Are people violating their children's freedom of religion by telling them god exist?

Question

Children's minds are not developed enough to question what they parents tell them. So, wouldn't it be unfair to tell them that god exist?

Answer 1

Probably. But what is wrong with that?

Aren't parents limiting their child's freedom by:

1) Telling them stealing is bad
2) Teaching them to share
3) Teaching them not to lie etc...

Ultimately, it is the parent's right to mold their childrens opinions and behaviors unless it is abusive and harmful.

By the way, the freedom of religion that we enjoy is freedom from the government abridging religion, not freedom from brainwashing, proseltyzing, lecturing, etc... by individuals and private parties.

Answer 2

There are so many things told to the children. Many scientific discoveries and basis have proved to be wrong by subsequent discoveries. The world was considered to be falt once upon a time. The Sun rise and Sun set theories too varied. But over a course of time the opinions changed.
When the teacher told the child 2 plus 2 = 4 on the first day and the next day 3+1=4 the child got confused and asked the teacher why are you telling different different things and confuse young minds.
So like with so many other things the child would learn for itself the truth of each statement and knowledge and their freedom is not affected either by telling or not telling.If you dont tell too the child is going to ask on seeing a church or temple or mosque in pictures or magazines or on tour what they are and then you have to explain them about God and the next thing the child would ask is do you believe in it or not and if yes then why if not why not ?So how are you going to avoid facing the TRUTH?
When they get developed they find the truth.Definitely there are many good samaritans like you who would take care of educating the children when they grow up about the TRUTH.

Answer 3

are people violating children's freedom of religion if they tell them God doesn't exist?

Either way you are persuading a child to one side of the issue and according to you violating a child's freedom.

I'm sure you don't believe this in entirety. Innately in the actions of the parent there is catechesis. If they parents are silent on the issue, but never go to church, never had a Bible in the house, no crucifix on the wall, don't face east at a certain time in the day, or take time to meditate on enlightenment, well then the child has their freedom to choose smudged if I may say so. Because all they grow up knowing is the absence of religion. It will be comfortable to them and thus play a role in forming their opinion.

The exact same thing is true in a religious family if all parameters are met.

I think it ultimately is unfair to teach your child only one side of the issue. Mind you I do not find it a violation of freedom to teach your children what you think is best for them. You tell your toddler that they can't keep saying the word 'penis' in public. Are you squelching their freedom of speech. No you are teaching them what you think is best as their primary caregiver.

I will most certainly teach my children about the Christian faith. They will grow up on Bible stories moreso than Dr. Seuss. Nothing against Seuss, but everything for the Bible. But I will make it a point to educate them on different beliefs held in culture and other religions. They should not be ignorant, but their freedom as children is limited due to their inability to be responsible for that freedom.

Freedoms bring responsibility. That is why 10 year old don't drive and 9 year old aren't allowed to order a beer at the bar. Responsibility.

They are not responsible enough to take hold of the freedom of religion. Parents always let their children go one day when they become an adult. It is at this point that one is not fully dependent on their parents instruction any longer and must discover the belief, or faith, or lifestyle that they find fulfilling and good.

I'm sorry but the logic of your question is quite illogical. You seem to have a sense of discomfort in teaching children about God. You may not be uncomfortable, however, when I use your logic to say children's minds are not developed enough to question their parents so wouldn't it be unfair to teach them basic math. Perhaps they would not choose that if they had the development of mind.

To be fair you must fill in many other points of education. There you will find the insanity of the proposition specific to the case you put forth.

Answer 4

Parents who believe in God impose their religion on their children just as much as athiests do (I believe athiesm is a religion). Children who are taught about God at home still have freedom of religion. When they get older, they are exposed to many different beliefs including athiesm. They will hear opinions of many people. God is no longer taught in school. There is no restraints on immoral behavior. Some schools even pass out condoms. Godless evolution is the norm.
Learning about God at home gives children an option. Some will choose to become athiest, or agnostic. Some will continue to believe in God despite what the world teaches them.

Answer 5

No it isn't violating a child freedom of religion to tell them ANY religious views. But you cannot make your children do religious things against their will that on the other hand is illegal. I personally am wiccan and my wife is christian my children will learn about my religion as well as my wives but the chioce is theirs. In my experience children who are the religion of their parents because their parents made them are amount the most ignorant (meaning they dont have alot of knowledge about it) people on the planet when it comes to religion espially theirs. Religion should be a choice, but a parent has every right share what they believe with the child or children.

Tony
US Army Combat Medic...101st

Answer 6

No, not if you actually believe God exists. It's a parent's duty to teach his child what he believes is right. Despite what various iconoclasts on this forum believe, it does no harm for a child to hear about God. It does a child good to think about something larger than himself.

If it were unfair to tell a child that God exists, then by that same reasoning it would be unfair to teach a child anything which fell outside the realm of objective fact. That would be an *extremely* limited childhood.

Answer 7

There are several comments made so far that incude a bit of truth in each.
firstly your question assumes people can expect their right to freedom to be respected and aknowledged by people who think differently to them. Acts of disrespect, even to the human right to live, is oft, blatant and legal. Some belief systems consider disrepect to freedom as a moral and just act. It is believed that parents must protect their children from evil, so the violation of rights is justified and the community supports them in such violations. It is communally agreed that children have limited rights, as if they are less of a person, less of a life.
I believe in showing the power of cause and effect to children through experience, providing evidence and observable results of all aspects of life, and regardless of that living being's age, giving that person the power to choose for themself. One example of this is the extreme taboo placed on sexual activity by the church, and made illegal by the church's influence over the state. Sex is an entirely natural act, and any system that imposes sanctions and limitations on that which is natural is against the law of God. Medical science prooves that the human body begins sexual stimulations at about age 9, yet the global legal age is "15 or more depending on country" (in some places 21). I'm not promoting pedophilia, infact I strongly oppose it, but I wonder if the law is wrong about what constitutes pedophilia. The mind of a child is very easy to manipulate, given that they are inclined to trust those who've given them life, and so they can be made to believe without significant force whatever they are told to. The influence a parent wields is far too often abused, and this abuse could be classified as a raping of the mind, and given that we are talking about children does that not constitute pedophilia?
There is a phychological implication that if a child is told about the God of Christianity, they are expected to become followers. The option to choose otherwise is not even discussed, and if the child opposes that belief system, or even experiments / researches other belief systems, their rank and name will be made inferior in the family unit and the wider community, and the entire family will also be negatively affected for allowing one of their own to turn away from their God. There are reputations to uphold.
One answerer brought up the obligation to cite the pledge of allegience at school. This is a legally required expectation that imposes a violation on the childs freedom of beliefs just as much as The Bible is. There are few differences between the 2. one of those differences is that is imposed by governmental law instead of parental law.
Another mentioned that you would be violating a childs freedom telling them god doesn't exist, as if it were a black and white argument. Athiest versus Christian, thus ignoring agnostic, hindu, buddhist, etc. Everyone has a different idea about what is true in spirit, and it is human nature to want others to agree with you so influencing children to be followers is natural, but that doesn't make it right, or wrong. it just is? same with everything else in todays society that you find it so easy to place into the catagories of 'good', 'bad', and 'irrelevant'. See the shades of grey, and look between those shades even further and you might see colour. There are billions of possible colours (256 to the power of 4 [red, green, blue, transparant] is our best guess), one for each system of belief. Which one are you today?

Answer 8

Gee let me guess you're a liberal.........? So tell me are people violating their children's freedom when they forbid their children to say the Pledge of Allegiance in school also. And what about violating my rights for my children to say it when you push to have it removed from the school because it has the word GOD in it? What if, What if, What if? This country is going to hell because of all those do gooders who've taken parents rights away to parent the way we feel we should. Look at kids today. NO MORALES, BABIES KILLING BABIES, DRUGS . What's next. I can't imagine a GODLESS COUNTRY and I don't want to.
It's that kind of thinking that's screwed up this country so bad already.

Answer 9

no. because anything relates in telling kids good thing about God does not violate anything. Because God is up to all the freedoms of religions. They are all inferior to Him. It does not violate anything if you tell kids that God exist. Remember God is the Creator of all. And I say that Not telling kids about God in a way violate a law.

Answer 10

It's freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. Parents have the freedom (in this part of the world anyway) to teach their children what they believe.

Teaching a child about God is not wrong.