars, practitioners, teachers, and parents from diverse traditions and perspectives to share their wisdom, insights, and best practices on this important topic.

Commentary From Our Blogging Community

Just Imagine: Considering the Theological Insights of...

Perhaps we should be thinking about how to do Children's...

Why Children Need Ignatian Spirituality (Part 1)

To the extent that we offer our children ways of imagining...

Learning Theology through Catechism, Imagination, and Song

The catechisms formed a foundation for my beliefs, but the...

Follow Me

My curriculum for infant faith formation is a lot like day...

The Center of the World: Beauty as a Mandate for the...

Beneath layers of language, concept, and custom, there...

Passing on the Faith? Probably Not

Paganism has taught me what real interaction with deity is...

Raising Church Leaders: What I Did This Summer

What are we doing to mentor the next generation of clergy...

Do Christian Kids Need Christian Education?

This week's post comes from the Anxious Bench archives. It...

How to Raise Hindu Children

I will be posting about my wedding soon. It all went...

From the Mouths of Babes: How Children Teach Adults

When any of us, like Jesus, welcome children into our...

Cultivating a Community of Practice

The best curriculum for forming children, youth, and...

Passing on the Faith in a Makeshift Choir Stall

There we were, together, a white twelve-year-old boy with...

Passing on the Faith: Becoming a Follower

The stumbling block, the obstacle to faith in Jesus, is to...

A God for Girls: Questioning Male Language for God

It is essential that we offer our children curricula,...

Why Passing on the Faith Isn't Good Enough

What if, instead of passing on the faith, we encouraged...

Growth Spurts and Faith Formation

Disequilibrium and restlessness -- often seen as negative...

A Test Case in Passing on the Faith: The Children's Sermon

What did Jesus do when children came near? He welcomed...

It's Hard to "Think of the Children"

If a Pagan or polytheist religious tradition is good...

Being There: The Magic Means of Passing on Your Faith to...

You can not control what other people do. That includes...

Teaching our children authentic, spirit filled living

My Dream and Vision for our children stems from the...

We Must Midwife the Faith

The limitations of overall numbers and the absence of...

Faith Formation in the Small Congregation

How do we pass faith on to our children today? No...

Featured Panelists

My Six Essentials for Passing on the Faith

What we want to implant is an easy and natural affection...

Gleaning New Truths from the Old Stories

To hell with the save me/love me/do for me religion I once...

You Shall Teach Them to Your Children

We build the brightest future, not by worrying about the...

Passing on the Hindu Faith

Being active in the temple community, along with what we...

Brian McLaren on Passing on the Faith

All month here at Patheos, we've been exploring the topic...

Sharing Your Faith Naturally

For Bahá'ís, sharing our faith without proselytizing is an...

Less Talk, More Action

In my town, children and youth are looking for people with...

Parenting "Fail"? or Not?

Sometimes the lessons will be learned and lived, but...

Dear William and Kate: Some Advice on Caring for Your...

Follow these simple practices and your baby Prince will...

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