Nurturing Critical Parenting Skills in Religious Instruction: Safeguarding Our Youths’ and Children’s Future

As parents, we understand the importance of teaching our children about the dangers of drugs, smoking, and a variety of other negative influences. However, we often overlook the significance of instilling critical thinking skills and enhancing own and our family members’ religious literacy when it comes to religious instruction. In today’s world, where numerous misguided ideas are championed by those claiming to be the ultimate representatives of religion, many of whom are extremists and fundamentalists, it is crucial that we approach religious instruction with the same critical scrutiny we apply to other aspects of our children’s lives. By doing so, we can protect our children’s future well-being and preserve healthy family dynamics. In this essay I want to emphasise the need for critical parenting skills in relation to religious literacy and religious instruction and its profound impact on our children’s and family lives.

Recognizing the Influence of Religious Ideas

Religious ideas can hold immense power and influence over individuals, shaping their beliefs, values, and behaviours. Consequently, it is vital for parents to be aware of the potential impact that religious instruction can have on their children’s lives. While religion can provide a moral compass and a sense of purpose, it can also be misused to promote harmful ideologies and perpetuate dogma. There are many cases of youth becoming radicalised and carrying out acts of terrorism in the name of religion. Furthermore, there are many puritanical minded Islamic groups worldwide that while not advocating for violence have a very regressive approach to religion and life more generally. Based on my experience as an Islamic Studies scholar and activist the vast majority of Muslims parents are woefully ill equipped to be able to explain to their children and youth using religious nomenclature and religion based reasoning as to why their own family does not or should not follow these kinds of approaches to Islam.

The Need for Critical Parenting Skills

In today’s interconnected world, our Muslim youth and children have access to a wide array of sources of religious information, both positive and negative. It is our responsibility as parents to guide them through this complex landscape and equip them with the necessary critical thinking skills to navigate religious ideas in a wholesome way.

Just as we teach our children to question the validity of information they encounter in other areas of life, we must apply the same critical scrutiny to religious concepts. Critical parenting skills involves first and foremost educating themselves about different interpretations of Islam and why they exist. Simply outsourcing religious education of our children and youth to imams can be highly problematic because religious education in the mosques often are dominated by very conservative voices and can create ,among others, cognitive dissonance for our children and youth, especially for those Muslims residing in the West.

Moreover, we need to encourage children to ask questions, engage in open-minded discussions, and develop an understanding of diverse perspectives including empathetic understanding of religions that they were not born into as repositories of truth and wisdom and not just the one religion that they were born into.

Promoting critical parenting skills in religious instruction allows youth to differentiate between healthy religious teachings and harmful ideologies. It enables them to discern between authentic representatives of religion and those who may exploit it for personal gain or propagate extremist views. By teaching our children to critically evaluate religious ideas, we provide them with the tools to navigate the complexities of faith and protect themselves from potential harm.

Preserving Family Dynamics

Religious beliefs can profoundly impact family dynamics, often serving as a unifying force or a source of conflict. Significantly different views on religion between parents and their ( grown) children leads to estrangement or in the case of radicalisation complete breakdown of the family unit.

Navigating the Complexity of Religious Ideas

In today’s world, there are many often conflicting views on what religion and especially Islam is and stands for. There is a bewildering spectrum of groups and sects in major world religions like Islam and Christianity. Many actors in this space, may they be right wing Christian nationalists/ extremists or puritanical and conservative Muslims, can be very harmful and can exploit young impressionable minds. It takes a high level of religious literacy to be able to sift chaff from the wheat and many parents in my experience are simply ill prepared to be able to offer guidance to their children/youth in this regard or it is something that they do not even give any thought. Critical parenting skills are, however, the first and necessary step in equipping children and youth with the ability to discern between authentic religious teachings rooted in compassion and those promoting intolerance, discrimination, or violence.

Teaching children to critically evaluate religious teachings also encourages them to engage with religious texts, traditions, and practices in a meaningful way. Rather than accepting religious ideas at face value, they are encouraged to explore the historical and cultural contexts, interpret symbolism, and consider the diverse interpretations within their own religious tradition as well as those outside of their own tradition. This enriches their understanding of religion and allows them to cultivate a nuanced and personal relationship with their faith and to be able to better relate to those who belong to other religious traditions.

As parents, we have a profound responsibility to guide our children through the complexities of life, including religious instruction. By nurturing critical parenting skills in relation to religious ideas, we safeguard our children’s future well-being and preserve healthy family dynamics. Just as we teach our children to critically evaluate information in other areas of life, we must approach religious concepts with the same level of critical scrutiny. By doing so, we empower our children to make informed decisions, navigate the complexities of faith, and protect themselves from potential harm. Let us prioritise the development of critical parenting skills in religious instruction, recognising that our children’s lives and family dynamics depend on it.

A decades old patron of New Age Islam, Dr Adis Duderija is a Senior Lecturer in the Study of Islam and Society, School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science; Senior Fellow Centre for Interfaith and Intercultural Dialogue, Griffith University | Nathan | Queensland | Australia. His forthcoming books are ( co-edited)- Shame, Modesty, and Honora in Islam and Interfaith Engagement Beyond the Divide (Springer)