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

[Troublesome Lagomorph]

It's the child's choice. I would want my kid's to share my religion, but I won't (and can't) force them.

 

[cobra_ky]

i refused to answer because it's such a loaded question.

parents have the right to raise their kids however they want within the law. obviously if the parents try to do something like deny their child medical treatment the state will step in. but short of that, if parents want to be dicks and try to indoctrinate their children, it's really none of my business.

 

[Ranooth]

My girlfriend's parents are mega die hard Christians and its appalling how hypocritical they are with their daughters. They want them to decide their own futures but force them to attend every single church event under the tree and use bible passages as guilt trips.

Its also putting strain on our relationship too as im a Skeptic and although they do seem ok with me, i can see that they kinda do hate me for it and bad mouth me for it.

I have nothing against religion as long as it teaches people to become better and aid society i just hate how it is forced upon kids to the state of culthood.

 

[DrDeath3191]

They should be allowed to talk about their faith, but the child needs to choose for themselves in the end.

 

[andrat]

My parents TRIED forcing me to be catholic, that didn't turn out so well.

 

[AvsJoe]

Should Parents have the right to force there religion on there kids? You say that like it's a bad thing. Okay, how about this for an answer: (Note: the following is not what I believe) I'm for the parents forcing their beliefs on their children, but only if it's Christianity. Otherwise, I hope the children explore different religions and find the correct one (which just so happens to be mine). How's that for an answer?!

Listen, these religious threads anger me. There is no correct answer and it just fuels hatred to other cultures and religions. Can we please put all of this behind us and allow people to believe in what they want, if they even want to believe in anything at all?

 

[fluffybunny937]

This is a really tricky question, also It's a great way to start a flame war so I am bailing out on this one.

*runs for it*

 

[Redliph]

Is that what your parents told you ? Also having a foreskin makes sex and fapping way easier
and better !

Yes, actually. My mother works in Urology and deals with these kinds of things all the time. I also know because I did my own research on it. Sure, if I was tooling around with a spear, running naked or nearly naked in the forest as my ancestors did, having a protective sheath for my glans would be great but in this day and age it is merely a cosmetic thing that may eventually become a hindrance as you age like wisdom teeth, in my opinion.

Also, how can you be certain that you have more fun fapping than me? I fap all the time. Joking aside, it is an argument you can't win because I am not you and you are not me. You don't know how it feels if you lack foreskin and I dunno how it feels with it. Assuming you had your foreskin removed later in life and it was better before, it is still not conclusive beacause for all I know your phallus may not have healed properly. Kids recover much more easily than adults from stuff like that. Your claim is simply impossible to test and peer review, adequately.

 

[Xelioth]

it's bad parenting, obviously, but seriously? should they have the RIGHT to?! it's their kid. they have the right to train them to impersonate howler monkeys any time someone claps their hands in the rhythm of mary had a little lamb if they so choose.

just because someone exercises their rights in a way you disagree with, doesn't mean you should question if they should even HAVE that right.

this thread is ridiculous.

 

[DamienHell]

Yes
Kids need to at least start with a religion, and you certainly can't choose your own until you get older and can judge things correctly. So your parents religion should be your start-off, then you can change later when you have a different perspective, like choosing your major in college.

Why not raise your kids as atheists till they're old enough?

My parents are Christians, and that is what they did with m and my brother. They raised usin a secular environment, devoid of relgion. As a consequnce I developed an interest in other religions and eventaully became Buddhist.

Sounds like it was successful then, your a Buddhist because you choose to be, if you parents had been like normal christian parents you'd probably be a christian.

 

[Roxas1359]

Yes and No. I think kids need to experience things for themselves to see if they like it and if they don't then they can find some religion or philosophy that they like. However, I don't think that parents should force their children to believe in just one thing. What it does is that when they meet someone who has different beliefs than them, it can create tension and cause fights.

 

[Coldsnap]

I don't know whether you did this on purpose or not, but you already skewed the results in the manner in which you posed the question.

Nobody likes to be forced to do anything, so you're going to get many an enthusiastic no.

Now parents raise their children with the morals and beliefs that they have, it's inevitable and is totally their "right". Children should and will question and discover their own beliefs with age.

 

[Redliph]

Yes
Kids need to at least start with a religion, and you certainly can't choose your own until you get older and can judge things correctly. So your parents religion should be your start-off, then you can change later when you have a different perspective, like choosing your major in college.

Why not raise your kids as atheists till they're old enough?

My parents are Christians, and that is what they did with m and my brother. They raised usin a secular environment, devoid of relgion. As a consequnce I developed an interest in other religions and eventaully became Buddhist.

Sounds like it was successful then, your a Buddhist because you choose to be, if you parents had been like normal christian parents you'd probably be a christian.

I actually disagree with you here. I have seen a lot of parents who tried to force their kids to be Christian or in an old schoolmates case, Muslim. The kids, when they got old enough, actually rebelled and ended up becoming various degrees of agnostic. Raising a kid to be Christian doesn't mean they will become Christian. In fact, I would bet the opposite is true.

If I were raised by a father who smacked me around, told me I should hang back and let boys do all the work, and made me wear long skirts growing up I would probably end up so pissed off that I would be a total slut when I moved on to college or I'd dress like Hillary Clinton and be one of those cut throat business women. A seperate example, but you get my meaning, hopefully.

 

[Razor_32]

My parents raised my under christian views but eventually i realied this was something i didn't believe in and so goin to church etc....

 

[Estelindis]

The way you phrased the question is inherently biased. (Not that it's always easy for everyone, myself included, to see our own biases. But I digress.) "Forcing" something on someone pretty much always sounds bad. But if you talk about raising a child in a tradition with values you believe are good, does that sound as bad?

The way I see it, children need spiritual food just as much as they need physical food. There are lots of great different types of both foods all around the world, but a good parent won't deprive their child of that early, starting nourishment. Of course, once a child is grown up, they are free to eat different things if they like - or to go on hunger strike, even. But, until then, I think a parent does have a certain responsibility to give children a good start to help them grow, a certain structure to help them form an understanding of their world - which, like I said, they may later confirm or reject. But you can't confirm or reject anything if you never had it.

 

[The Kangaroo]

In Canada the right to chose your own religion is a guaranteed to every citizen by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Parents legally can't force a religion on their children.

Yet another good thing about Canada! is there anything they can't do right?

 

[DoomyMcDoom]

the way i see it i put yes/no since while raising your child you instill your beliefs and the foundation of who you are whether you try or not in most cases.

I mean to give said child total religious freedom from day one would require a say... christian parent to hire a babysitter every sunday so as to not accidentally force the religion on the child... and how does that look on a parent to leave a small child at home to go to church... especially to the church community it looks very similar to neglect... and that's a pretty bad thing if you're a parent to have that glaring you in the face true or not it causes others to think wrongly of you.

also depending on who you hire it can be expensive and may not be all that good for the baby/young child... y'know?

I mean later on they start looking more openly at things and choose their own path anyhow. and really only the most idiotic people scream "my parents made me go to church and it ruined me!!! waaaaahhhh!!!" cuz really... it's like... an hour a week outa a little kid's playtime... and realistically a child will lose alot more time in school during some of the useless bits...
I mean the ammount of classroom time spent actually learning is so small in comparison to say, homework hours. that if anyone is gonna be pissy at any specific kinda developemental control the whole school system needs to come into question as well... hell our grand western consumer society hasta come under a microscope too... we all do something to screw up children... so in the main picture... i see a religious upbringing as a lesser evil.
/end long post
(grammar and spelling aint tops here too much to edit, sorry)

 

[DamienHell]

Yes
Kids need to at least start with a religion, and you certainly can't choose your own until you get older and can judge things correctly. So your parents religion should be your start-off, then you can change later when you have a different perspective, like choosing your major in college.

Why not raise your kids as atheists till they're old enough?

My parents are Christians, and that is what they did with m and my brother. They raised usin a secular environment, devoid of relgion. As a consequnce I developed an interest in other religions and eventaully became Buddhist.

Sounds like it was successful then, your a Buddhist because you choose to be, if you parents had been like normal christian parents you'd probably be a christian.

I actually disagree with you here. I have seen a lot of parents who tried to force their kids to be Christian or in an old schoolmates case, Muslim. The kids, when they got old enough, actually rebelled and ended up becoming various degrees of agnostic. Raising a kid to be Christian doesn't mean they will become Christian. In fact, I would bet the opposite is true.

If I were raised by a father who smacked me around, told me I should hang back and let boys do all the work, and made me wear long skirts growing up I would probably end up so pissed off that I would be a total slut when I moved on to college or I'd dress like Hillary Clinton and be one of those cut throat business women. A seperate example, but you get my meaning, hopefully.

That's why I said "probably" I for example would end up an atheist no matter how I was raised. But many people I've met are Christians because thats how they were raised, and that's how it is for most other people, they because religious out of habit.

 

[Del-Toro]

I said yes/no but lets face it every spiritual standpoint, no matter what, is indoctrination, I actually have a hard time seeing atheists as free thinkers considering that so many are basically far left Dawkins worshippers. I used to be one of these so I know first hand. I'm centrist with a conservative lean now. I'm much happier.

 

[WeedWorm]

Are you serious? Of fucking course not.