Bringing Up Kids When Church Lets You Down: A Guide for Parents Questioning Their Faith

“Is the Christianity I grew up with something I want to give my children?” asks journalist McNeel in her searching debut. She details how her ambivalence about her conservative evangelical upbringing has impacted her parenting and how other parents might approach sharing Christianity with their children as they interrogate their own faith. She addresses the complexities of teaching children how to interpret the Bible and talk with them about hell and sex, noting that purity culture’s emphasis on deterrence often doesn’t work and that maintaining a nonjudgmental disposition will make kids more likely to feel comfortable asking about sex. Recounting Sunday school races to find Bible passages before her peers, the author critiques competitive approaches to scriptural study and writes that she encourages her children to listen for God in their conscience, nature, and friends, in addition to the Bible. McNeel’s wry wit entertains (one chapter is titled “How to Lose the Faith and Keep It Off”), and she excels at biting social commentary and psychological insight, such as when she posits that punishing sins often doesn’t work because “trouble outside signals hurt inside, not corruption.” This has plenty of wisdom for Christian parents wrestling with their faith. (Oct.)