Even if you are a nonreligious homeschooler—perhaps especially if you are—your students will benefit from studying major world religions in your secular homeschool.
I honestly believe everyone should study world religions from an early age. Learning about other cultures and worldviews increases empathy. One does not need to believe the stories to be true to gain wisdom from them.
We should expose young children to as many world religions, mythologies, creation accounts, and folktales as possible. It will be beyond eye-opening for them to watch the similarities unfold. I know it was for me.
From the proclaimed deities and religious figures, to the nearly identical tales being told by different cultures, to the overwhelming sameness of the core principles outlined in the various writings—seeing the connected threads in these “unique” religions definitely provides an enlightening experience.
Why Do We Believe What We Do?
Children believe some religious stories to be true and others to be false because we convince them of such when they are young and trust us implicitly. What a different world we would live in if instead we exposed future generations to myriad mythologies and encouraged young people to draw their own conclusions about their similarities, incompatibilities, and logic.
In our homeschool we aim to present many different narratives in a neutral way. My students can appreciate the lessons offered without bias. We share various approaches to how humans have attempted to understand the mysteries of our world—without implying that any one explanation is “more true” or should have more “authority” than another.
This has allowed them {and me} to both appreciate the journey that has kept these words alive throughout time as well as clearly see the improbability of any of them being 100% correct.
What If You Don’t Believe Any of It?
Not to put too fine a point on it, the Agents do not believe any one religion to be true. Instead, the different beliefs and worldviews folks hold fascinate them from an academic standpoint.
They know they can extract insights from these myths; the fact that they are fictional does not diminish their value. They note the connections all faiths share {lots of “a-ha” moments in our reading when they come across a familiar tale, such as the flood myth}.
While my children readily embrace their atheistic conclusions as valid, I spent years struggling to acknowledge non-belief as a possibility. Following the religion of my family was expected and encouraged. The ability to break free was not something I even had on my radar. It took much contemplation and time to internalize this as a worthwhile and legitimate viewpoint.
I am grateful they feel comfortable with their own convictions, because I was most definitely not at their age. I want their life path—wherever it may lead—to be treasured, even if it doesn’t look like the majority.
Of course, inevitably someone is going to come along and tell them their spiritual place is wrong, incomplete. Mostly this will come from a place of good intentions, but lack of understanding.
Resources for Studying Major World Religions in Your Secular Homeschool
There are so many different doctrines it would be impossible include them all. For this post I will share resources focused on the six world religions that most religion books for youth typically address: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Sikhism.
Overview and Common Questions
If you need a more general introduction to belief systems and want to learn some basics about the major faiths currently practiced today, these books would be a good start. Most tend to emphasize the six aforementioned world religions primarily addressed in this post, but they include information on others as well. Some even touch on secularism and agnosticism and atheism.
The Kids Book of World Religions
Really Big Questions About God, Faith, and Religion
What Do You Believe?
Familiar Stories
This series from Anita Ganeri quickly became one of our favorites. I love that she presents the stories without giving more “weight” to a particular set of myths.
I have found it to be quite common in many world religions books for kids—even ones that purport to be completely secular—that the Christian re-tellings come across with more authority, intentionally or not. You will not find that here. These books perfectly introduce the various mythologies without bias.
Traditional Religious Tales: Buddhist Stories
Traditional Religious Tales: Christian Stories
Traditional Religious Tales: Hindu Stories
Traditional Religious Tales: Islamic Stories
Traditional Religious Tales: Jewish Stories
Traditional Religious Tales: Sikh Stories
Through the Eyes of a Child
This series by Holly Wallace discusses the main rituals and practices of different religions as told by a young child {around ten years old} being brought up in that faith.
This Is My Faith: Buddhism
This Is My Faith: Christianity
This Is My Faith: Hinduism
This Is My Faith: Islam
This Is My Faith: Judaism
This Is My Faith: Sikhism
Key Religious Figures
This is a sample of works by the author Demi. The illustrations are amazing and the information provided is thorough. We have also enjoyed her books about historical figures and her re-tellings of various folktales from around the world.
Buddha
Buddha Stories
The Dalai Lama
The Fantastic Adventures of Krishna
Jesus
Mary
Muhammad
St. Francis of Assisi
Festivals and Celebrations
This series—another by Anita Ganeri we have enjoyed—includes information about holidays, rituals, prayers, songs, and more.
Buddhist Festivals Throughout the Year
Christian Festivals Throughout the Year
Hindu Festivals Throughout the Year
Jewish Festivals Throughout the Year
Muslim Festivals Throughout the Year
Sikh Festivals Throughout the Year
Who Was Books
These books are always a hit around here. As with most of the series, the reading level is mid to late elementary school, but my older kids still enjoy them.
Who Is the Dalai Lama?
Who Is Pope Francis?
Who Was Jesus?
Where Is the Taj Mahal?
Where Is the Vatican?
What Are the Ten Commandments?
{Did you know they offer lesson plans as well?}
Do you include religious studies as part of your homeschooling curriculum? I would love to know what resources you have used when studying major world religions in your secular homeschool. Leave any suggestions you have in the comments.
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This is great! You know me, resident atheist checking in. Despite not believing in any religion, I think world religions are fascinating and an interesting look into the way societies grow and change over time. Still worth learning about!
They are super interesting. We’ve been treating world religions as a “subject” for years, and we’ve still barely scratched the surface.