Indoctrination.
We hear that word a lot lately. Almost everyone is worried about their children being indoctrinated, and for good reason!
The divide between the left and right is growing deeper by the day. Political and religious agendas from the liberal left are getting louder and louder. It seems to be hiding in every movie, every TV show, every cartoon! It is in schools, on playgrounds, and even in some churches.
How in the world do we keep our children safe from the lies of the world when it seems inevitable they will hear them?
The short answer is, of course, that we can’t.
Instead, we teach them the truth.
We talk about truth on our way to school and at the dinner table. We talk about truth when our children do right and when they do wrong. We talk about truth in our homes and in our churches. We teach our children how to think by giving them a biblical lens through which to view the world.
Protecting our children from indoctrination is important, but we cannot protect our children from hearing the lies of the world. That is bound to happen. However, we can successfully teach them to spot those lies and replace them with truth.
According to a Pew Research study, the vast majority of Americans are successful at passing on their religious and political affiliations to their children.
Roughly eight-in-ten parents who were Republican or leaned toward the Republican Party (81%) had teens who also identified as Republicans or leaned that way. And about nine-in-ten parents who were Democratic or leaned Democratic (89%) had teens who described themselves the same way.
The transmission of religion through American families appears to be similarly efficient. In the same 2019 survey, 82% of Protestant parents had teens who also identified as Protestant, 81% of Catholic parents had Catholic teens, and 86% of religiously unaffiliated parents – those who described themselves as atheist, agnostic or nothing in particular – had teens who were also 'nones.'
By the time children reach adulthood, the study concluded, “most people who were raised in a single religion – either by two parents of the same faith or by a single parent – retained that religion. Roughly eight in 10 of those raised Protestant (79%) were still Protestant. About six-in-ten of those raised Catholic were still Catholic (62%), and an identical proportion of those raised with no religious affiliation were still unaffiliated (62%).”
This is good news! These findings tell us that what we teach our children matters so much more than what we protect them from. If we are teaching them, if we are modeling truth for them, if we are constantly working to build up their arsenal of truth in our everyday lives, we are their best defense against the left’s indoctrination.
This has very little to do with who is out to get our children. It has little to do with how wrong those people are. But it has everything to do with us and how hard we are willing to work to instill in our children everything they need to learn, discern, and love the truth.
This should not only encourage you, but it should stir you to action. Purpose in your heart to have the hard conversation that you’ve been putting off, or to talk to your children about what they are learning at school, or to get the resources for them that will help them learn and grow. Your influence cannot be overstated in their lives, both now and in the future. You are their best hope of growing in truth.
Lauren is a wife, mother, and writer with a passion for boldly speaking truth. Writing and speaking for over a decade, Lauren has reached millions worldwide. She is known for her Biblical approach to controversial topics and humorous approach to counteracting the lies of the world. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram at @laurendemoss.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to Commentary@1819news.com.
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