In 2017 a report on American Catholic Religious Parenting was published at the University of Notre Dame from which a key takeaway was that “Parents should be informed of their role and empowered, not intimidated.” We encourage you to find opportunities to remind parents of their indispensable and God given role to form their children in the faith. 

Parents - Your children come to you first for everything. When they’re hurt. When they have a question. When they need something. They come to you first because they trust you. Your children also come to you first for faith. You show them the love and mercy of God in how you love them. Faith begins at home.

Your children come to you first because they trust you. Your children also, knowingly or unknowingly, come to you first for faith. By the way you live, you show them the love and mercy of God. Faith begins at home.  #faithbeginsathome

Parents – Infants depend on their parents for everything. When they are hungry, tired, or just need to be held. You are their “first responders” and they trust you. Your children also come to you first for faith. You show them the love and mercy of God in how you love them. Faith begins at home.

Your children trust you, and come to you when they’re hurt, sad, or in need. Your children also come to you for faith.  By the way you live, you show them the love and mercy of God. Faith begins at home. #faithbeginsathome

Parents – Teenagers are faced with many choices.  Having to make decisions can be stressful but it is also part of growing up. Your children depend on you first for guidance as they navigate the stressful teenage years. As they make decisions about their faith they come to you first. You show them the love and mercy of God in how you love them. You model for them how a Christian lives. Faith begins at home!

When your child falls and gets hurt or wakes up frightened in the middle of the night, they call out to you first. “Mom!” “Dad!” Your children also come to you first for faith. By the way you call out to God the Father, they come to know His love and mercy. Faith begins at home. #faithbeginsathome

Teenagers are faced with many choices.  Having to make decisions can be stressful but it is also part of growing up. Your children depend on you first for guidance as they navigate the stressful teenage years. As they make decisions about their faith they come to you first. You show them the love and mercy of God in how you love them. You model for them how a Christian lives. Faith begins at home!
Your children depend on you first for guidance as they navigate the stressful teenage years. They come to you for help. They also come to you for faith, sometimes begrudgingly. By the way you help them, you show them God’s helping hand. Faith begins at home. #faithbeginsathome

“The crucial location where youth’s religious outcomes are largely decided is not the congregation or the parish, but the home.”

“Generally speaking, no religious influence besides mom and dad is positioned to demonstrate convincingly to children the desirability of practicing the Catholic faith.”

“If children do not “see” Catholicism in the “face” of their parents, they will likely never gain sufficient familiarity with it to commit to practicing the faith in the long run.”

“Rising above the everyday hubbub of domestic life, parents must consider how they wish to channel religious activity in the household purposefully in accord with their values and goals.”

‘“I am the religious formator of my children’ should be a primary point of parental self-identity and responsibility.”