If people weren't introduced to religion until they were mature thinkers, would it have the same appeal?

Question

I think not. If someone is raised in a religion, its like they inherit it. And I think that its kind of wrong to indoctrinate people before they even have the mental capacity to understand what they're being taught. A 3 year old has no capacity for existential thought and will beleive in god just because their parents tell them to. But someone's faith can have a major impact of their worlview, so shouldn't that choice be put off until the person has a well developed ability for abstract and existential thought, which usually doesn't happen until the teen years?

Answer 1

"That is a protestant baby. This is a Hindu baby. That is a Muslim baby. This baby thinks there are many gods. That baby is adamant that there is only one. But it is preposterous that we do this to children. They are too young to know what they think. To slap a label on a child at birth - to announce, in advance, as a matter of hereditary presumption if not determinate certainty, an infant's opinions on the cosmos and creation, on life and afterlives, on sexual ethics, abortion and euthanasia - is a form of mental child abuse." [Richard Dawkins].

"To succeed the theologian invades the cradle. In the minds of innocents they plant the seeds of superstition. Save children from the pollution of this horror." [Robert Ingersoll]

"I don't think they should be able to teach religion until you're 18 years old and you know what it would be a whole different world. If they weren't pushing that shi*t into your head while it was still soft you'd never buy it, not for a minute. If you walked into, you'd never heard about the bible and none of your friends had ever heard about Christianity and you just found the Bible in a used book store oh you'd jump right on that idea wouldn't yah? Oh this sounds completely logical yeah the cave and the ark and oh yeah hey Dottie i think i've found the meaning of life here. No you'd fukcing chuck it in the waste basket. You would." - Doug Stanhope

Answer 2

well, what you think is somewhat irrelevant

the evidence shows that some people who are introduced to religion late in life find it very appealing and some do not

also, many children are taught in a particular religion and discard it at first opportunity, to spend a life without religion, or to pick up a different one

everything we teach a person can have a major impact on their world view

should I teach my children that stealing is wrong, or should I wait until they are 18 and let them decide for themselves? this will have a big impact on their worldview, and the concepts of property and rights and distribution of wealth are fairly abstract, better wait until they develop the ability for existential thought

don't be silly, parents have the obligation to teach their children their ethics, morality, and the belief system that informs their ethics and morality

children can then accept or reject it

there is no such thing as moral neutral instruction and their is no such thing as morality that does not stem from an unproveable belief system

and it is true, a 3 year old will believe what his parents tell him, so we should only tell them things we truly believe, however that same 3 year old will turn 16 and he will disbelieve something merely because his parents told him

parents should teach

but everybody in the end makes their own decisions and is responsible for their own world view

Answer 3

Religions are usually the manifestation of a worldview. A worldview is how we perceive and act towards life. It is not merely a set of beliefs, it a set of beliefs by which one lives, so it is inherently religious. It determines morality, language, relationships, and so many other things. It is precognitive, so much so that we really never think about it.

It is possible that if one was raised in a worldview that was void of religion, and was later presented with any given religion that he or she would might reject it. This is probably because that person has been trained to think outside of religion. This is hardly any different from a person raised in a religious worldview and when they are presented with a nonreligious worldview that they reject. So in essence, a nonreligious worldview isn't so nonreligious after all -- it is the religion of no religion.

Besides that, humans are inherently religious. China is a prime example. In 1949 the Communist Chinese under Mao set out to eradicate religion from China. This was known as the Cultural Revolution. Foreigners which included missionaries were expelled from China. After a few generations were raised in a society devoid of religion the very thing that Mao was trying to avoid swept through China: religious revival. The growth of the church in China is unprecedented at any point in history. The people who have never heard about God desire to know God because of an inner desire that can't be removed. This is what Pascal referred to as the "God shaped hole" that only God can fill.

So yeah, religion may have the same appeal, perhaps an even greater appeal when children come of age and start thinking abstractly.

Answer 4

Indoctrinate? Isn't that what we're doing right now. From the time a person starts public school he is getting secular humanistic indoctrination untill he graduates from high school and if he continues his education he gets more. The George Barna think tank(whatever it's officially called) did studies that show that of those conservative evangelical christians who put their kids in public schools, 75% left the faith about 2 years after they graduated from high school. Remember, these are not liberal christians. These are the Bible thumpers. But there are also many christian kids who go to christian school or are even home schooled and they still leave the faith, contrary to what you say. Also, contrary to what you say, there are many kids who were raised in a agnostic or athiests home and grew up to become christians. If you don't believe that just get a list of the big name evangelical leaders in this country and and do some research into their backgrounds and you'll find that it wasn't their parents that led them to Christ, on the contrary, it was them who led their parents to Christ because their parents were non-believers. Franklin Graham rejected his fathers christianity. He says he didn't truly accept Christ until he was in his late 20's and only after having lived a hedenistic and rebelious life. He wrote a book. I think it was called 'the rebel'. Madlyn Murray O'hare, the woman who single handedly got prayer removed from the schools in this country, raised her 2 boys to be athiests. She hated christianity and was actively trying to destroy it. She raised her boys to carry on the work after she was gone. One of her sons, Bill Murray, became a christian and today is an evangelist and is spreading the gospel fulltime. You don't have to be brainwashed to believe in God. People are not stupid. Everywhere they look they see design. Where there is design there's got to be a designer. That's just common sense. Who could design a universe? Only a God. People inherently believe in God especially when they're young. On the contrary, you have to be brainwashed to be an athiests. You're saying dogmatically that there is no God when you occupy a small portion of this earth and an infinitesmilly smaller portion of the universe. How do you know there's no God out there somewhere? How did all this that we see come about? Just by random chance? I agree with Norm Geisler. He wrote a book titled 'I just don't have enough faith to be an athiest'.

Answer 5

As an agnostic, but raised catholic, I believe people would be pretty much the same either way. Throughout any ones life you go through struggles and personal adversity and your beliefs are tested no matter raised christian, Hindi, Buddhist, Muslim, etc.

No doubt certain people cling to religion to keep from going postal or into depression. From history and things that have happened there is no right religion in my mind. The holocaust, colonialism, the crusades and all other religious persecution would never take place if god preferred one religion over another.

Answer 6

Derrick, I think you're completely wrong about this. Do you have children? Who told you that a 3 year old has no capacity for existential thought? Whoever told you that doesn't know what they are talking about.

In any case, should a person not be taught - oh, let's say, English (or whatever their national language happens to be), or to brush their teeth, or how to eat, or pretty much anything until their teen years, so they can make a choice about what language they want to speak, or what culture they want to belong to?

Get real!

Answer 7

You asked a question... an then answered it yourself.

A somewhat agree with you... and I must pose another question.

If someone is subjected to religious teachings at a young age, does it impede the development of their ability to understand abstract and existential ideas?

Judging by the way some people talk about their beliefs, I'd have to say so.... crap, I just answered my question too.

Answer 8

My Christian friends that have not grown up in church seem to be much more spiritually mature than I am. I think that is because they haven't been to many church socials where clicks and rejection seem to be the norm. Of course, one can't base ones relationship with God in how his followers treat each other, but it still hurts. (I had a bad experience at a church bridal shower Saturday.)

Of course, one can also use your argument about atheism.
From a child is small he/she grows up being brainwashed by the media and teachers that there was a big bang etc. No one should be an atheist or a Christian just because one was taught as a child that something was true. One needs to discover the truth for oneself.

Answer 9

just to put pay to your theory. I was a pagan for all my life till 2 years ago when I became a Christian because of something God did to me.

While I raise my child a christian, his faith is his own and I personally would hope that when he gets older he choses to be a christian however that is his choice to make. As for UFO's etc we let him watch things that most christians probably wouldn't but I believe in teaching my child what is real and what is unreal in the world...... what is fact what is just someones imagination it does prepare them for the real world so much more!

I always try to remember there is religion and then there is faith.. I'd rather have faith every time!

Answer 10

I don't think it would have the same appeal, rather I think the appeal may be greater. We see the amount of mature conversions in all the religions of the world. One problem with maturity of reasoning is that we have to dump much of our "sunday school religion" as it is high culture made easy and therefore simplified to the point of being insulting to a trained mind. Maturity of mind brings with it maturity of reflection and a depth of spirituality we cannot know as children. It stands to reason then that religion for children and religion for adults are vastly different things. Adulthood moves us to break free from parental control and this should be mirrored in our breaking free from parental religion until the piont where we are able to re-evaluate it on our own terms. Shalom.