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Top Document: soc.culture.jewish FAQ: Jewish Childrearing Related Questions (12/12) Previous Document: Question 21.9.1: Coping with other religions: My child says all of his friends have Christmas Trees, and he wants one too. What do I Next Document: Question 21.9.3: Coping with other religions: My child has been invited to an Easter Egg roll? What do I do? See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge
Answer:
Some parents would say "yes" immediately; others would issue an
outright refusal. The child knows her grandparents are not Jewish, and
it might be helpful for her to see how they practice their religion
and what sorts of things are important to them. But this must also be
weighed against the potential for identity conflict and confusion in
the child, who may begin to feel as though she is "sort-of" Christian,
or Christian in some "honorary" kind of way. For young children (under
10), it is probably not a good idea, as their Jewish identity is not
yet fully-formed and they will definitely absorb the confusing message
that Christianity is somehow just as much a part of them as their own
religion.
Note that this answer does not address some of the potential
underlying reasons for the question; it assumes the child is being
raised Jewish by both parents (one, quite likely, a convert, although
there are situations where it is the grandparents that left Judaism
after the children were born). The question gains significance if
there is an attempt to raise the child with multiple faiths. Most of
the main Jewish movements (Reform, Conservative, and of course
Orthodoxy) do not believe that is possible, and recommend raising the
child within Judaism only. However, the issue is quite complex, and
some of the texts in the Intermarriage and Conversion reading list, in
particular, the "After You've Done the Deed" section, are appropriate.
URL: [5]http://www.scjfaq.org/rl/int-afterwards.html.
User Contributions:Top Document: soc.culture.jewish FAQ: Jewish Childrearing Related Questions (12/12) Previous Document: Question 21.9.1: Coping with other religions: My child says all of his friends have Christmas Trees, and he wants one too. What do I Next Document: Question 21.9.3: Coping with other religions: My child has been invited to an Easter Egg roll? What do I do? Single Page [ Usenet FAQs | Web FAQs | Documents | RFC Index ] Send corrections/additions to the FAQ Maintainer: SCJ FAQ Maintainer <maintainer@scjfaq.org>
Last Update March 27 2014 @ 02:11 PM
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