Isn't it rather cruel for non believers to let the religious brain wash children?

Question

I mean would society stand back and ignore other forms of child abuse? Why can religions get away with this behavior?

PS: I am having to re-ask this question as it was reported, why? it's not rude is it? did I strike a nerve?

Answer 1

I agree - teach them TO think, not WHAT to think.

Answer 2

No... the question isn't rude. But I view this the same way as I view the religion in school thing. I certainly don't want religious people teaching my child what they think he should believe. I support Freedom of Religion... whether I agree with the religion or not.
I don't consider teaching a religion abuse... but I do see telling a child he's going to hell if he doesn't believe exactly as the parents as mental and emotional abuse. considering that almost 90% of Americans claim to be Christian... and 85% of America is considered to be "Depressed" this should set up a red flag. But oddly enough, it doesn't... they simply keep telling their children about Satan, then tell them the boogie man isn't real. Tell them they are no good, but Jesus loves them anyway. Tell them that hell awaits them if they don't put their faith in Jesus... and then wonder why their kids are taking anti-depressants... and killing themselves.

Sorry, that part of it is a touchy subject with me. I've seen friends die because of this type of behavior.

Answer 3

i have no idea why it was reported...'stupid' is not outside of the 'community guidelines', is it? well, let's look at this question logically, shall we? let's see...where to start, where to start...first off...'non believers' have no inherent legal OR moral right to tell anyone else how to raise their children...it is not up to ANYONE to 'let' or not 'let' me raise my children in any case... now, let's see about this whole 'child abuse' charge-i suppose teaching a child to follow rules of behavior that include honesty, sharing, kindness, charity, modesty, respect, and all that 'do unto others' behavior which is common to every religion i know of would fall under the heading of 'child abuse'...telling them that there IS a God, and that God created them and their universe wonderfully,and loves them dearly, would be considered 'child abuse'...but telling them they are nothing more than a bag of bones and flesh, a genetic 'accident', some stray electrical impulses, and that what they can see all around them is all there is and all there ever will be is somehow just fine and dandy??? please, please, please tell me that you have not reproduced and never will...i feel bad for your poor sad helpless kids...no hope in their sad little lives, that there could be more than the here and now...

Answer 4

imbuing your child with any set of values could be seen to be wrong. do you vote the same way as your parents? do you see lying and theft as wrong because your parents do?
Whatever moral and belief system one has is naturally passed on to our children because of how we live our lives.
As a professional working with children, the best adjusted and secure are those whose parents have raised them with clear beliefs either theistic or atheistic.
And you must remember that Humanism is itself a faith, just one without a deity.
It's not abuse unless the child is in physical or moral danger. Being taught to follow the tenets of a religion does not put a child in danger unless the teaching has been perverted from the norm of that faith, eg david koresh etc.

Answer 5

Firstly, you need to prove that children have brains, and if so, they are able to use them.

Secondly, the grammar and syntax of your question is more than a little ambigious. Can you clarify the question?

Thirdly, religion is not forced on anyone in this country - parents have a choice concerning school education, and attending a church - so what is the point you are attempting to make, if any?

Answer 6

So when we teach kids about seatbelts we're brainwashing them? How about when we teach them about American history? Politics? And how much more is your soul worth than your body?

Religion is taught to kids because that is what God expects of us. Anybody who does not teach their kids about the Lord not only does them a great injustice but also brings judgment on themselves!

Kids have the choice whether they accept the churches teachings; especially when they are adults and choose for themselves if or what church they go to.

Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. -Ephesians 6:4

Answer 7

I find it interesting that you view religious teaching of children 'brainwashing'. Would you also consider teaching a child atheism or agnosticism 'brainwashing'?

As for being reported, some people feel it's ok to report someone simply because they disagree with an otherwise innocent viewpoint.

Answer 8

Well, children should be protected from cults and from religious people who step on their civil rights--I definitely advocate the separation of church and state. It's offensive for kids to be exposed to religious propaganda in school or clubs or whatever.

But if kids are curious, you have to be prepared to let them learn what they want. If they're free to avoid religion, they have to be free to explore it, too--otherwise, you're being unfair by not allowing them to check out something that might make them happy. I mean, you might be a die-hard atheist or whatever, but your kid might not be. Freedom of religion means that kids are free to do something different than their parents when it comes to religion. No, kids shouldn't be brainwashed by religion. But they shouldn't be brainwashed by anybody else, either. If a child's civil rights are being abused, do what you can to stop it, but if your kid wants to join some after-school prayer group, you might be harming them by forbidding them to go (or making them want to disobey you and go anyway.)

Oh, and as far as having your question removed--you might want to be a little more specific, like giving examples of what you consider brainwashing. It might be seen as offensive if you make generalizations without anything to back them up--I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just saying that you should be well-informed and willing to share your knowledge to make your point.

Answer 9

OK, there is a huge difference between brain washing and teaching a child what you believe. I've experienced both!

When i was 11 years old, a friend of my parents invited me to her church. My parents (being atheists) said no. I was at her house one day and she tried to tell me that I was going to burn in hell and that Jesus was going to come in 50 days and I was going to be left here to die and suffer. I begged my parents to let me go after that because I was so scared... they said no and no longer talked to her. That's brain washing
A few years later a friend invited me to her church and I was scared because of what the other lady had said to me, but my friend told me it wasn't like that at all! It wasn't! Everyone was loving and great and I really got to know about who God really was. I was never forced to do anything or say anything. I never had to believe anything they told me. No one tried to scare me into it, it was totally different. I'm 24 and still attend that church. I love God and I don't feel it as anything to do with brain washing!

Answer 10

So in your America the rights of parents are suspended while others raise your kids for you? Who gets to set the standard? The government? We all trust them don't we? Kind of sounds like the USSR of the cold war. Who gets to decide what constitutes "brain washing"? Is it simply information that the government regards as wrong? Subversive perhaps? I wonder what the parents who teach their kids about the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, and the Tooth Fairy will think about your new visionary Fascist America where the government does your thinking for you.

Answer 11

I clicked this question because (despite it's one-sided, demeaning wording) the issue has been problematic for me -- as an atheist, who believes children should be encouraged to use the power of their minds to figure things out, and should not be crushed with "believe because I'm telling you to believe" -- yet, I hesitate to try to legislate how people raise their own kids, because I fear for where that will lead.

Then I read your Details, and clicked your nickname and read your previous "questions" and saw how non-questiony they are.

So, yes, I have a problem with people raising their kids to believe a gabunch of crap that crushes them, and forces irrationality on them. It bugs me that my niece is being raised to believe that her duty is to be submissive to men (because females are inherently evil and inferior). But I don't know what to do about the problem.

I just try to promote education, and expect that eventually the fanatically religious will die out, and we will someday live in a civilized world where people don't need to believe in a Big Spanking Sky Daddy.

On the other hand, I object to your previous "questions" as they are disingenuous. You clearly aren't trying to promote discussion, but to bait religious folk, which seems counter-productive.

I hate to see a fellow atheist stoop to the scuzzy tactics of the religious fanatics, and wish you'd cut it out.