To anyone and everyone is this discrimination?

Question

Is not allowing an atheist to care for your child based solely on the fact they are an atheist discrimination?

If it is not, please explain why.

Answer 1

It is discrimination. Now if you feel all right refusing a baby sitter just for that it is your right. Do you ask them about their faith first? I would be more interested to know if the baby sitter is trustworthy, even tempered, able to handle a child. But that's your choice.

They used to take away children from atheist mothers even if they were very good mothers. Same mindset.

Answer 2

Sure its discrimination but so what. Its absolutely insane not to discriminate.

We all discriminate. It's a survival instinct. People tend to want to group with like people. In this day and age like tends more towards world view and belief systems as our culture is an amalgamation of so many different races and cultures.

I wouldn't let an atheist anywhere near my children for that much time during a day. Just like my children are in a private Christian school as opposed to an atheistic government school. That is discrimination and its a good thing.

Answer 3

Depends on your definition of both discrimination and care. If you were an atheist and a nice fellow and we knew you (like our neighbor) we would not have any trouble letting you baby sit. But we would not really want you to be a foster parent of our boys if we died despite the fact you send your daughter to a Catholic school.
However discrimination by definition is the ability to differentiate between water and bleach. They look the same from a distance......

Answer 4

As a parent who is privately contracting for the care of his child, I have the absolute right to choose whom I feel is best suited for the job. So, no, it would not be discriminatory if I felt that I did not want an atheist caring for my child.

However, in the case of a non-denominational daycare center that receives government funding, it would be discriminatory if that center did not hire a staff member based solely on his or her atheistic beliefs.

Answer 5

I say it is not discrimination. It is a personal choice. Now if a hospital refused to hire a doctor because he was an athiest, that would be discrimination.

Answer 6

I don't know if discrimination is the right word for this. If your child is dying and the care giver is athiest but you won't let them tend your baby, then discrimination moves on to idiocy. I don't believe in all that don't touch me cause your black, don't give me blood from another person if they are of a different race. If you can do your job and do it well, who cares what your race or religion is?

Answer 7

Interesting....but this isn't what we were debating, remember?

For those of you who would like to answer the question we were debating, please go to:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=ArnU6.6kjCT6w41YLTDLTUjsy6IX?qid=20070821110528AAEVQ4T

The definition of "discrimination" is "unfair treatment of a person or group on the basis of prejudice", in a legal sense. Prejudice is "a partiality that prevents objective consideration of an issue or situation".

Since I am perfectly capable of making objective considerations of the person's influence on my child, I am therefore not prejudiced against them.

So it is NOT discrimination.

Answer 8

Sure it is. But the parents have the right to be discriminating when it comes to their children.

Answer 9

Well, it's bigotry for certain but parents have a choice to have people watch their children or pay to have establishments watch them. As parents aren't a business the current civil rights laws would not cover what most would perceive as personal choice.

Answer 10

Of course it's discrimination. Whenever you make a choice, you are discriminating. Whether it's good or bad discrimination is another issue.