Regarding: Children's Rights in the United States... ?

Question

1. Do children have the right to choose their own religion?
If so: At what age? Under what circumstances?

2. Do foster children 'enjoy' the same rights as legal/natural children? (if not, what are the differences)

3. Are Children's Legal Rights --regarding the issue of their choice of religion-- the same in all 50 states, or are they different in individual states?

4. What government offices have this kind of information -- name/s please.

Thank You!

Answer 1

Under the U.S. Constitution, the Free Exercise Clause gives every American citizen the right to choose and practice whatever religion they choose, including children. The Establishment Clause prevents the government from promoting or hindering any particular religion. However, in terms of children, the Free Exercise clause of the First Amendment conflicts with the Fourth Amendment to the extent that parents have the right to decide how their children will be raised and educated. To that extent, parents may bring their children to church every week (or every day, as the case may be). But pragmatically you can't force any person, even your own child, to believe something they don't want to believe.

A child, even a foster child, has the right to believe whatever they want to believe, and under the first amendment they can legally express those beliefs. Whether the child is privately punished for that expression is entirely up to the parents, as the Constitution only applies to government agents or representatives.

So, to this extent, the law is the same in all 50 states: a child (foster or not) may believe whatever they choose to believe and are legally free to express those beliefs, but a parent has the right to raise that child as they deem appropriate, and so may reward or punish the child accordingly as long as their behavior towards the child does not constitute abuse under the state's laws. Information about child abuse laws may be found in a given state's criminal code.

Answer 2

1. Children do not have the right to choose the religion in which they will be brought up and instructed, at least not until they have reached the "age of reason", whatever that is (but see further on this below, especially regarding changes of religion and dangerous sects). If parents disagree about what religion the child should be brought up in, a family court may decide. Usually the custodial parent gets to choose. There is quite a bit of litigation on this upon the divorce of mixed marriages. When a child has reached the age of reason, and certainly when s/he has reached age 14, a court must take into consideration his or her wishes, both as to custody and about things like religion.

2. One has to distinguish between legally-fostered and informally-fostered children where some biological (or adoptive) parent retains legal control but not physical custody. Legally fostered children have at least as much, and perhaps more, rights as any other child, because they are subject to outside supervision. That doesn't mean that foster children have as many opportunities. A foster child (if fostered through an agency or by operation of law/order of a court) is subject to supervision by some authority; foster parents have limited guardianship rights. A foster parent cannot choose a religion for a child (if that is your query) which is why foster parents -- unless very temporary ones -- would normally be chosen appropriate to the child's background. (There have been a few cases where the custodial parent was in prison and issues arose; I assume this situation does not apply to your query.)

3. Children's legal rights are normally defined as "the best interests of the child" but that is interpreted by courts according to the common law legal system in the USA and so differs marginally by state. Children's property rights depend on statute, but they don't vary much either. The problem is that your question as to religion is one that will be decided by each judge (indeed each set of parents) based on the specific facts of the case. Much of the litigation has concerned Jews and mixed marriages; and the rest of what I've researched concerns sects and marginal religions, like Scientology, Jehovah's Witnesses, Children of God (now the Family), Jim Jones' Jonestown commune or David Koresh's Waco one -- where there are specific reasons for one parent, having broken away fromt he sect become deprogrammed, try to get his or her children back. The only point I can make for you is that unless the sect in question is dangerous or has an unsavory reputation (the Children of God involved minors in sex right from puberty, and allegedly sometimes in pedophilic acts; Scientology doesn't believe in psychiatry; Jehovah's Witnesses don't allow blood transfusions) the judges usually only address CHANGES in religion imposed on a school-age child.

4. Government offices do not have this kind of information. Faith-based children's welfare charities probably have it. As for the sects, especially the very notorious Church of Scientology and the Chidlren of God, there is a lot of stuff on the Internet. I'm adding some links below.

Answer 3

Children have the right to choose their religion if it is not against morality as provided for in the constitution.
Foster children have no rights because under the law they are not even considered children. Only legitimate, illegitimate, adopted and natural children are well defined and given rights under the laws.

Answer 4

parents usually bring up the child in the religion they are in. most will chose their own religion once they leave home. fister children have the same rights as any other children. more so as they are under state supervision and are looked after more carefully than your own children. governments have no information as you have the seperation from church and state law in every state. children in every state until they go off to college or to the military which at 17 they can, they pretty much go to church with the parents or their friends. the way kids are nowadays, most parents are happy to have their kids going to bible study. there are more churches that are non-denominational where everyone can go to.

Answer 5

1. yes, whenever they want. however their parents may baptise them at any age.

2. yes, same rights

3. all around

4. depending on state, it'll either be health and human services, job and family services, etc.

Technically speaking, children have almost no rights to speak of outside of basic human liberties and protection from forced labor, but any child who is so inclined can choose their religion as they see fit. their parents can refuse to allow their children to participate in the religion as far as taken them to church/temple or allowing them to be baptised and thus fully accepted into the fold, but fighting against a child's religious choices will just lead to them denouncing all faiths until they're permitted to do as they please.

Answer 6

1 No
2 Yes
3 No
4 You have to go state by state and precedent by precedent, but in general rights like the ones you are concerned with belong to adults only. Notice, no prayer in schools. That is one of the reasons that this is so.