[onhazier]

DH and I identify as Christian though we do not currently belong to a church and rarely attend. (Too many reasons to explain here.) We have stated that we are open to children of other faiths. The reality is that I would most likely be the one to take the child to worship services if the child was not Christian. Within walking distance of our home, we have the following communities of worship: Baha'i, Catholic, Episcopalian, Methodist, and Muslim. Within a very short drive, I could find any other that I might need. Our community is very diverse and I wouldn't be surprised if we need to make these accommodations.

Knowing this, we've discussed and decided that if we are placed with a child who needs to attend services with a community we're not a part of, we'd first make contact with the head of the community for guidance. So, if we're placed with a Muslim child, I'd call the local Imam. I've already researched the local mosque and know that everyone worships in the same room and there is no division by gender. This simplifies things if I have to take a fs there. If the child is Druz, I'd just call my previous babysitter who is Druz for direction. I know where the local Buddhist temple is and how to contact them. However, I just realized that I don't know where the local synagogue or Hindu temple are. I'll have to look that up.

As far as making dietary adjustments based off a child's religious beliefs, we'd have no problem cooking some turkey bacon for the child instead of pork bacon or serving beef or chicken hot dogs instead of regular ones. I make allowances for folks personal food preferences and health-related dietary restrictions. So, I see no reason to not do the same for faith based dietary restrictions.

In all honesty, we think there is a lot we can learn from each other.