When you start accepting clients as a life coach, you will encounter people from all walks of life and all backgrounds. You will also encounter people who may have different religious backgrounds and beliefs than you. If this is something that bothers you, life coaching may not be the profession for you, but even if your client doesn’t share the same religious background as you, you can still coach them effectively.

Religion and Your Life Coaching Practice

In the United States, almost 80% of all adults identify with the Christian faith, and over 90% of people who report having a religious identity identify as Christians. This means many of your clients will be religious. There are many ways to handle religion and spirituality in your life coaching practice. It is all up to you and how you feel.

For example, if you are a practicing Christian and a potential new client is nonreligious, you may initially wonder if you can connect with them. It may be tempting to refuse to see them, but even though you cannot connect on a religious level with the client, life coaching and a higher sense of spirituality and overall purpose is something beneficial to everyone, religious or not.

Seeing a client that has a different worldview from you can strengthen your communication skills and teach you about a whole new way of living. This exposure can only help your life coaching practice and give you the ability to connect with more clients. However, if it makes you uncomfortable or it goes against your values to coach people of a different faith than you, this is okay. Your practice doesn’t have to be for everyone. No matter what, it’s important to invest in yourself and your skills, and taking Coach Training Alliance’s Certified Coach Program is a great way to do it. This six-month program will help you hone your coaching skills, and when you graduate, you will be well on your way to having a thriving life coaching practice