One family, two religions: child belief or child grief in Christian–Muslim families?

This article deals with the results and further consequences of my empirical investigation of Christian–Muslim families and their children in Germany. It gives an insight into the religious world of 4‐ to 12‐year‐old children in Christian–Muslim families through the analysis of evaluated interviews and drawings concerning religious practice and the image of God. Through the presentation of different aspects such as prayer, the image of God, gender issues, religious practice and affinity, the question of children's own needs is discussed. Keywords: Christian–Muslim familyinterfaith marriageinter‐religious dialoguereligious socialisation Notes 1. All data were collected and analysed before the events of 11 September 2001 (cf. Froese Citation2005b). 2. That is, 'in the name of Allah', also the beginning of the Fatiha, the first Sura of the Qur'an. 3. The Islamic ritual prayer Salat in Arabic, which is part of the five pillars of Islam, is repeated five times per day, in Arabic and is accompanied by ritual cleansing. Free prayers in Islam are called Du'a and can be said anywhere in any language. 4. Children's interview responses were translated into English by the author. The original version and all detailed results are published in Froese (Citation2005a). 5. That is, 'concentration on God' – a mystical form of Islam. 6. Id means the Aid Al Kabir or Aid Al Adha – the Islamic festival of sacrifice. 7. Jesus from a Muslim perspective is regarded as a prophet and not as a divine being. 8. That is, the Arabic word for the Islamic local and world‐wide community.