Should parents teach their kids a specific religion and tradition?

Question

For example if i get a kid i will try to teach him/her about all the religions/traditions and spirtual paths and let him/her choose what she thinks and believs makes the most sense to her.

but would it be wrong if i only taught her the religions i believe in?

or what if i taught her that she was not allowed to study any religion would that be wrong?

Answer 1

I think parents should encourage their children to learn about all religions, AND about what it is like NOT to have a religion. And then, let them choose.

Answer 2

Well, seeing as how this is your child, it's up to you to decide what to teach your child and how to teach them, nobody else's.

That said, I'll do my best to answer the question.

If I had any kids, I'd do my best to teach them about the various religions of the world and what those religions believed. I wouldn't indoctrinate them into any one religion or another, only teach about as many as I could. Then, when my kids were old enough to decide for themselves, I'd let them chose what they wanted to believe in and support that. As long as the path they chose wasn't harmful to themselves or anyone else, I wouldn't mind.

As far as it being wrong to only teach her the religions you believe in, it can't be wrong as millions of people already do it. It's called baptism. ;) Granted, those parents only believe in one religion, they're still teaching their children only the religion(s) they believe in. It'd be no different for you to teach your child about, say, Buddhism and Hinduism, than it is for those parents to teach their child about Christianity or Islam or any other religion.

I don't know about forbidding the study of any religion as that's quite difficult to do since most people in the world believe in one religion or another. But if it were possible, I suppose it wouldn't necessarily be wrong, perse, although it'd probably be a bad idea in the sense that then, your child wouldn't be learning anything about religion at all. Then, she'd have a hard time relating to others or understanding about people who are devout and why they do the things they do.

Better to educate a child than toss them out into the world blind on things that affect others around her.

Answer 3

NO they should be taught how man has twisted religion in to something to control mankind, children should be shown as much as they can about all religions, making sure they know that ALL religion is man made, and that God does NOT want anyone to kill in his name. They should be told about how cruel religion was, and maybe still is, why did the RC church beat the children? Why do some Muslims kill in th name of God, Why do some so called religions take your hard earned money, and give back nothing in return, why do some religions allow you to die saying it's God's will. Having told them all this let them decide for themselves.

Answer 4

In the end hopefully they will be able to make that decision for themselves later in life. Of course many just do as they were taught and don't look at it with an open mind. Ideally you would just give them unbiased information but in general that will never happen. There is no need for you to try to teach religions that you know little about, in time they can do that themselves. Just don't try to force a belief even though in your mind you may 'believe you are right.

Answer 5

Whatever you teach your child, they may end up making upo their own mind. They might end up thinking the opposite of what you taught them. However, you sound very thoughtful and caring, I'm sure you will do very well as a parent.

Answer 6

It's only natural to want your children to follow the same religion or belief system as you do. I think all faiths are valid and no one should try to sway popularity. If you consider yourself to be Christian, then it's your duty to be a good Christian etc. Ultimately, good character is more important than which religion you attach yourself to. God (whoever you deem that to be) doesn't really care how you worship Him. The conduct with which you live your life and serve society is more important than how you choose to worship God.

Answer 7

A child should make their own decisions? Then what the heck are parents for? Seriously, a child has a hard time deciding what kind of cereal they want for breakfast. Can you honestly say that a child will be able to choose their own religion/beliefs? I think not.

Answer 8

It's like with the rest of things in life. Would you let your 6 moths old child to choose between being vegetarian or meat eater , or would you feed him/her with what you like and think it's healthy and at one point in child's life he/she can make his/hers own choice? Or will you buy a toy for a baby or will you wait until baby can choose in a shop?
Of course that first information's children get from their parents, according to what parents like, believe or do and later in life they can choose for themselves.

Answer 9

Teach them good morals and values, no matter what religion they derive from (generally all religions preach that people should be good) and continue practicing whatever religion it is you practice. Take your child with you to services so they can see what it is like. If they aren't happy with it, they will most likely explore other religions for themselves and when they are older, they can make their own decision.

Answer 10

Coming from a Christian. The child wouldn't know anything about other religions if you didn't teach them. When I have children they will learn some of each religion.