Katy Faust has a new book that I thoroughly enjoyed. It is culturally relevant, but also includes a practical strategy for passing on the faith. Check out this thought-provoking interview and think about getting a copy of her excellent book: Raising Conservative Kids in a Woke City.

SEAN MCDOWELL: You dedicate the book to those raising kids in a “hostile culture.” In the foreword, Yoram Hazony describes conservative kids as being under “siege” and that there is a war for children today. Can you explain why you use such strong terms in the book to describe what Christian parents are facing?

KATY FAUST: We chose this language because those are the very words parents use to describe the kinds of curriculum, interactions, and ideas that are coming at their kids. It's not a war against people. But in terms of worldview, war is exactly the right term. For too long, we have refused to recognize that a very real battle is being waged for the minds of our children, and instead have handed them over to be raised by the culture. OR we have naïvely thought that simply sheltering them from some of the worst elements of culture would be enough. But the Woke worldview is besieging our kids- whether they are homeschooled, private schooled, or public schooled- and we need to arm them for the fight.

SEAN: The word “woke” is a debated, contested term. Originally, it meant being awake to racial injustice. But its meaning has shifted. What do you mean by “woke” and how concerned are you about it?

KATY: We define woke as “a culturally hegemonic worldview that views every subject, institution, Netflix series, and human interaction through the lens of group identity, and then uses every weapon at its disposal to pit one group against the other under the guise of social justice.” And while different people define Woke in different ways, we describe in the book telltale signs which signal we are in the presence of someone who adheres to Woke dictates: “when emotion instead of facts are the basis for their opinions and its dissenters are labeled “such- and-such-phobes”; when they assume hatred [of women, gays, immigrants, minorities, trans, etc] is the motive for disagreements about complex issues, and not conforming to their increasingly extreme policy goals is because you want people to die.”

It's concerning because from a Woke perspective views opponents not merely wrong or stupid, but evil. And you cannot maintain relationships nor have honest disagreements, nor share a country with dissenter. Their answer isn’t conversation, it’s cancellation. It is a worldview that is tearing our nation, and our children, apart.

SEAN: You define conservative as “anyone that recognizes historical, economic, and biological reality.” Can you explain what you mean and how you might respond to a progressive who says that conservatives deny reality on things like vaccines, climate change, and so on.

KATY: A couple decades ago conservatives were those who wanted to return to the gold standard or who were foreign policy hawks. Today, the left has moved so far so fast that there is a new center and a new right. Now, simply recognizing the reality that men and women are different, that the government should not control the means of production, and that America's founding principles lead to freedom and prosperity gets you labeled “right wing.” Telling the truth about economic, historical, or biological reality can get you failed, fired, or unfriended. Increasingly, what binds conservatives together is an unwillingness to allow ideology to override reality.

And reality is also on the skeptics side if you actually look at the data on things like the devastating human impact on climate change “net zero” policy for example, or Covid vaccine effectiveness. Spoiler-reality, as in what is scientifically verifiable, sides with conservative principles.

SEAN: What does it mean that training requires getting to our kids first?

KATY: If you want to inculcate a conservative worldview in your kids, they must see you as the authority on all contentious topics. The “founders principle” describes the phenomenon whoever introduces the concept of porn, or Socialism, or abortion, or gay marriage, will automatically be considered the expert in the mind of that child. That means you have to get to your kid first about anything that runs afoul of the Christian worldview. And those conversations have to happen in elementary school. That does not mean graphic details about abortion procedures or atrocities committed by the atheist dictators of the 20th century. That does mean giving them a heads up that “some people think that two men can marry each other, but we know that's not true because marriage has to do with babies, and babies need a mom and dad. If you ever have questions about marriage, you can talk to us about it.”

SEAN: What are your thoughts on sending kids to public schools vs. private vs. homeschool? How can parents best navigate public schools?

KATY: Stacy Manning (my co-author) and I have largely sent our kids to public school. And in many ways it has served as a foil for the Christian worldview. The damaging effects of these dangerous ideologies are on full display. But we don't make recommendations about exactly how parents should school their kids. We simply insist that you are the primary educator regardless of whether their classroom is at their neighborhood school, at the archdiocese, or at your dining room table. YOU are the program when it comes to passing on your worldview, and you can, and must do that regardless of what form official schooling takes.

SEAN: What’s the “no flinch rule”?

KATY: Worldview transmission requires removing any and all barriers to communication. But you will erect a barrier between you and your child if they have to fight through a massive emotional response when they mentioned the discussion about only fans on the playground, or the boy in the girls restroom or their assignment to write a “more equitable” constitution. Regardless of how absurd or outrageous your child's question or report, you must remain calm. Otherwise, kids may determine that it's too much trouble to ask dad “What is demi-sexual?” and he'll just Google it instead. The no flinch rule results in kids who associate parental connection with relief and good information and paves the way for conversations in the future.