Re: ...Religious Questions...
Actually in my case, its very different. My mother is way too knowledgable about Islam than I can ever be. And if its an issue where she does not have enough knowledge, she will read up and get the answer. Whenever she travels (e.g. to stay with me) she will bring her set of books with her, and reads a lot. She is actually a great resource for people in our community to ask questions about Islam.
My father is also extremely learned, and although his views are much more liberal than my mother, they are also based on a lot of reading. Its always interesting to ask a borderline question where my father and mother disagree and see them bring reference upon reference from various books to prove their respective points. Sometimes these discussions will go on for days, with more evidence piled up during the after-dinner tabletalk. :)