Zero Sum

In Texas, Joseph Reyes' and Rebecca Shapiro' child custody battles puts religion and children at the forefront.  I would never touch the legal aspects of it.  Where a family court rules has no bearing on me and probably needs to be tailored to the needs of each circumstance.  But I'm no lawyer.

On Slate, Dahlia Lithwick zeroes in on the issue a the crux of the debate, and once again it's pluralism.

The tricky question in the Reyes case—the one the courts do not want to touch—is whether religion is a zero-sum proposition or a cultural buffet table. Is it harmful to raise a child in two different faiths? Does exposing a child to two religions differ from exposing her to two languages or teaching her to play two instruments?

Well stated and to the point!  For those unfamiliar to the term, "zero sum" is an circumstance where for one to win, another party must lose, and that the degree of benefit and loss will be equal.  -1+1=0.  The term doesn't translate well to this circumstance, but of course that is where the conflict is.  One party in this legal conflict is trying to apply winning and losing to issues of learning, experience and faith. 

Of course, I am raising my children in two religions and hope to expose them to more.  I like comparing the experience to language or music.   To build on Lithwick's proposition, to expose a child to one religion is to teach them a melody.  To teach them two is to create harmony, and many is to have a symphony.