Indoctrinating Children in Religion

[robvalue]

Yeah, I come down on that side of it.

I see that there are more health factors to circumcision than I realized, but it appears to me that when balanced against the risks and advantages of not having it done, it's not an open an shut case.

The problem is more that any sort of mutilation is allowed because it's religious. That is where you get into problems. Then the door is open for other blatantly non-beneficial practices.

Would it be fair to say that the vast majority of circumcisions are performed primarily for religious reasons these days? (I'm thinking of the Jewish as being the lion's share?)

[Mr Greene]

Muslims are also into it apparently and doctors belonging to those groups are known to actively promote the practice to new parents regardless of their beliefs (or lack thereof).
That's before we even touch the female version.

[GrandizerII]

Yeah, I come down on that side of it.

I see that there are more health factors to circumcision than I realized, but it appears to me that when balanced against the risks and advantages of not having it done, it's not an open an shut case.

The problem is more than any sort of mutilation is allowed because it's religious. That is where you get into problems. Then the door is open for other blatantly non-beneficial practices.

Would it be fair to say that the vast majority of circumcisions are performed primarily for religious reasons these days? (I'm thinking of the Jewish as being the lion's share?)

I wouldn't know, but problems with circumcision should not only be pointed out when religious beliefs are involved. As is stated on WebMD, the benefits are not strong enough to render circumcision more favorable than no circumcision. So even for non-religious purposes, short of medical necessity, there is no justification for child circumcision, especially when you take into consideration psychological consequences which proponents of circumcision tend to ignore ... and the ethical issue of cutting off a valuable part of your child's penis for no legit reason.

As for hygiene issues and risk of STDs, there's knowing how to wash your genitals properly and using condoms and such. None of them require circumcision.

[Zenith]

Regarding circumcision,

Perhaps it would've been fine a few hundred of years ago (in the meaning, "not that painful for a child"), even though by no means healthier (hygiene).
But nowadays, whoever adult wants to have his foreskin cut off, there are anesthetics.

Besides, circumcising your child would "mark" him for life, and unlike indoctrinating him into a religion or subscribing him to your religious cult, later on in life, if he decides he wants to have nothing to do with the religion, he cannot "undo" what his parents did to him.

But it's quite difficult to convince a jew or a muslim whose God is gonna "kill them" or throw to hell or something if they don't circumcise their children.

[Zenith]

Btw,

I've found this:

http://www.circumcision.org/harmswomen.htm

[Ravenshire]

It is simply a question of being open-minded. We have mixed-race marriages, same-sex marriages, same sex couple adoption of children and many, many more other examples too long to be listed. People still live by the Torah, Bible or the Koran and it is about time that parents let their children at least have access to literature that teaches them to open their minds, and to think outside of religion. For some, it is too late, but it is upto the next generation of parents and also the schools to allow children read anything written by atheists, that way, children can actually make their own minds up as to which path they want to take in their lives. I have two daughters, they are not baptised and I have been chatting to them about Richard Dawkins, Charles Darwin, Sam Harris and demonstrating how they think freely and how happy they are in their lives.

That's really good only if theists parents did the same thing though but they highly likely wont.

Can you imagine GC giving his kid a copy of "The Greatest Show on Earth" by Dawkins or "On the Origin of Species" by the great anti-christ himself. I sure as hell can't.

[Vox Populi]

Parents are responsible for making a lot of important choices for their children. Religion can sometimes be part of the culture of a certain region that parents might want to pass on to their children. At the same time, adolescents should be allowed to reject their parents' religion without having to fear that they will be thrown out of the house. I have known families that spend every weekend, Sunday morning and evening in church and also take part in their church's various celebrations. A lot of these parents have the mindset that their children will attend their religious functions if they live under their parents' roof. That means that their children are forced to spend a lot of time in church.


I thought it would be interesting to have a thread dedicated to the indoctrination of children in religion. How far is too far? If you are a theist, would you force your sixteen year old to attend church if they disagreed with your religious views?

I had a 1/2 house on this and it was the best. I was of course a devout Mormon till my discovery of my Sexual Orientation. But, I learned about the Church... But was never forced to do anything in particular. If I didn't want to go to Church it was like "whatever". They wanted me to go to Boy Scouts... I dropped out after 2 weeks.. They were a bit disappointed but didn't really push push push me. The coming out process is still to this day a difficult subject with my family. My mom is mostly secular and doesn't give to hoots about Mormonism. My dad on the other hand is a bit more into it. So.. I think parents should let them know about there personal faith but raise there child to develop there own faith or lack of faith..