Religion, child fostering and safeguarding

RELIGION plays a vital role in child fostering across societies. When practiced in a balanced and child-centred manner, religious teachings help create nurturing environments where children are protected from abuse, neglect and exploitation. Research shows that positive religious and spiritual guidance during childhood is linked with lower aggression, reduced substance use, fewer high-risk behaviours and better mental health outcomes. Beyond these impacts, religious traditions provide ethical and moral frameworks that promote compassion, responsibility, respect for human dignity and the development of children’s moral values, spiritual awareness and sense of right and wrong. This article presents a qualitative comparative review of key teachings from five major world religions – Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism. Drawing on religious texts, doctrinal interpretations and scholarly literature, it identifies converging and diverging principles across three interrelated dimensions of child well-being: holistic development, safeguarding and recovery. 1) Child’s Holistic Development: Across religious traditions, spiritual development is viewed as integral to a child’s overall development. As spiritual capacities evolve, they positively influence physical, cognitive, emotional, social and moral developments. These developmental domains interact dynamically and reinforce one another, shaping a child’s sense of identity, purpose, self-esteem and ethical reasoning. All five major religions emphasize nurturing core virtues such as compassion, patience, gratitude and responsibility, while also prioritizing different dimensions of child development. Islam and Judaism stress faith, discipline, education, strong family bonds, lawfulness, justice and responsibility. Christianity highlights love, forgiveness, care, grace, service and emotional nurturing. Hinduism focuses on dharma, self-discipline, respect for elders and balanced living. Buddhism emphasizes m