Poll: Should Parents have the right to force there religion on there kids ?

[etherlance]

Ha ha ha

.....I haven't spoken to my parents in over three years because I told them I was athiest.

Not athiest in the sense that I don't believe in god, it's just i have my own opinion and belife and apparently that qualify's as blasphemy according to the bible camp they used to run.

so now I'm living in Britain well away from those bible bashing psychopath's.
I actually had to sit through an intervention from them and all of the clergy they and friends they speak to.

Theres nothing like sitting in the middle of a hall surrounded by 50 people in tears praying for my soul to make a very uncomfortable akward hour and a half.


so no I don't belive parents should force their religion on their kids.
Its also kinda sad when said parents destroy all your stuff and then send you the pictures only then to only make contact with you via letters demanding you to repent your evil sining ways.......



......yeah

 

[Ampersand]

I think you're creating a dichotomy here where there isn't any. Athiests do not teach their children that there is no god, nore do they necessarily teach them about evolution. I would expect any parent (be they athiest or otherwise) to teach thier children to base their conclusions about the world on evidence and critical thinking.

 

[BabySinclair]

Try as they might, enforcing religion is incredibly hard and usually fails in the long run. Best to let them make their own decision when they're old enough

 

[Krantos]

I think you're creating a dichotomy here where there isn't any. Athiests do not teach their children that there is no god, nore do they necessarily teach them about evolution. I would expect any parent (be they athiest or otherwise) to teach thier children to base their conclusions about the world on evidence and critical thinking.

The route you're going with that is more Agnosticism than Atheism. The two are often confused in society, but in reality they are just as different as Agnosticism and Christianity.

Atheist believe that there is no god. Period.

Agnostics believe that there could be a god, but it has not been proven. They don't really have a belief either way aside from acknowledging that either side could be true.

Atheist do tend to attempt to spread their beliefs almost as much as Christians, especially in their teen and college years. Atheist are also just as receptive to counter arguments as Christians (I know this from experience).

Agnostics, on the other hand, are generally willing to engage in a religious debate, but they don't have a vested interest in it.

Funnily enough, my experience has shown me that agnostics are often better equipped for a religious debate because they have already examined most issues from both sides and come to their own conclusions, while religious people and Atheists (though I still assert that Atheism is a form of religion) typically only see the issues from their own perspective. As such, both are more willing to debate with each other than an agnostic.

 

[skitzo van]

No, it's a violation of human and civil rights. The very thought makes me foam at the mouth and hungry for intenstines.

 

[miscelaneous]

No. But, it's gonna happen no matter what.

 

[Kortney]

No. Children are too young, they believe nearly everything they are told.

Teenagers, Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy and the monster in the closet would like to have a word with you.

They base their morals and spiritual beliefs off of what their parents exhibit and tell them is true. But they are human beings--being children doesn't negate the fact that humans always say "What If?" and always question the world around them. It's in our nature. If you choose to hold your beliefs after you have the age and knowledge to question them, it's your decision. Your parents aren't making that choice for you.

I know many people who have been forced to go to church and forced to believe from their parents. It's brainwashing. Parents should do their best not to tell their kids anything biased and one sided. Whether it be their personal morals, politics or their religion.

If you have been brought up as a fundamentalist Christian for 15 years, it's extremely hard to question what you've been brought up to believe. Much harder than it is for someone who hasn't been brought up as anything. From a neutral viewpoint, a child can assess what he has seen in the world and what he has been taught in school to make his own mind up.

I'm an atheist. I wont bring my children up to be atheists. They'll be taught scripture in school and I wont belittle it. They will form their own opinions. I didn't know my mother was an atheist until I was 16. If I asked her about religion she would explain both sides and keep things open minded. The same went for politics. That's how I'll raise my children - I wont take advantage of their youth to further my opinions.

 

[DanDeFool]

Yes/No.

I certainly don't agree with parents forcing their religion on their children. While I'm not quite at the same level as Richard Dawkins on this issue (who said a religious upbringing was tantamount to child abuse), I think religion is ultimately a personal decision and parents should respect the wishes of their children when it comes to what religion to practice or if they want to practice religion at all.

However, if you want to respect religious belief, you've got to remember that most religions REQUIRE parents to give their children a religious upbringing. It's an obligation; if they're serious about their faith, they can't ignore it. It isn't a personal choice for them.

 

[Traumaward313]

My understanding is that from their birth until the time they're adult, my children's religious education will be my responsibility.

All I can pray thereafter is that it sticks.

Feel free to flame liberally until evenly crispy and tasting slightly of gasoline

For starters, the majority of people with anything neagtive to say about this will not have kids -_- Guarantee. Also, I agree. Children should not be left to their own devices for most of their childhood, even if teenagers without kids otherwise haha.

 

[Bruin]

No. Children are too young, they believe nearly everything they are told.

Teenagers, Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy and the monster in the closet would like to have a word with you.

They base their morals and spiritual beliefs off of what their parents exhibit and tell them is true. But they are human beings--being children doesn't negate the fact that humans always say "What If?" and always question the world around them. It's in our nature. If you choose to hold your beliefs after you have the age and knowledge to question them, it's your decision. Your parents aren't making that choice for you.

I know many people who have been forced to go to church and forced to believe from their parents. It's brainwashing. Parents should do their best not to tell their kids anything biased and one sided. Whether it be their personal morals, politics or their religion.

If you have been brought up as a fundamentalist Christian for 15 years, it's extremely hard to question what you've been brought up to believe. Much harder than it is for someone who hasn't been brought up as anything. From a neutral viewpoint, a child can assess what he has seen in the world and what he has been taught in school to make his own mind up.

I'm an atheist. I wont bring my children up to be atheists. They'll be taught scripture in school and I wont belittle it. They will form their own opinions. I didn't know my mother was an atheist until I was 16. If I asked her about religion she would explain both sides and keep things open minded. The same went for politics. That's how I'll raise my children - I wont take advantage of their youth to further my opinions.

It's impossible to create an opinion without bias, to create morals without being one-sided and tell your children the firm rules of society without "brainwashing" them. I don't support the pressuring of people to believe something. But it's not done with malice, it's done with the same intent as teaching children how to behave in public. It's the personal view of the parents; no different than the defining line between good and bad, acceptable and unacceptable.

After age 15 or so, you're independent for the most part. Your mind is "solidifying" its perception of things. Any chance the parents had at giving the children a firm basis for their religion is almost wholly gone by then. You'd be dealing with a rebellious teenager you'd have to drag along to church or to temple, mosque, synagogue, etc. You're also talking about a strict sect of Christianity, one that is sinking in popularity of late. Not to mention that people have a right to raise their children as they see fit. Teaching a child what religion is and teaching him or her what your beliefs are is not wrong; not by any stretch of the imagination or of the law. We all have the right to practice whatever religion we'd like, or not to. If part of that includes telling your children about your religion and educating them on it, I see nothing wrong with it by itself. The child still has the opportunity to say "I reject these beliefs," just as he always has. You're not forced to believe anything once you're old enough to question it.

It's easy to say "I will always be neutral on everything with my children". That in itself is an impossible feat, one I myself won't attempt. I don't have children and don't think I'll be having any until I'm firmly rooted in this world and have the money and time to devote myself to something other than...well, myself. But I'm not bold enough to say I won't pass down my beliefs to my children. Or stupid enough to say that. It depends on which side of the fence you stand, I suppose. Will I myself teach my children about religion? I'll tell them about it, yes, but I personally don't subscribe to Christianity wholeheartedly or any other religion for that matter. That will be their decision when they're older. Do I think it's wrong for another parent to feel otherwise? Not at all. Everybody is different, just as every child is different and every parent who raises him. Everybody has different beliefs, and it's our right to express them, just as it's our right to teach our children what we believe to be the truth in this world; whether it be religion, politics or otherwise. The children may not agree--very seldom do they, actually.

 

[Dexiro]

It's practically indoctrination for anyone to preach religion to children, but it's not something that can be stopped sadly.

I think children should be taught the best of human knowledge. Evolution and gravity might be called theories but they're the best we know.
They're certainly more credible than "magic happened", they should be given the choice to believe in what the big ol' story book says at an age when they can make sensible decisions.

Religion to me just seems like "well i've invested too much time in this so i'm not letting it go".

 

[superbatranger]

Everyone should be able to decide whether or not they want to follow the religion of their parents. So, no, parents don't have that right.

 

[kaizen2468]

You can't force a belief, or for that matter faith. You can force actions, but if they don't truly believe it's not real and doesn't count anyway. Besides, by the time their of age, they can make their own choices.

 

[lacktheknack]

Hell no. There's no better way to alienate your children and guarantee they won't follow your beliefs.

Celebrating religious holidays and attending religious services is just fine. That's not forcing anything, as the child can just ignore it if they don't like it (honestly, a quarter of my church would be better off not being there).

 

[Bruin]

Is it just me who sees that in saying you can't raise your children how you want, you violate the very beliefs you justify the statement with?

 

[MagicMouse]

There is a reason why religion tends to stick in a family. If a kid is raised in a religious household being taught very young they just sort of get programmed to accept it. I'm not saying that they will never question it or be able to choose, but it certainly is a large factor.

IMO, kids should be kept neutral and given a choice.

Whenever I ask someone, "Why are you (insert religion)?" They respond with "Because it makes sense / is right" Then I ask, "why?" to which they respond ".........."

Its the way they were raised plain and simple.

 

[Agent_Nahmen_Jayden]

Yes, they should have the right to, doesn't mean they should, but if that's the method they want to take no one should intervene with that.

Edit: Also, I don't feel that a parent can ever truly force a kid to accept a religion, heavily influence them towards it yes, but no kid is ever truly "forced" to accept a religion or a belief. When a child becomes old enough they will make their own decision, the influence will factor in to the choice, but it isn't the complete reason they choose X religion or X belief.

Double Edit: Wouldn't this belong in Religion and Politics? Not that it really matters, it's good discussion either way.

 

[crudus]

Yes they do have a right to. Should they? Yes, to a point. There is a difference between raising and indoctrinating. To truly answer this question we do need to run a few experiments that would be viewed as unethical that I would be willing to run.

if we stop religious people from teaching their kids about their faith then we'd have to stop atheist parents teaching their kids about evolution and how god doesn't exist.

That would make sense if Evolution and Atheism were synonymous. I know Christians who were taught evolution as children and those who were not.