Should people be asked to inherit the religion of their parents?

Question

The minister of interior of Egypt in an interview indicated that Egyptians Bahais will be required to insert the religion of their parents on their ID's since the Bahai faith is not one of the only three divine religions viz Judaism, Christainity, and Islam. .

Answer 1

parents usually don't want to hurt their children ,..so they try to give them what they feel ias a good thing.

Answer 2

Yeah, Egyptian passports currently contain a line for religion as it is today, so what is your complaint exactly...?

Every country has it's ways of identifying it's people. Tell me that you haven't stated your race (White, African American, Hispanic, Asian or Other) on a legal or government form in the US. It's the same thing, different flavor.

Anyway, it was necessary to do this when Egypt was at war with Israel since there were many Egyptian Jews living in Egypt who were conspiring against the country and spying for the enemy. They needed to be identified. Eventually, all Egyptian Jews were kicked out of Egypt by Nasser. They have been allowed to return back to Egypt after the 1979 Peace Treaty that Sadat signed.

Most of the past has gone away and it may not be necessary to add religion on someone's passport, but change is slow when the opposition is forcefully muffled...

Note: Bahai's are headquartered in none but Tel Aviv, Israel...

Answer 3

No, I think religion is an individual choice. In the case you are talking about, I think it can be taken to the point of absurdity -- how many generations must they go back to claim an "acceptable" religion? Some of these people are fourth and fifth generation Baha'is!

Also, to correct an inaccuracy in Angelsandjinns' post above, the world headquarters of the Baha'i Faith are in Haifa, Israel, not Tel Aviv. This does not affiliate us (I am a Baha'i) with the state of Israel any more than having our USA national headquarters on the outskirts of Chicago makes me a Chicago Bulls fan (no offense -- just no interest in any sports...). The world headquarters in in Israel because it was there before it was Israel -- and because Baha'u'llah was banished there by the government. Had the Muslim authorities not banished Baha'u'llah, our world center might now be in Tehran.

AngelsandJinns -- our complaint, exactly, is that by not allowing Baha'is to state their religion on their identity cards, the Egyption governtment is effectively asking Baha'is to lie -- something neither Baha'is or Muslims should do. The alternative is to not have an identity card -- which deprives Baha'is of the normal rights of Egyptian citizens.

Answer 4

I grew up in evangelistic christian, and now I'm Buddhist. I'm proud of what I've done. When I started studying the dharma, I felt it agreed with me and what I believed was the truth already.

So if I was to inherit my parents religion, it would be by force, and if that would been so, I would still be practicing buddhist while under the force.

Too answer you question, NO. It causes more suffering and resentments toward the parents then living in peace with them, no matter how much they suffer for there attachments which is there own dilemmas..

Answer 5

Official identification of a person based on any arbitrary identity trait, like religion or race, is the first step toward governement sponsored human rights violations. Such a distinction should never be made by a government.

Answer 6

No. Religion should be a personal choice. I don't think religion should be taught either, it should be the result of personal study and soul-searching. People of any religion have no right to force their religion onto others - whether they be their own children, other's children or other adults! Religious freedom doesn't only mean freedom to choose your own religion but also means freedom to choose NO religion.

Answer 7

I don't believe it is appropriate to tell any individual family or any culture that they shouldn't insist that their children be of a certain religion; however, I don't agree with it for my own life.

My parents are of different religions, and they raised my siblings and I without any push one direction or another. They let us make up our own minds, but they talked openly about their own beliefs.

My grandmother, on the other hand, is hardcore Baptist, and she really pressed us to believe in Christ. It actually turned me away from Christianity (that and many other things).

My parents don't care for my personal beliefs, but they understand that they allowed us to choose, and I love them for that.

Answer 8

Not really, you can use that as a foundation off of which you can build your own spiritual beliefs, but it's not necessary to inherit the religion. I chose to follow some things, and not other things, that my parents choose to believe.

Answer 9

NOOOO! I remember being 16 and having my father literally carry me and throw me in the car, breaking my finger because I didn't want to go to church. I am still a Christian, but I am not a Southern Baptist any longer. It's still hard for me to go to church, because I was told by many that I was going to hell for believing that the bible is mainly metaphoric. I'm not saying that all southern baptists are like this, just all of them that I've ever met...

Answer 10

There must be some dastardly reason for this. Almost like what hitler did to the Jews with the star of David

Answer 11

People should be free to think for themselves and decide on what religion (if any) they would like to follow.