How do you teach your children about Christianity?\u00a0 And how do you teach them about politics?
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\n\"Never let someone say, \u2018We [Christians] don\u2019t want our education to be indoctrination.\u2019\u00a0 Of course Christians want their education to be indoctrination\u2026\" -Stanley Hauerwas, The Hauerwas Reader<\/u>, 530<\/p>\n
How do you teach your children about Christianity?\u00a0 And how do you teach them about politics?\u00a0 My spouse Jennifer-who is an Episcopal priest-and I have been worrying about the first question ever since our first son was born in September 2003.\u00a0 And we\u2019ve been thinking a lot about the second question in the last year or so, particularly when the primaries got started and as the election has approached.<\/p>\n
So how do you teach your children about Christianity, and how do you teach them about politics?\u00a0 Let\u2019s take those important questions one at a time\u2026 We\u2019re teaching our children Liam and Graham (ages 5 and 3) about Christianity-and, to put a fine point on it, progressive Christianity-by teaching them the stories and the values we think are most important to our Christian faith.\u00a0 We have a few good biblical storybooks, one of my favorites written by a former professor of mine and his spouse (David and Carol Bartlett) called Adam\u2019s New Friend, and Other Stories from the Bible.<\/u>\u00a0 So they know the basics: creation (but not creationism), Noah, Abraham and Sarah, Joseph, Moses, Daniel, and of course Jesus, Mary and Joseph.\u00a0 Their facts may be a bit off-the other day I called something trivial a \"miracle\" (like the fact that they had our favorite pickles in at the local Trader Joe\u2019s) and Liam said, \"It\u2019s one of the miracles Jesus did\"-but they have the gist right.\u00a0 Part of this has to do with the fact that they are PKs (pastor\u2019s kids), but part of it also has to do with the example we set of our faith.\u00a0 Liam and Graham know what praying is, for instance, because they have seen us do it and we do it with them.\u00a0 But not only are they starting to learn what Christianity is, they\u2019re also learning a particular form of Christianity.\u00a0 They not only know the importance of prayer, but the importance of being aware of where your food comes from as well.\u00a0 As a consequence, these days, every time we eat meat, Graham says, \"This was a chicken [or cow or pig] that they killed,\" and Liam says, \"Mama, can we say a prayer for the chicken [or cow or pig] that died?\"\u00a0 Liam and Graham are progressive Christian kids because we are progressive Christian parents.<\/p>\n
And then, on to politics.\u00a0 When the primaries started, we began talking to Liam and Graham about the candidates and explaining to them what it means to be president.\u00a0 This has led to some funny moments: during the primaries, Jennifer\u2019s father Jeff took the boys to a restaurant where a man was making balloon hats, and Liam promptly named his balloon hat \"Mrs. Clinton\" while Graham named his \"Mr. Obama.\"\u00a0 Two weeks later, Jennifer was telling this story to her staunch Republican grandmother, and in an effort to appear bipartisan Jennifer said to Liam, \"Isn\u2019t there someone else running for president, too?\"\u00a0 Liam looked puzzled for a moment, and then said, \"You mean Mr. McCain?\"\u00a0 \"Yes!\" Jennifer said happily, looking to her grandmother\u2019s reaction.\u00a0 \"Well yes, Mama,\" Liam interjected, \"but Mr. McCain doesn\u2019t stand a chance!\"\u00a0 Clearly, they are absorbing what they hear around the house.<\/p>\n
Like religious belief, our children are getting an earful about our political views.\u00a0 Yes, we are indoctrinating our children.\u00a0 As shocking as Stanley Hauerwas\u2019 words may be (particularly for people on the left who tend to be squeamish thinking or talking about their faith), ultimately we live by them because we know that children must and will learn somehow.\u00a0 And they can either learn about faith and politics by listening to their friends or watching television or looking at frightening images in the newspaper, or they can see religious belief and political action modeled by their parents.\u00a0 Call it indoctrination, okay.\u00a0 Call it brainwashing, I don\u2019t mind.<\/p>\n
Part of the reason this election is so important to me, as a Christian, is that I am tired of seeing Christianity defined by the vocal and conservative Right.\u00a0 As a father I don\u2019t want my children to grow up thinking Christianity is a frightening religion.\u00a0 Although Barack Obama really won me over with his \"A More Perfect Union\" speech, his speech on religion and politics at the \"Call to Renewal\" gathering in 2006 was equally inspiring.\u00a0 As a parent, I need helpful public role models like Barack Obama who claim a deep faith but still reflect many of our progressive values.<\/p>\n
In Deuteronomy, God proclaims through Moses: \"Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates\" (6:6-9).\u00a0 This election season, our views about Christianity (first) and politics (a distant but significant second) are bound as a sign on our hands, fixed on our foreheads, and written on the doorposts of our house and our gates.\u00a0 And you had better believe we are reciting them to our children. <\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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