Should teaching religion to kids under 16 illegal?

Question

Richard Dawkins says:

"In order to encourage free thinking, children should not be subjected to any regular religious teaching or be allowed to be defined as belonging to a particular religious group based on the views of their parents or guardians. At the age of 16, as with other laws, they would then be considered old enough and educated enough to form their own opinion and follow any particular religion (or none at all) through free thought."

Hes trying to abolish all faith schools in the united kindom.

Answer 1

Good question. I think that the real question is how can one regulate that? There is no way to keep a childs parents from exposing them to it? I meen, if you think about it just talking about religion at home, and ideas behind it would still be exposing it to them. it really brainwashes the kid while they are young, before they really think for themselfs.

Answer 2

No, religion is a very important aspect of society. It's like government, philosophy, and of course theology. No would ever wait until a child is 16 to teach them basic math why would religion be any different? Children should be brought up and lead in a positive direction and studies show that people brought up in religious homes especially Christian homes are overall happy and well-rounded thanks to the idea that someone is watching and that person is God. Believe it or not religion is very important and has its place in society. After all the Bible says train up a child in the way he should go. Adults can make their own decisions but children must be taught.

Answer 3

The answer to your question all depends on your religion and it's doctrine of course, however i personally have my kids in private school so that they are taught our religion, i am against not teaching religion in school however i am rational enough to understand that our religion is not every ones, and just like i don't want to here there beliefs i can understand how they don't want to here mine so there is an option it's called private school. or the cheaper alternative CHURCH
but most of all
i think that there are enough laws out there, they need to start enforcing the laws they have first before adding even more that are not enforced

Answer 4

While we're at it, let's not pass on our views about sex, school, family, relationships and music. If you can prove a relationship between religious upbringing, including religion-lite, and citizens unfit for our society, I'll be the first one to sign up. What about the ability of parents to exercise their free thinking to bring up their kids how they see fit. Isn't more government intrusion contrary to the concept of free thinking?

Answer 5

Yes, it should be illegal. It's child abuse, plain and simple.

me: I hope you don't honestly think those vague correlations are enough to prove causality. And the third one is simply a lie, I'm certain you'll find it worded very differently in your source (assuming you have one). And marital stability really isn't a big issue for children under the age of sixteen.

Answer 6

mmmm, very interesting.
I am bar mitzvah at 13 yrs of age. Are you condoning me to transgress the Torah until I am 16 years of age?

I think God knows people better than you do, Richard Dawkins.

Answer 7

Richard Dawkins is a dick. Thats all I have to say. What a eurotrash professor says about religion is as valid as what I would say about Paris fashions.
Plus I resent people telling me how to raise my kids, especially someone like him.

Answer 8

Nope, it should be mandatory. Here are some benefits:

- those who attend weekly religious services have healthier immune systems
- regular church attendance is the most critical factor in marital stability, regardless of denomination or doctrinal teaching on divorce
- cardiovascular disease significantly is reduced by a lifetime of church attendance
- churchgoers live longer, with lower rates of cirrhosis, emphysema, and arteriosclerosis.
- of youth who grew up in poverty in the 1970s and '80s, those who attended church weekly had significantly higher family incomes as adults-an average $12,600 higher than their nonchurchgoing peers
- religious involvement greatly decreases drug use, delinquency, and premarital sex, and increases self-control for all age groups

Answer 9

DEFINATELY!

Indoctrination is a fact of life. A great percentage of people belong to the religious group their parents raised them in.

Answer 10

No, you have to have a basis from which to dissociate. That's like saying "Hey kids! We're not going to tell you to clean up your room until you're 16 and then you can decide to do it yourself." Most kids will come to realize by themselves that they NEED to clean up their room, or it will remain messy and they will never find their things. However, their things will remain lost for those 16 years because they weren't told that they SHOULD be cleaning their room. Advice and recommendations are always good...at any age :-)