Indoctrinating Children in Religion

[Godscreated]

If I had children hopefully they would agree with the teachings of the scriptures, if they did not they would still attend church until they were out of the house, when they leave would depend on what their goals in life are.

GC

Why not leave your kids alone and let them wait until god decides to change their lives like you claim god did for you?

God's responsible for my turn around not me -

God looked down through history and saw my needs, supplied those things I needed to chose -

If I didn't teach as the scriptures say they could miss what God's trying to do in their lives. If I had not gone to church those many years ago I would have missed what God had prepared for me. It's simple schooling helps people see, the right schooling is important.

GC

---

If I had children hopefully they would agree with the teachings of the scriptures, if they did not they would still attend church until they were out of the house, when they leave would depend on what their goals in life are.

GC

So, yes, you would force your children to attend church even if they didn't believe any of it.

My children would go to church out of respect for their parents, respect that would come through love.

GC

[The Valkyrie]

If I ever have kids (or adopt, which is a possibility), and they decide they want to attend church, I'll let them, so long as they're old enough and mature enough to understand the consequences of their decision.

And I wouldn't let them go with some fanatical person intent on converting them, but someone with a generally neutral outlook.

And I wouldn't be teaching them about religion at home.

I'd teach them to be honest, open minded, and decent people . . . which generally precludes any teachings from the Abrahamic "holy" books.

[Godscreated]

If I had children hopefully they would agree with the teachings of the scriptures, if they did not they would still attend church until they were out of the house, when they leave would depend on what their goals in life are.

GC

How would you feel if at teen wanted to attend a Christian church but his/her atheist parents didn't allow it? Would you think that the parents should allow their adolescent to make up their own minds?

I don't know why but I thought you had children, GC.

None of my own, was a youth leader several years ago. It's really funny you mention that, I just became aware of a young girl who went to church and accepted Christ and her parents refuse to let her go back or have her former christian friends. As a youth leader I sat in homes with parents and their children having good conversation about letting their children come to church when they wouldn't allow it I did not push the issue. Pushing on people is the best way to push them away.

GC

[Brakeman]

So, yes, you would force your children to attend church even if they didn't believe any of it.

My children would go to church out of respect for their parents, respect that would come through love.

GC

Love to avoid your most grievously vile punishment you can think of in a lake of fire for all eternity?

Or does that kind of love only come from your god?

[dyresand]

My children would go to church out of respect for their parents, respect that would come through love.

GC

Love to avoid your most grievously vile punishment you can think of in a lake of fire for all eternity?

Or does that kind of love only come from your god?

Ill take hell fire for indefinite amount of time for my soul.
No really if those are the only 2 options i am going with hell.

[Zenith]

For children, indoctrination is, basically, teaching someone the truth you believe in. You cannot say that X forced his beliefs upon his 6 years old child. The child simply believes whatever he's being told. If you say "There's a guy living in the sky" he will believe. By the time he grew older, he won't even need to be "forced" to go to church or do ritual A or B.

Actually, I know parents who literally forced their beliefs on their children, and not just simply teach. But maybe it's just the culture I come from.

To be fair, just saying "There's a guy living in the sky" seems harmless. But it would still be way better to say that you believe there's a guy living in the sky but that it is possible you could be wrong. It's more in how you say things to the child rather than what you actually believe.

Regarding Christians sincerely believing in a hell, even so, it is still abuse to instill in children's minds that there is such a thing as hell, especially when you know there's no evidence for such a place. Intentions don't always have to matter. Abuse is still abuse.

And to Lek, if foreskins are such a bad thing to humanity, why did God create a subset of humans with foreskins in the first place?

I was born in a religious christian family. I particularly have not been taught of "the perils of hell" at a young age. I was forced to go to the church when I was young, yes. I did live in a religious environment and had been indoctrinated, yes. It took a lot of time and it was not easy to forsake the faith I grew in (and yes, I used to fear going to hell for no longer believing in God).

What I'm trying to say is that there are ways in which a child can be grown in a christian family without becoming a psychopathic / ruined adult. There are many ways in which one can believe in God, and there are many ways in which one can treat / educate his child. Since we're talking about theists now, and there's no way we can force them not to teach their children about God, we should consider some guidelines that even theists can keep and can come to agree to, so that their christian children, which most of them will remain christian, will have the best treatment possible, within the limits.

Besides, there are things similarly evil to a kid as indoctrinating him: not educating him quite at all. And there are trends and ideologies that come and go and the children & youth are vulnerable to them, and depending on case, can equally destroy their lives. So perhaps we should not look at it as if Christianity / religion is the only great peril that can happen to a child, or that, if somehow religion disappeared over night, all children would start to be educated properly.

[GrandizerII]

I agree with you that parental neglect is also wrong.

[robvalue]

Yeah, indoctrination is not the worst thing they can do to their kid, but it's still wrong and I think it's worth fighting to educate parents not to do it.

They can teach their kids their own beliefs about God all day long, if they own them as such. It's just theists have a nasty habit of not understanding the difference between their beliefs and facts. It also becomes a lot harder for the parent if they have to say, "I believe you will go to Hell little Johnny if you don't believe in Jesus." It's much easier to just pass the responsibility onto God and state it as "fact". And since the parent probably wants to use threats of hell as a parenting tool in place of actual parenting, these threats would sound ridiculous if phrased as beliefs.

[dyresand]

Yeah, indoctrination is not the worst thing they can do to their kid, but it's still wrong and I think it's worth fighting to educate parents not to do it.

They can teach their kids their own beliefs about God all day long, if they own them as such. It's just theists have a nasty habit of not understanding the difference between their beliefs and facts. It also becomes a lot harder for the parent if they have to say, "I believe you will go to Hell little Johnny if you don't believe in Jesus." It's much easier to just pass the responsibility onto God and state it as "fact". And since the parent probably wants to use threats of hell as a parenting tool in place of actual parenting, these threats would sound ridiculous if phrased as beliefs.

The thing is a secular house holds tend to have happier children than a theistic one. So its better to allow a child to choose and not to choose for them. Atheists are not bad people by any stretch of the imagination every group has bad people but looking at it you really shouldn't get upset if your child doesn't choose to follow your own religion or turn atheist and get discombobulated over it because there is stories of parents kicking their kids out because they turned atheist.

[robvalue]

That's right. Some people seem to have this absurd notion that we indoctrinate them into atheism, which doesn't even make any sense. They also seem to think we would keep them away from ever hearing about religion, like it's the measles. It's ridiculous. Once again, they have bugger all idea what atheism is. It certainly doesn't mean trying to stop your kid making religious choices. With a good grounding in critical thinking, I'd say you have a good chance they'll turn out atheist, but that's their choice.