Remember, you’re supporting your son or daughter, not necessarily their
choice. You may feel as though your child wants you to applaud every decision
they make, but chances are your son or daughter knew ahead of time that you
wouldn’t be happy with their announcement to change religions. What your child
is looking for is support from you as a parent; they need to know that you’re
not disowning them just because of a religion choice.
In order to actively support your son or daughter, read as many books and
articles on your child’s new religion as possible. This will help you to learn
the positive things about the religion, and will enable you to understand some
of your son or daughter’s reasons for the switch. If you run across something
questionable or negative about the religion, it’s all right to bring this to
your child’s attention, but be sure to do it in a loving way. Your main
objective is to make sure that your son or daughter is making the best
decisions, and choices, especially when it comes to religion, should be well
thought out. If there are religious meetings at a church or other place of
worship that your child has been attending or would like to attend, ask if you
can come along. It’s one thing to read about a religion on paper, but quite
another to meet the people who practice the religion.
Once your son or daughter sees that while you may not agree with their
religion change, but you’re open-minded and want them to be happy, he or she
will feel much more comfortable talking to you about their spiritual life, and
will even ask you for help or advice. This is the time to put the love that
many religions teach into practice; your child will see how strong your faith
is by the way you react to this new change in the family. Remember, the bond
between family are stronger than any religious ties, and your faith should be a
tool for keeping your family together—no matter what it takes.