is it ok to force your religion on your kids?

Question

this ought to make for interesting conversation.In the video attached a mother is yelling at her son because he decided he was an athiest.Opinions please.All welcome unless if you cannot respect others rights to believe what they want.I guess that about sums up my belief.
http://www.fugly.com/media/videodir/Random/kid_tells_his_mother_he_is_an_athiest.wmv

warning: the christian mother in this video uses foul language in this video.How surprising

foxtrot then you should have watched he video because the kid is about 17 or 18 and about the age where he knows what he wants to beleive yet his mother is still forcing religion down his throat.

yummygood it is what it is.sounds like you are in denial that a real christian could be so ignorant.

craterface...I have to agree.had the kid ran around holding that cross upside down and yelling I'm ozzy ozbourne and started barking at the moon she would have started praying for his soul.

eds she is not related to me nor do I know who she even is.I found this video on a website called fugly.com

eds what do you mean what is my excuse? my wife is christian,both my kids are as well and to an extent I beleive some of the things church taught me when i was younger.as far as the bible goes,well my opinion of it is that it was written by mortal men who lived long after jesus christ died therefore some of the stories in it tend to be exagerated.I think it points us in the right direction but uses old fables to make its point.you asking me what my excuse is sounded really ignorant.doesn't your bible tell you not to be so stereotypical of others? You might want to practice what you preach.

keela all paths lead to death.The point here is that all people have the right to decide what they feel lies beyond death.

i teresting views so far.thank you all for sharing them but one thing that i find funny is how some people claimed to not watch the video but hinted that they were aware that the kid was cussed at and belittled for announcing his athiesm.I find that awfully funny.
Commandment #9= thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor..
in easier terms,thou shall not lie!

eilika,
You said this: "trying to bully a teenager is doing the same thing.
and it is not brainwashing, it is leading by example."
When you tell someone what is right and force them to go pray to your god because they choose not to believe,and you hope it will change their decision then what you are doing is brainwashing them to think as you do.Just because you think that the world should think the way you do,it does not make you right.The fact is there are more muslims on earth than christians.If being right is being part of the majority then we should all being praying to allah.What if muslims forced their beliefs on you? Would that be right?
No wonder America was formed on the right to due worship because it was attitudes like some of you people that made people choose to leave their native lands rather than be persecuted for having their own mind.

people the bottom line here that if you are one of the many who say you are not willing to watch the video then why are you bothering to even comment? It's your own ignorance to other beliefs that makes you spill out garbage excuses like that.You are afraid to face reallity and argue against something that you know is right.I have recieved about 6 emails already from people who accuse me of being angry and one sided.I'm a very haoy personI am not the one forcing religion and culture down my kids throats.They choose not to attend church every week.I did my part as a parent and enrolled them into sunday school and had them baptized but when they reached an age where they were able to make their own minds up they chose not to attend.I don't think it makes them a bad christian.They are being raised with very good morals and the luv and support they deserve.The woman in this video obviously is more worried about what her congregation thinks than what her own kid is telling her.It's very sad

heres another great video that proves someone to be a hypocrite

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JARF7q2S6ns

this is very convincing to start attending regular services.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOxEa4mkPik

another very interesting video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDHJ4ztnldQ&mode=related&search=

Answer 1

I hope SDC never gets near my kids. What she has done is called brainwashing

Answer 2

It is a constitutionally protected right in this country to practice any religion you choose. If you have children, you are most likely going to raise them in your faith. As long as there is no criminal activity (such as the child rape that goes on in these so called plural marriages that are part of the Fundamentalist LDS communities). What are parents supposed to do ? Leave their children with a baby-sitter when they go to church ?

Parents "force" alot of things on their kids, If they send them to school they are "forcing" math, english, history etc on them. They probobly "force" table manners, bedtimes, and good nutrition on their kids too.

When these children can make their own way in the world, they can decide to practice another religion, or no religion at all.

And parents yell at their kids for lots of different reasons. Try living with someone for 18 + years and never lose your temper ? Especially if between parents and children.

Didn't watch the video because my speakers don't work. But I wouldn't want to be judged one of my worse moments. Would you ?

Answer 3

Sorry... not going to watch the video, but I will comment.

Little ones... yes, it is perfectly fine to bring them up in the religion of your choosing. But, at a certain point in their teen years most of them do start questioning... heck, they question EVERYTHING!!
But, there is no sense in yelling or screaming, or carrying on about it. Best bet would be to continue practicing your religion and answer their questions or have others who are more learned answer their questions or concerns. And hope and pray that they make the choice to come back to God.

We all know... if you force a teenager to do something, they will just fight it even more!

Answer 4

at first I was not going to watch the video, until I read your comments, of course watching the video never really changed my views,
normally I do not click on links, and I do not trust video, for the most part they are staged to prove someones point, and I have to question who make the video, and who put in on.
from the way the son walked into the room just as the video started, I would assume the the son started the video, and he also put it on to prove to the world just how horrible his mother is.

now to answer your question;
I assume that you are asking in reference to this video, but I will take you question beyond that,
we all teach our children what we believe, it is not always in a verbal way but we teach, with our life style.
and it is not just our religious, or lack thereof, beliefs that we teach. we teach them how by we live our lives, for they are looking to us, as an example for the way we really do believe.
when my children were old enough to stay home by them selves, they were allowed to.
as for your original question.
no we should never force our beliefs on our children.
for the religious people it will only drive them in the other direction than you want them to go.
when a child reaches the mid teen, they reach a rebellious stage in their life, wanting to believe they are adults and make adult decisions.
and the more we force our beliefs on the the more rebellious they become.
and if you have not taught them what a moral, reasonable lifestyle they should live, by example, then you might as well go beat your head against a brick wall,
trying to bully a teenager is doing the same thing.
and it is not brainwashing, it is leading by example.
even children at a young age, look at the way we live our lives, not at how we say for them to live theirs.
and at a certain point in age, we need to let our children make their own decision, and trust them to make the right ones.
sorry this was so long, I am not usually this long winded.
but you brought up a lot of point, and to keep this as short as I have, I never addressed all of them.

Answer 5

No, and it's also impossible. You simply can't force a person to believe something he doesn't believe. You can force a person to go to church and to say prayers etc., but you can't force them to believe.

I have a friend who totally broke up with her parents because they wanted to force Christianity on her. She absolutely hates Christianity now. That's the result you get if you try to force someone.

But it also goes the other way round, as an atheist I would not try to force my children to be atheists. I don't have children, but if I had and they started to believe in some religion, I know exactly that I could not stop them and also I wouldn't mind as long as they wouldn't start to tell me that I will burn in hell for not believing.

Answer 6

of course it's not ok for parents to force their beliefs on their kids. When the kids are still children, parents are justified to do what they think is best but at that age (teens or older) after you've done your best at teaching (accodring to her, she has, the kid even got confirmed) then you have to let them choose their own path. The poor mom obviously lost it right there.
My parents are still in denial about me being atheist. That is unfortunately how they deal with their problems, they just pretend it doesn't exist. It works for a while but then eventually they have to face it. Just like they now have to face my sisters biracial fiance.
It takes a well rounded person to be a good parent. Someone open minded, emotionally and personally developed because children are not people with minds that parents get to mold. Children are born with minds of their own. Parents do well to recognize this.
SDC: Your kids are still young. You wouldn't know if they would stick with the religion till they are older and finding themselves. Right now they are just regurgitating what you thought them. I agree with the other answer. wouldn't let you anywhere near my children

Answer 7

I think some family counseling is in order. My own response as a parent would have been, "OK...God is glorified either way..." And I'd probably need some therapy myself. My role as a parent is to follow Proverbs 22:6 tempered by Ephesians 6:4. But God is in charge, I have to remember that.

Answer 8

Mi,
Is she your mother or your wife? A Christian would never talk that way. I expect my children to attend services as long as they are living in my home. We pray at each meal and study the Bible until they are old enough to be on their own. Two of my children have left home and own their own homes the third is in school. Two of them attend services and the third is working during the Lord's Services. They make their own decisions. What is your excuse? Have a nice day.
Thanks,
Eds



.

Answer 9

No it is not, no child should ever have their parents religious beliefs forced down their throats. Children are too young to know better and should be left to make the decision on their own. I hate hearing the term "catholic child". That is not a catholic child it is a brainwashed child.

Answer 10

It's not ok to force it, I believe in God an talk to me kids about it but I do also tell them I don't know and some people don't believe in God. There is a difference between telling them all there options and forcing them to believe what you blieve, I was raised a catholic and don't practice it anymore, I didint like being pushed into it, but we do get older and start to think for ourselves.

Answer 11

Not really.
But you are suppose to grow them up in the right way. And since the mother would believe your religion is the right way she wouldn't want to see her child on the wrong path. A path that leads to death in the end

Proverbs, Chapter 14, vs12:
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.