So many of us grew up sheltered in small Christian bubbles, restricted to cheesy Christian music titles and overly sanitized book selections, that we are resolved to expose our children to the beauty present in art and literature and yes, even the latest Hollywood blockbuster.  

This is what drives the Christian Bubble Makers: they believe that raising children in a sheltered environment enables them to put down strong roots in the Christian tradition. Kids develop a strong foundation in their belief system so that when they go out into the world they aren’t tousled by the prevailing cultural winds and are able to defend their faith in any situation they should encounter.  

I have heard it described like this: if we can teach them what the “real” God looks like, they will be able to easily spot the counterfeits.  

The main problem with this set up is that it is inherently defensive. It postures the Christian community as those on the inside venturing out. Before the littles are mature enough to handle the outside world, the bubble is a necessary protective mechanism. Those on the inside are taught that inside = good, outside = bad. Children thrive on structure and categorize by nature. They easily internalize this paradigm from a young age and relegate their life experiences into black and white value judgments.  

The unfortunate result is that unless the child remains in a commune, they will inevitably experience a world that brings a diversity of values and expressions of life. The constant stress of categorizing good vs. bad brings about a faith crisis which ends in them either rejecting their childhood faith OR rigidly insisting that the only God that is real is the one inside the bubble, who begins to look very small and irrelevant indeed. God either doesn’t exist, or is a very small, fenced in One who needs to be defended at all costs.

Source: Growing in Faith with Our Kids – Red Letter Christians

This is a rather extended quote from my friends over at Red Letter Christians that shouts my view of the Christian bubble.  In my years at evangelical churches I saw evidence of the Christian bubble many times. The attitudes drilled into these kids almost always reflect the attitudes of their parents. Sadly most who put their kids in a bubble see the world with black and white judgments. As the article says they think they must protect their kids from the “Big Bad World” out there. But in reality they are just stifling their exposure to the diversity of values and expressions of life.

I don’t think it is happenstance that these same parents most often “home schooled” their children. They want to make sure that their children see the world as they do so they try to remove any outside interference.  Even though I was not in a Christian bubble my world due to being rural in nature was somewhat absent of diversity. It was not until my college years that I encounter anyone much different than myself.  African-Americans were an unknown to me. The same goes for most other ethnic minorities; they simple didn’t exist in my world.  My college years in a State college were very educational beyond the school books I absorbed.

The most damaging aspect of Christian bubbles, beyond those many who often abandon all faith when they escape, is that these kids are taught that only their version of God is real. Everyone else’s is fake. As the article  says they then end up thinking that their God is very small and need defending.  How tragic is that….