Bringing children into church just brainwashes them into a "belief"?

Question

If people are sincere in their faith and feel that it is true why don't they leave the kids out of it until they are old enough to make decisions for themselves rather than brainwashing children who can't properly decide into unthinking belief.

Answer 1

I agree with you, it should be left up to the children to decide once they reach enough maturity to understand religion and decide which path they want to follow.

But the problem is that people are usually completely convinced that their religion is right and all others wrong and some religions preach that you go to hell if you don't follow that religion, so religious parents don't want to take the risk of their children choosing a different path and ending up in hell (according to the parents' beliefs), so they start the brainwashing early to make sure the kids will follow "the true religion".

Answer 2

I have an idea why not create a school that all children can go to at birth. Lets have it run by robots, we only want children to see facts, no interpretation of facts otherwise we would be brainwashing them. Oh no television, video games, music, no Christmas or Halloween because we would be brain washing them into a belief. I got it lets not show any emotion or love because we will "brain wash" them into the belief that love and emotions are good.

By not taking them to church you are also "brain washing" them into a belief. So your premise is because you do not believe in church that we should not allow any children in church because we will brain wash them. thus no longer supporting your cause. So it is all about you and what you believe.

Everything is a belief - lets not send children to school because they get brain washed there too.

There are many children that grew up in the church that leave the church. There are many children that never set foot into a church and come to Christ. The multitudes are not ignorant or mindless they just choose something different than you.

If your heart is so concerned for the children go after the education they have children 6-8 hours a day five days a week. Talk about the ability to brain wash. A church has a child maybe 2-4 hours a week. Now where are they being brain washed?

Answer 3

First the bible says to bring up a Child in the way they shall go. & 2nd. How do you think we are brainwashing them if they don't understand, Now I will turn this question back to you, If we leave them at home, then we are brainwashing them into unbelieve, & non believe. I have seen kids as young as 3 yrs. old in church say amen, is that brainwashing, They pick that up themselves, I think Amen is better than some cuss word at age 3..

Answer 4

I brought my daughter up in the church - teaching her what I believed and what our church believed. I taught her the difference b/t our denomination and others and Christianity and other religions. I explained that she'd need to decide for herself what she believed. She struggled with that - knowing she was responsible for her own decisions. I would hardly call that brainwashing. You must not be a parent or you'd realize kids are far smarter than you're giving them credit for. If you are a parent, my guess is you don't spend nearly enough time teaching your children or you'd know their intelligence. God bless you. ~Nise~

Answer 5

I was brought up in a very strict Independent Baptist household and now I'm Agnostic. I don't think that "brainwashing" occurs in very many people who were brought up religious either. It's just that the majority of people don't give a **** about any of those things so they just stick with what they were taught at an early age. Even though I spent at least an hour EVERYDAY at church since I was an infant, I never believed any of the things people were trying to ingrain into my head because that's just not how I think.

It's just a matter of how often the individual thinks about those "issues". Not their religion. (Or lack of it.)

Answer 6

I agree with you. They should wait until the child can decide for themselves what they want to believe in. As a child, I was dragged to church every Sunday. I even went in a private catholic school. I felt forced into believing. That didn't brainwash me though (i dont think), it made me go in the complete opposite direction. As I got older I started reading about all sorts of religions and still to this day I still feel conflicted between how I was raised and what to believe.

Answer 7

because kids are going to be learning something...whether it is good or bad. We are admonished to "train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it." Would you not "brainwash" your child to obey traffic laws and to have good manners? Would you wait and let your child "choose" if he wanted to cross the street without looking or "choose" to be a mannerly person and get along in society? The principles of a christian life should be taught...train them in it. BUT when they get to the age of choice....then they do have to choose which direction they want to go. By that time they will have the tools to make the choice with in a more mature way. If they were taught nothing what choices would they have?

Answer 8

Is that actually brainwashing? I was made to go to church as a child and as I grew older I was the one who decided there was no god. Church had nothing to do with it. It was my own decision.

Answer 9

i think it is like anything with children you have to expose them to different ideas and just like sending them to school they have to learn from experience .
the problem is the religous zealots who like you say really do brainwash .
i took my children to sunday school when young [really against my own thoughts ]but i also taught them about other religions and also when they went to school encouraged them to go to others churches .
by the time they reached the teen years they pretty much started thinking for themselves and have turned out to be very spiritual but not religous [my hope all along ].
but a lot of people really do brainwash and do not expose them to others it is no wonder this worldis so intolerant and hateful .
they will literally push their own strong belief on these young impressionable minds and not let them find their own path ,i have seen children literally thrown out of the family because when they question or think of alternatives the parents totally turn their back on them ,
really sad .
but exposure is needed ,one must experience and find what is right for them ,it is just as bad NOT to expose them really .

Answer 10

Keeping children from church and exposing them to the garbage on T.V. and secular humanism is that not brainwashing them
who can't properly decide into unthinking belief.