In Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters, I make the bold statement that “God is good for girls.”

Our culture increasingly rolls its collective eyes at claims like that. Many media elites label religion—especially denominational Christianity—as regressive, unintelligent, even psychologically harmful. Lest I be accused of bias, let me say I agree that some people of faith, through messed-up motives and misguided actions, have given credence to such charges.

But let me also note that I’ve seen the power of authentic faith. I’ve read scientific studies and interacted with thousands of girls and young women as patients or as friends. I can cite a mountain of research and a pretty big hill of real-life examples from my personal experience to make the case that your daughter needs you to help her grow in faith and come to a clearer understanding of God.

If that’s not enough, fathers have a clear biblical mandate to bring up their kids “in the training and instruction of the Lord.”

But for some dads this raises a conundrum: If my own faith is shaky or nonexistent, how can I help my daughter spiritually? As the late Howard Hendricks correctly observed: “We cannot impart what we do not possess.”…