Is forcing religion on children a form of child abuse?

[EwanSF]

Indoctrination is abuse, pure and simple. The notion of hell fucking terrified me as a child, caused a lot of distress and it's not on. To lie to children in such a brazen, hideous way will be illegal one day. And as for the notion of "indoctrination into atheism"? I find it a bit difficult to fathom that one. Atheism is not a belief system, it's a lack of one. There's nothing to be indoctrinated into.

 

[EwanSF]

It depend on what the given ideal is. God botherers are always going to be iffy about the idea of raising a child without god, being as they believe that such a practice would put the childs soul at risk. However, this position is utter bullshit with no basis in fact. A position that does have basis in fact is that a lot of children, and as I said, I speak from experience here, are psychologicaly abused with this notion of hell and devine wrath. A lot of gay kids kill themselves due to this.

Aside from that, the lack of being raised with religious belief allows one to take stock later in life and if you're stupid enough to want to commune with something as vile as that vengful desert god so many of you are so keen on, fair enough. The opposite is never so easy. Being raised within a static belief system robs you of your ability to question propperly.

And no, I do not believe that parenting should not be the pure porogative of parents, if what they're teaching the child harms it. If a parent were raising thier kids with national socialism for example, I'd want to see social services intervening.

 

[AsianDream]

It depend on what the given ideal is. God botherers are always going to be iffy about the idea of raising a child without god, being as they believe that such a practice would put the childs soul at risk. However, this position is utter bullshit with no basis in fact. A position that does have basis in fact is that a lot of children, and as I said, I speak from experience here, are psychologicaly abused with this notion of hell and devine wrath. A lot of gay kids kill themselves due to this.

Aside from that, the lack of being raised with religious belief allows one to take stock later in life and if you're stupid enough to want to commune with something as vile as that vengful desert god so many of you are so keen on, fair enough. The opposite is never so easy. Being raised within a static belief system robs you of your ability to question propperly.

And no, I do not believe that parenting should not be the pure porogative of parents, if what they're teaching the child harms it. If a parent were raising thier kids with national socialism for example, I'd want to see social services intervening.

I agree with you - educating children to think that god and religion are all about an angry vengefull God is not a good thing.

So I guess this is a sort of child abuse

 

[JustMe891]

I’ve recently read The God Delusion by professor Richard Dawkins of Oxford University. (If you can buy it a bookshop in Little Rock it must be available in most places!).

His clear view is that parents forcing their religious ideas onto their children is a form of Child abuse – similar to sexual abuse and violence – though often worse in that the effects can be more profound and long lasting.

I found I strongly agreed with his view that religion is a form of “culturally transmitted” mental illness – and with his quote from Robert Pirsig - “When one person suffers from a delusion it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called religion”

Does any one else here agree with the view that in a civilized society - there should be some limits placed on the extent to which adults can indoctrinate children with their own beliefs?

Every time my friend, every time! what do the Catholic types say? "give me a child under the age of 7 and I'll give you a child for life", sick fuckers I think, child abuse all the way.

Probally when they are not abusing children at the time eh? in the USA eh?

 

[JustMe891]

Indoctrination is abusive, but that would apply whether the child is being indoctrinated to believe in some religion or in atheism.

I dont see that simply bringing a child up in a particular religion is any more indoctrination than teaching other things that the parents believe in, like not spitting on the floor or not allowing some stranger to abduct you.

When the children grow up, they can make their own decisions.

It would be nonsensical and abusive for a family with a strong religious tradition to deny their children the benefit of that and bring them up as if they were Richard Dawkins' kids.

Rubbish, by that that time it is too late, don't you understand that years of indoctrination will change a child for life, just look at every single religious person on this planet.

 

[GEMATRIA12]

i dont think teaching religion to a child can ever be called forced, i mean maybe teaching english to a toddler is forcing him to speak english maybe he has a right to choose which language he wants to speak,obviously thats ludicrous i think we are given the job of raising our children to the best we know how to,and when they are adults let them choose their path.

 

[EwanSF]

That is an out and out shit analogy. The two don't corelate in the slightest. And as has been said, at length, throughout this thread, bringing a child up in religion robs them of the option of choosing thier own path.

 

[GEMATRIA12]

how does it rob them of anything if your smart enough to know whats the right path for yourself than choose it no matter what your taught...

 

[AsianDream]

how does it rob them of anything if your smart enough to know whats the right path for yourself than choose it no matter what your taught...

As children we're all specially vulnerable and trusting.

Sometimes as adults we realise that not everything our parents told us is true - but that's quite rare.

In a religious context - one example is why some people are committed Suni Muslims and others equally committed Shia Muslims.

This diffrence isn't based on a rational adult choice based on each persons reading of the Koran - but is overwhelmingly determined by which version of the religion they were raised in as children.

Sadly - while to outsiders the differences between these two branches of Islam are almost imperceptible - they seem to invoke strong enough feelings for children raised in either to grow up happy to plant bombs in each others communities.

So the argument that it dosen't matter what people are taught as children - because they'll make their own rational choice as adults just doesn't hold water - it's simply not how people are.

It underlines the fact I've noticed that the faith someone has in their own beliefs or religion is generally inversely proportional to how likely it is to have any truth in it