In America, there are plenty of families who embrace the cultural side of religion even if they aren't convinced of the God part. Some children will participate in Easter egg hunts but have never attended a church service. Others will grow up to describe themselves as secular Jews, lapsed Catholics or non-practicing Muslims.

The Pew Research Center finds that one of the most well-documented shifts over the past decade has been the rising share of people who are religiously unaffiliated: from 16 percent in 2007 to 23 percent in 2014. There are more children growing up as "nones" -- with no particular religion -- than ever before.

Of course, a parent can raise moral, empathetic children without religious beliefs. But the majority of Americans still identify with a religious faith.

For a child in such a household, there are significant spiritual milestones, such as a confirmation, a bar mitzvah -- or my own children's recent Ameen, which marked the completion of their recitation of the Quran in Arabic.

This milestone moment made me reconsider the reasons my husband and I chose to raise our children in a religious tradition, and what we hope they will take from it. It's especially challenging when one's religion is as vilified and misunderstood as Islam currently is in America.

Across faiths, people turn to their belief systems for guidance, hope, comfort, ritual, a sense of community and acceptance, and salvation. Religion feeds the desire to be better. It's a way to acknowledge that there are unknowns. Science can't explain certain mysteries of the universe and human existence. From the beginning of time, humans have told stories to fill in the gaps.

When they become parents, the faithful offer their children a foundation of religious beliefs, which we hope will teach them moral responsibility and discipline that comes from adhering to a system of values.

In our home, our faith has a particular emphasis on justice and one's own actions. A key focus is on empathy. The major rituals in Islam, such as fasting and giving to charity, are explained around this idea of empathizing with your fellow human. The practice of daily prayers increases mindfulness and gratitude. Research shows daily meditation or prayer lowers stress and improves mood. It gives the worshipper an opportunity to reflect on her thankfulness, which is a key to happiness.

Simultaneously, this daily conversation with a higher power gives us a chance to humble ourselves, to ask for forgiveness and give voice to our struggles and pain.

Prayer, in fact, can be healing.

If life is a search for meaning, a religious tradition offers a guidebook. I don't want my children to turn to their faith for easy answers, but to struggle with questions about the nature of good and evil, fate and free will, reason and faith. I studied the world's great religions in college and have attended services of several other religious traditions. We are not threatened by the religious beliefs of others, nor would we raise our children to be. The bedrock separation of church and state in our country allows both to flourish.

I've found most Americans are curious and willing to ask frank questions. I've been asked any number of questions about Islam by adults: Why would a woman who is a feminist subscribe to a faith that seems oppressive to women? What do Muslims think about Jews? What would you say about this video (insert link to Islamophobic propaganda)?

Raised and educated in the faith, I can answer for my own experience and theological interpretation -- but obviously not for a billion others.

Parents should be aware that you cannot force an individual to believe in something as unseen or unknowable as the divine. But you can try to instill a feeling in a child: the sense that there is something greater in the universe they carry inside of them. It is the force of love and good and beauty and hope in the world, and it comes with responsibilities and duties.

We can look to our religious traditions to see examples of what it means to live a life of kindness, compassion, honesty and generosity, with a commitment to justice.

Seeing people do good can inspire us to do the same.

This doesn't mean that we should whitewash the role of religion in history or current events. Ideologies can be used for violent or political aims. Wars and crimes have been committed in the name of various gods. Religious institutions have used dogma to control people's lives and women's bodies.

But there are countless moments of grace inspired by the same belief in a divine creator. I'm reminded of that when my son tells me that he's given a classmate a prize he earned at school because his friend didn't have the same gadget as everyone else. I think about when my daughter makes a point to ask for a second pack of gum or another piece of candy at the store, so that she has one to give her brother.

Those everyday moments are just as important as the milestones.

The responsibilities we give our children can help them discover talents and abilities they may not otherwise discover.

Ariel Ruff was the go-to child when anything broke in the house -- not because she was the likely culprit, but the most likely to fix it. Ruff's father was a doctor who died when she was 3. Her mother is a professor at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, and legally blind. Ruff, now 26, would fix the dishwasher or washing machine when they malfunctioned.

"I grew up getting satisfaction from watching things work ... something that you've put together," she said. A bright and motivated student, she graduated high school early and started college, expecting to become a nurse. Into her second year, she decided she wanted to pursue her passion.

"I've always wanted to be a plumber since I was little," she said. When Ruff told her mother she wanted to leave nursing school, her mother encouraged her to make a plan and pursue the career she wanted.

Ruff has innate mechanical ability and loves water. She researched her options and enrolled in a trade school, which would count toward the required four-year apprenticeship required to become a journeyman.

"Plumbing is a puzzle," Ruff explained. You have to know codes and legalities. It takes intelligence and mechanical ability. "I have respect for that," she said. She graduated summa cum laude from Ranken Technical College and is a senior apprentice with Roto-Rooter.

Roto-Rooter recently named her one of its top national plumbers based on sales volume, number of jobs and performance ratings. She is one of 11 female plumbers in the company, which employs 2,000 plumbers nationwide.

"The fact that she's also young, petite and female means that she defies three stereotypes about the plumbing trade to exemplify what is possible," said Paul Abrams, Roto-Rooter corporate director of public relations. The company noted that there is a shortage of plumbers in the growing and lucrative field. They have been using Ruff in a recruiting video to reach women who may not consider it a viable career path.

Women face significant challenges, such as harassment and sexism, in the trade professions. They represent less than 1 percent of the country's 573,000 pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The median salary is near $50,000 annually.

Ariel says she typically hears some kind of comment about her gender at every new job she goes to, but when customers say something, her male co-workers stand up for her.

"It makes me want to be a better plumber," she said. She gets a lot of repeat customers, which suggests she's changed a few minds.

"I've had to face adversity," she said. Some customers will say right away that they are skeptical she can do the work. "I appreciate every single person who gives me a chance to prove assumptions about women in the trades wrong," she said.

Do people ever notice that she works around water and shares a name with a Disney princess mermaid? "I get that all the time." � "Customers will call their daughters down to meet me," she said. Ruff introduces herself to her customers' young daughters and asks if they've seen her movies. "It's loosely based on the story of my life," she tells them.

She still has to finish her apprenticeship, and plans to take the test to get her journeyman's license later this year.

She's also a single mom of a 7-year-old daughter, who tells her friends that her mom can fix anything broken in their homes. A few months ago, her school invited students to dress as their future job. Her daughter wore her mom's Roto-Rooter uniform and safety goggles. She was still wearing them when Ruff picked her up.

"How was your day?" Ruff asked.

"I had a job in Granite City," her daughter replied, still in character. "Let me tell you about it."

Ruff's nontraditional profession may encourage other women to pursue such fields. It's already shown her daughter that anything is possible.

It's easy to be cynical about politics.

For one thing, there's the corrosive influence of big money in choosing who governs us. The Citizens United decision opened the floodgates for limitless political spending, which has exploded in recent federal elections.

We see candidates spending the majority of their time fundraising and assume they are beholden to those interests once elected. Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump openly talks about attempting to buy influence through donating to politicians on both sides of the aisle throughout his career.

It's not surprising that a recent Pew survey found that elected officials are seen as less honest and more selfish than ordinary Americans.

Money aside, many voters see little difference between the candidates, or dislike all of them.

Politicians are seen flip-flopping their positions, some within 24 hours. The most recent Republican debate featured plenty of name-calling and shouting. There have been screams, shouts and violence against protesters, even those silently watching, at Trump rallies.

How many parents would tolerate our children behaving this way?

Given all of the above, it's not surprising that many parents limit their kids' exposure to politics. When our children hear us complain about how crooked politicians are, or how corrupt the system is, they absorb the idea that it's better to be disengaged from the political system.

It's not. It's better for our democracy to have informed and engaged citizens.

We just have to find a different point of entry.

The airwaves are dominated by a handful of high-profile races, but there's democracy unfolding in the details. Census data shows there are more than 500,000 elected officials in America. Local races -- from school boards to statehouses to city councils -- impact our daily lives. Go meet some local candidates and find one whose values reflect your own -- someone whose ambitions are guided by principles and a genuine desire to serve.

Teach your kids -- and maybe remind yourself -- that being a public servant can still be a noble endeavor.

As parents, our civic duty goes beyond showing up at the ballot box every few years. It includes raising a generation of citizens who believe they can have a voice and effect change.

In an election year filled with hateful rhetoric that could have completely alienated my children, they are instead excited about watching their aunt, my sister, run for district judge in Houston. They are learning how democracy works -- warts and all.

We've watched her work 12- to 14-hour days, without breaks, for months -- demonstrating the amount of sheer determination and drive it takes to sustain a campaign. We've seen her building coalitions, reaching out to many different groups, getting endorsements and yes, even raising money. My kids have seen that convincing others to support you takes believing in yourself first.

They are learning what it means to donate your time or money to a candidate you believe in, and how much effort it takes to get just one citizen registered to vote. They have learned that there are people who don't vote because they can't get time off of work on Election Day, or lack transportation, or simply don't know where or how to do so.

Experiencing a local race from the inside took me back to my freshman year of college, when I was finally old enough to cast a ballot. It was a presidential election year, and I had the enthusiasm of a freshly minted voter.

Years of bitter partisan gridlock since then had nearly put that fire out.

But this year, on Super Tuesday, it was reignited by the spark of other citizens.

There was the man who had been eligible to vote for more than 30 years, casting his ballot for the first time. There were pictures of young Air Force ROTC cadets who were just old enough to vote. My brother-in-law posted pictures of a Vietnam veteran and his daughter at the polls, with the caption: "He wants you to know that you have no excuse for not getting out to vote. Many have sacrificed for the right to vote."

There were the people who lined up around buildings and waited for hours for a chance to have their voices heard.

My mother told me that she had to pull over while driving home after voting for her daughter. Overcome by emotion, she broke down and cried.

In the ugliest election cycle of my adult life, there have been times when I've felt more discouraged about the political process than I could ever imagine. But remarkably, I've also felt incredibly hopeful and proud.

We infect our children with our attitude toward the political process. And if we want better leaders, we stand to benefit from encouraging our brightest and best to want to solve our nation's challenges. The more hopeful and involved our children see us, the better future we are building for our country.

It's one way to eventually get the government we deserve.