Reading "Faith"

I was struck in the reading about how often a child will be introduced to religion and religious symbols before they enter school.  My earliest memory was Christmas, though at the time I didn’t recognize it as a Christian holiday.  I must have been only three at the time and it was a magical memory for me. 

There was no discussion of Jesus or Catholicism, I was just moved by the merriment.  I must have been no older than three years old.  It seemed that religion has actually become more of a fine point in American culture as I grew up.

I understand that it was expected in polite society that religion and politics was not discussed.  I can see why. 

I would be much older when I became much more aware of religion.  I had a teacher in elementary school who was Jewish.  I was even older when I realized that not all Christians get along. 

In this discussion of development, I wondered if we were better off if we didn’t see religion as something to talk about—but simply kept quiet and respected.