Do you consider parents forcing children to accept their religion a form of child abuse?

Question

I think Yes. ........What would you think of parents who forced their children to accept their politics, or their taste in architecture?........ Have you ever heard anyone speak of a "Leninist child" or a "Postmodernist child"? .....................Of course not. So why, then, do we all go along with "Christian child" and "Muslim child"?
I think Such labelling of children with their Selfish parents' religion is child abuse.

I think parents should be confident in the raising of their child and believe that their child is smart enough to make the right choices

Am I wrong???

Answer 1

I couldn't agree with you more. They are raised to hate other religions and other cultures. I was raised Southern Baptist but I feel much better now. I've called it emotional child abuse for a very long time.

Answer 2

Good question. As a kid your born into a lottery of parents. Except in special cases, abuse etc, your stuck with whatever the parents 'are' for quite a while good or bad. Your question seems to me to be about the right of parents to force children into their religion. Force how/? Parents still beat children unless the child conforms to the parents particular delusion but in the long run it will probably be counter productive, it certainly was in my case. They can try to indoctrinate a la Marxist Russia but that does not always work either outward conformity in not acceptance. The balance of the parents rights and the childs is not as important arguably as the social and cultural mores that the children are being raised in. My sisters children who live in Switzerland were approached at an early age by a sect. The kids they met were completely brainwashed believing because they did not get the chance to compare their parents brainwashing with anything else. In the main I agree with you children should not be forced/brainwashed into 'being' anything. The truth is enough, ie this is what we believe, this is what they believe, this is what those believe. Trouble is, parents have axes to grind they are right they know, when of course they know very little. Their lack is passed onto the child that has to be like them. It is extraordinarly selfish but very understandable. It will change but I'm afraid there is a lot more growing up to do yet.

Answer 3

As children, we depend on our parents to make decisions for us...they feed us, dress us, play with us, show us cultural traditiions, which often means introduction of a religion. Why should religion be any different?

Religion - any religion - is supposed to be spiritual. Above anything else, religion should teach children to respect, accept and love other people. This is not a negative thing for children to learn. Anything can be distorted and unfortunately there are people who shouldn't have kids that do....so sometimes this doesn't work out.

By the way, many children are forced into living a lifestyle they wouldn't have wanted, even if religion isn't part of the equation. Make no mistake, some people take their politics very seriously. Others are forced to keep the family name alive so they are told to have kids. Some have generation after generation of police officers, doctors, lawyers, etc. and it is all taken very seriously. Why do we always single out religion?

What I think is that it is inevitable that people will be introduced to religion. At least for many people. There does come a time that people should break away from being guided, and a good parent will respect that and won't force it. A good parent knows that if a child feels forced they will end up resenting the religion and their cultural background.

There are many religious people out there, and like non-religious people, there are some good parents and some bad parents. I think you are isolating religion unnecessarily. There are also parents who don't like their children to be religious.

Concern yourself with children that feel unloved...it will be very difficult for those children to be loving.

Answer 4

It is not child abuse unless it is causing them physical or mental harm. Therein would lie our difference of opinion.

To share with and teach your child about what you believe is a correct view of God is a responsibility of every parent. Do you really believe that you are any different?

You, as an atheist, are no different. You try to convice your child of your belief in "no God". You will probably say, "I don't force them" but because children intuitively follow their parents example makes it so that they will, as a child, most probably reflect the religious view of their parents. I suspect that if your child chooses to believe in some deistic religion, especially Christianity, you would be very upset. And how could you not be? Your atheism is a core issue for you. If your child rejected something so centered in your life it would be tantamount to rejecting you as well.

When a child reaches an age of responsibility they should be allowed to make their own decision. But when is that? I think that it is when they have demonstrated the level of maturity to make those decisions. That is a case by case situation.

Answer 5

I think that it is our duty as parents to instill the belief in God and Christ into our children, if the bible is correct, and the only stipulation of getting into heaven is that you must have faith in Christ, then do you really want to rob your children of that? I don't think that forcing organized religion is necessary, the bible says beware of the church. Also, if you look back into time, you'll notice that back in the day, when all the children (this would be our grandparents) were taught to believe, and God was everywhere, in school, at the stores...everywhere, the majority of those kids grew up to be awesome, responsible,loving people, and now in our generation, where, God has been forced out of our daily lives, the crime rate, divorce rate, success rates have all increased. So I think that when our kids are adults, they can decide whether or not to believe, until then they don't have a choice.

Answer 6

Religion like alcohol and tobacco is dangerous and should be restricted to anyone under the age of 18. No child is born knowing hate. Religion is what creates hate by classifying things as good and bad or wrong and right, with no room for people that fall into the middle ground. A child isn't able to discern this for themselves at a young age and blindly follows what ever someone they care about tells them. Look at some of the Muslim children in Iraq, that you see on television saying Americans are infidels and they wish that they could commit suicide by bombing Americans so they will reach heaven and Allah. It sickens me, when I see things like this. Christianity, doesn't go to these extremes, but it is the same thing, just a milder version of it. So, in conclusion, yes I do see it to be a form of child abuse. Good question. Maybe it will get some people thinking instead of being hearded like along like sheep.

Answer 7

Yes, if they are actually forcing the child. I view it as a form of mental/emotional abuse. I don't see anything wrong with letting the child know what the parent's religion(s) are. If the child enjoys going to church, etc... I wouldn't consider labelling him/her a "Christian Child"... though it's very rare I ever hear that term applied to an actual child. It's usually applied to someone, an adult, who is just starting into the religion.

No, I don't think you're wrong at all, when it comes to this extreme.

Answer 8

I think you are wrong. For generations parents have raised their children according to their own customs and cultures. The children are the responsibility of the parents and the parents have a right to raise the children as they see fit. I do not understand this thinking that it is OK to just let a child grow in its own way. You don't even do that with plants, you water, feed and prune plants and trees. Yet our children you want to let them go off into this secular world without benefit of teaching about God. No wonder the world is in a mess, kids shooting kids, they don't know right from wrong. They do not understand accountability to God or their fellow man. These are your so called free thinkers. They are nothing but wild weeds from neglect, that is abuse.

Answer 9

Yes, and I think those that perform religious rituals on children should be thrown in jail. A child is not old enough to make a logical decision, they will soak up any thing that their parents say (75% of people get their religion from their parents.)

A parents role is to teach the child about the different paths in life. Morals and religion are very different, there was morals long before religion.

Answer 10

I think its doing them a disservice but I don't think its child abuse. They should be allowed to make up their own minds when they reach an age to actually know what it means and have the resources to research other religions and choose the best one for them or none at all. I think 16 is a good age to start teaching them about it.

Answer 11

you've got to be kidding here, right?

Why is it every time a child doesn't like what the adult is doing; it is now classified as "child abuse"?

Is there a child out there that doesn't yell (verbal abuse), kick and bite (physical abuse), and play parent against parent (mental abuse)?

Maybe it is time the parents start having the child (regardless of what age); they are children until they reach the age of 18; charged on abusing the parents. Wonder how fast the child would smarten up.