3 Guidelines to Teach Our Kids About Other Worldviews

In 2015, my family and I returned to the United States after living overseas for four years. During that time away, homosexuality had become a hot topic in America. Living cross-culturally for years, I wanted to sidestep this highly politicized issue. But when my son’s best friend at preschool had two moms, I was thrust into the center of it. Whatever I told my three-year-old would reverberate to the ears of classmates, teachers, and parents. I wanted whatever cliff notes version my son repeated to overflow with grace and truth.

We can’t hide from worldviews that run counter to Christianity—nor should we. However, we can find ways to point our children toward biblical truth without removing them from every tricky situation. Sometimes parental wisdom means shielding our children from topics they aren’t ready for, but if we want our kids to learn how to navigate life in a secular world, we must teach them about worldviews that don’t align with Scripture.

Navigating the Worldviews Maze

Rather than sidestepping worldviews that may make us uncomfortable, here are three guidelines to dive into understanding other belief systems with your family.

1) We don’t shelter our children from the secular world, but instead teach them how to navigate it from a biblical worldview.

If we believe the Bible is “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword” (Heb. 4:12), then we don’t need to be afraid to discuss opposing worldviews. Scripture is powerful! When we hold the Bible’s truth against other belief systems, we give our kids a front row seat to its beauty and worth.

A friend raising her family in a conservative Muslim culture shared how one day her son realized all his friends weren’t Christians, and wondered which religion was true: Christianity or Islam. Rather than rushing to assure her child that Christianity was the right choice, she walked through what Muslims believe versus what Christians believe.

At the end of the talk, she asked her son which religion he thought was true. His response was quick: Christianity. Learning more about Islam hadn’t weakened his faith, but strengthened it. A word of caution: I’m not advocating deep studies into other belief systems. Instead, be open to learning about and discussing the basics of what others believe in contrast to what the Bible teaches.

Read the rest of my piece at the Gospel-Centered Family.