Bullying among children is increasingly viewed as a serious problem.  Although many people view bullying behavior as a normal part of growing up, researchers are learning that bullying can cause emotional, health and academic problems for children who are bullied and can also negatively affect children who are bystanders to bullying. Bullying others can be an early sign of serious antisocial or violent behavior among children and youth.

Paul Coughlin, a founding member of GodMen, in an article on Crosswalk.com shares our sentiment as he states, "It’s time to bring God’s love, care, and compassion into this theater of difficulty. It’s time that the faith community, which values human life and dignity, join and lead this charge to free God’s children from the injustice of bullying, which strips children of dignity and worth."

Bullying Among Children

Bullying is aggressive behavior that involves a real or perceived imbalance of power or strength among those involved. Typically, it is repeated over time. Bullying can take many forms, such as hitting or punching (physical bullying); teasing or name-calling (verbal bullying); intimidation through gestures or social exclusion (nonverbal bullying or emotional bullying); and sending insulting messages by phone or computer (cyberbullying). Unlike fighting, which often takes place in a single episode, bullying often occurs again and again.

How Faith Communities Can Help

As children grow in faith, they often develop an understanding of how best to relate to others. They may learn acceptance, tolerance, mutual respect, and love from those around them. Children's participation in spiritual communities of faith often has a profound influence on how they react when confronted with bullying and other forms of aggression or violence. Several ways in which faith-based communities can address bullying include the following:

• Messages from the spiritual leader (not all religions offer guidance from a pulpit). For children and youth who bully, who are bullied, or who are bystanders to bullying, many meaningful messages can be told. Stories from sacred readings can be used to illustrate the favor granted to those who love others and seek ways of peace. To console and help those children who have been bullied, stories from sacred readings can be used to show that historically many good and righteous people have been persecuted. Also, many scriptures address the role of bystanders, imploring those who see bullying to take on roles similar to that of the "Good Samaritan."
• Creating a safe haven. Churches, synagogues, mosques, and other places of worship often provide safe havens and a comforting atmosphere for children. Other places connected to places of worship (child care centers or schools) can be made safer for children by including supervisors who are trained to recognize and deal appropriately with bullying behavior.

• Children helping other children. Bystanders are either part of the solution or part of the problem. Talk to your children about bullying. Teach your child to be part of the solution.

  Helping families deal with bullying

Faith communities often provide a place for families of children involved in bullying to discuss how best to address this issue. Resources can be made available and formal or informal groups might be brought together to dialog how bullying behavior can be prevented and what to do should bullying occur.

Youth Programs

Those involved with youth programs frequently are in positions to know which children are most likely to be troubled by bullying behavior. Organizers can reinforce messages of appropriate conduct to children and alert parents of children who are at risk for bullying behavior. Most important, leaders of youth programs can create caring and learning environments where children feel safe and know that bullying behavior is not allowed.

Supporting Community Efforts

Faith communities also can help by supporting other community efforts aimed at reducing bullying. Many schools, youth groups, non-profit organizations, law enforcement agencies, and other youth-serving social institutions are addressing bullying through different approaches. Where appropriate, faith communities can join in awareness-raising campaigns, the implementation of bullying prevention programs, and the development of bullying prevention policies. 

The Bullying Awareness & Prevention Alliance (BAPA) welcomes the opportunity to work with you and your faith-based organization to help make our schools and communities safer for our children, and provide an opportunity for our children to live, learn and grow without fear of harassment or bullying.