are you upset at all that you were indoctrinated into your parents religion?

Question

do you think that it's wrong for parents to make their kids believe in the same religion they do at a young age? are they that afraid that they will lose their children if they wait until they are old enough to make an informed decision about which, if any, religion to be that they will not be religious?

Answer 1

Yes because there is no such thing as a "Christian' child or "Muslim" or "Jewish" child. Religion, like most things in our early lives, are taught by our parents. We are born helpless, we really on the knowledge taught by our parents. That includes religion, without our choice, until we are old enough to make our own observations of the Universe.

Answer 2

I completely agree that it should be solely the child's choice what they believe in, not the parents'. A parent should expose their child to various religions, and lack thereof, and let the child decide what they feel is best for them. The reason parents decide for the kids partly has to do with that their own parents did that to them.

I was forced to believe in the same religion that my parents followed and was very resentful of it. I never related to it, but I was way too scared of them to ever say so. Not to mention, they were extremely hypocritical anyway. They claimed to be devout Christians, including leading on their own friends and relatives who are still none the wiser, and yet lived in a very non-Christian, very fanatical cult-like, manner that would make even a Pagan or Atheist raise their brows.

Answer 3

Oh you could not have brought this question up at a better time for me. I am in a situation now where I hope I can shed some light on this for you. I was raised Roman Catholic. I went to private school, church everyday and turned out to be quite the rebel once I hit public highschool. I had no idea how sheltered I was. Then I met my husband, who was Baptist. That was quite the change of pace, but as I was sitting in one of his masses, I realized this was just not for me. IN talking about it with my husband, who also endured the lengthy Catholic mass and hated it, we opted to find something we could both feel comfortable with and we did. It's a non-denominational church in our area called Christain Central. The requirement? Is that you believe there is a God. Everything else relates to everyday life. In all my years as a Catholic, I never left mass feeling the way I do when I leave our church now.

After making this decision, we've discussed this with our children. Our daughter is 21 and isn't attending church at this time. Her logic is that she doesn't need to go to a big ceremony to pray. She believes in God, Heaven and Hell and knows right from wrong. Her belief is that if she carries God in her heart and acts on his will, then she is going to be just fine. After her comes our four boys. One of them is in highschool and often attends Lutheran mass with his friend and his parents. He likes the services, although he admits to using them to gain the knowledge of the bible and it's raised questions for him. Our three youngest will also have the opportunity to experience the difference of religion and make their own choice as adults. To me...as long as they believe there is a God, they can't go wrong in choosing a path to follow when it comes to deciding on a particular religion. While growing up, I didn't have a choice, and although I sometimes find myself returning to my Catholic roots, it's more for comfort, than it is from taking anything away from the sermon. My mother was a full fledged catholic until she passed away. The bible was her book of life. She didn't preach it, but her morals and values were based on those ten commandments and she lived it. She wasn't thrilled that I experimented with different religions, but she did acknowledge that the world is changing and that old fashioned Catholic beliefs did not conform to the way life has changed.

If you want a very honest and blunt opinion. I think that each and every one of us should be exposed to some type of religion...even at an early age. And when those children grow up, I think it's important for them to find something that works for them.

Answer 4

No, it's the job of the parent to teach their values. I don't have my mom's religion, but I have learned other things from her, like thriftiness and how to fix things. I'm glad my mother wasn't a spectator parent.

That said, I also believe that a parent should be able to love their adult or teenage child should they decide on different religious beliefs.

Answer 5

Not at all. Most parents raise their children to believe what they feel is best or most truthful. I was raised part of my life (til age 12) in one religion, then we started going to another church, different religion. I never felt like I fit in. I am now an adult and I converted to Catholicism, and NO ONE else in my family was Catholic. My husband is, and 2 of our children are. Our kids go to any church they want. We just want them to go and for them to know Christ as their saviour. One of our daughters has dated a Buddist for about 3 years, but we don't worry because she has been given a good foundation.

Answer 6

My parents never forced their religion onto myself and my siblings. They opened up to all religions and let us watch any religious show that was on (but not cartoons, boo) and would have been willing to take us to church if we had asked. Both were uncommitted to any religion that I know of, though in recent times my mother has started trying to force her beliefs on us and I shrug it off. I'm an adult and can make my own decisions about what I believe.

Answer 7

My parents were non-practicing Christians and even though they would have liked for me to follow they're path, they never really pushed me. I refuse to force my son to follow any religion till he's old enough to study them and make an informed decision. Then I will support his decision even if his beliefs are contradictory to mine. Religion is personal.

Answer 8

No. I love my parents and their religion and mine, (which is very nearly like the branch of the same tree) My mom was very spiritual and my dad traditional, and together, they taught me very much. I learned a lot from my religion from others as well, and from reading books and by practicing. It's just like your mom and dad are both hockey fans, and you become one too, even though your husband cheers for a different team.

Answer 9

A parents duty is to guide their children. It would be irresponsible for a parent not to teach their children about their religion. I am thankful for my experience...even if I have abandoned Christianity.

Answer 10

No, I’m sorry that it caused me to turn away from God for so long, but at least the seed was planted so that when I was ready to come back, I knew I could. My family’s fundamentalists beliefs aren’t for me, but at least the experience gave me a clearer idea of what I wanted and didn’t want in a church.