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RELIGION

From the earliest stages of birth through adolescence, religion can play a role in providing a framework for a child's life and world view. A strong religious background can help children and adults individually and together answer life's most significant questions, respond to difficult challenges, and make important decisions. Religion conveys a sense of the sacred or holy, often reflected in views of a god. Each religion consists of rituals, symbols, stories, values, and role models, which guide and shape a child's ways of being and acting in the world. Parents draw upon these different elements in passing on a religious tradition to their children, often sharing the responsibility for educating their children with a religious school and a religious institution such as a church, synagogue, or mosque.