I was baptized and view myself as a victim. My parents forced me to go to sunday school to talk about the bible, of which I now believe to be a well written book of philosophy, rather than actual truth.
My civil rights were violated against and for years I was forced to believe in something that I didn't believe in.
This leads to the question. Is it right for an individual to be forced by their parents to believe in something during adolescense?
Why not wait until they grow up and are able to decide for themselves?
Doesn't this violate a individuals right to freedom of religion?
Do they have baptismals for the same reasons cigarette corporations put advertisements at eye level for children?
Do they do this to get them "hooked" on religion?
2007-09-09 16:09:28 · 45 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
"i know you", thanks for the disrespect....i don't enjoy being called names...i reported your answer
2007-09-09 16:20:41 · update #1
Michelle, you must agree that churches need to make money also. And by performing forced conversion, they are gaining new believers...hence, more money
2007-09-09 16:30:58 · update #2
I am 21 now...by the way...and from reading many of your answers I realize many of you are probably parents who have introduced your children to religion. By asking this question, I have learned that (a couple of you said this) the best way to introduce religion is to introduce them all equally, not just christianity. This gives your child knowledge, not just knowledge of one belief. This is how i plan to raise my children(when i have them)...
this question is not stupid. At a very young age, i knew I didn't believe. But still, i was forced to go to church and sunday school.
This is an important issue dealing with parents and religion...
2007-09-09 16:56:20 · update #3
I think your taking the violation a bit too far. You might as well be saying that your parents forced you to learn a language that you don't approve of or ethnic food that you don't like. All parents raise their children following what their belief system is and/or the best they know how. I was baptized as a baby, has it ruined my life, no. It is true that many faiths have bible classes for youth but that is to teach them religion in a way that is at their level.
Personally I have 3 daughters and I teach them about all different faiths. I tell them that they have the choice to believe in what they feel is right for them. I tell them that I will answer anything I can but it is up to them to decide.
Really, you need to get over the feeling of violation and decide what you believe and go from there. If you must continue to go to church and classes because of your parents, then why not do a little bit of study and then pose your questions at that time, I did.
2007-09-09 16:19:22 · answer #1 · answered by copeseticnomos 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I was an atheist for 25 years. Even then, I figured if I ever had kids, I would raise them as Christians. Why?
There are 4 possible outcomes:
1. Raised w/o religion, non-believer as adult.
2. Raised w/o religion, believer as adult.
3. Raised w/religion, non-believer as adult.
4. Raised w/religion, believer as adult.
#s 1 or 4 - great!
# 3 - well, the child learned a lot about religion, and hopefully gained a strong moral grounding. Not a big deal.
# 2 - EEK! The child will be upset that their soul and salvation was endangered while living without God, and will feel like they missed out on a lot.
Since you can't predict what the child will grow up to believe, I felt that the outcome #2 was to be avoided at all costs, and that #3 was manageable.
None of this matters now, since I don't have (and won't be having) kids, and I am now a Catholic.
2007-09-09 16:18:31 · answer #2 · answered by SigGirl 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Your rights were not violated.
You really were probably only sprinkled with water and you are not baptised. In my opinion - nothing real took place at that moment except you got a little wet. You were not a believer so ......
There are many, many decisions our parents make for us until we are adults. What we eat, don't eat, what we wear, if we eat meat or not, if we take cold medicine, etc.... What city we live in, what opportunities we have based on our schools, community, etc....
Are your rights violated if your mother chose a dark haired, dark eyed father for you thereby forcing those features onto you?
As far as baptism - the Bible says that a person should
1. Believe, 2. Repent, 3 Be Baptised (immersed) to be saved. This is what I believe.
I was baptised as an adult when I decided this was what was I felt in my faith. My spouse was baptised as a baby but later after studying the Bible and prayer after several months decided to be baptised as a believer.
Baby sprinkling is never mentioned in the Bible and was not even used by Catholics until about 600 ad
If you think your civil rights were violated - then - they were probably violated the day they conceived you against your will !
2007-09-09 16:24:43 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, its not a violation of your rights. Just because you are baptized, it doesnt mean that you HAVE to go to church when you move out of your parents house. It doesnt even guarantee that you go to heaven (depending on the religion). The reason that parents dont wait until kids are grown before they intro them to religion, is because the kid will never take to it at ALL then. Think about it: if you were raised with no structure or instruction your whole life, would you suddenly want to start living a strict religious life? Nope!!!
That said, now I really want to tell you to STOP WHINING!! There are kids starving slowly to death in third world countries, and you are complaining that your parents took you to church? Know why they did that? Because they thought it was what was best for you. Did it not teach you the basic difference between right & wrong?
Besides, as long as you live under your parent's roof, THEY get to say what you do. Do you pay rent? Do you have a job and pay the bills? They own the house, not you. So you need to listen to their rules, and be thankful that you dont live in Rawanda or something.
2007-09-09 16:23:53 · answer #4 · answered by Brenda 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
I was baptized as a baby - like at 3 weeks of age in the hospital because there was a chance I could die and my parents wanted me baptized just in case something went wrong.
But after that it was all my choice, i was never forced to go to Sunday School and in fact I never been, I did go to a Christian high school, but that was to get a better education than at a public high school. And my parents allowed to me make my own choices regarding religion and I have followed in the path of my father & older brother and I'm an atheist.
So while I do believe it can take away from an individuals choice of religion it depends on how the parents treat the child. Children should not be forced to go to Church, it should be a choice otherwise they could end up resenting it. If they want to go to church then let them, but dont force em.
2007-09-09 16:17:12 · answer #5 · answered by brat 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
To me, it is. I think people should be baptised once they are aware of what they are doing, just like taking the Pledge of Allegiance. Anyway, they both mean nothing to me so I don't care. I was baptised too but I'm no longer a catholic so I couldn't care less about it. they know they're lying so they desperately need a reason the get children and brainwash them when they are most impressionable. They work with fear and nothing will brand a child internally more than fear and then it comes natural because you seem to belong to something since you have memory. It's a almost a prefect system, until children grow and start thinking on their own.
2007-09-10 07:47:58 · answer #6 · answered by Der weiße Hexenmeister 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
1. Baptism does not force a religion on you. You're still free to choose your own religion. Being baptized did you no harm.
2. Children don't have the same rights as adults. For example, the second amendment does not guarantee that children are allowed to keep and bear arms.
3. No court has ever interpreted the first amendement in such a way as to prevent parents from teaching religion to their children.
4. The first amendment protects people from a government-established church, not from members of the population pursuading other members about religion, including parents and children.
2007-09-09 16:17:34 · answer #7 · answered by Jonathan 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋
first, if u dont believe it, u are not obligated to continue for fear of eternal damnation for that is part of the whole that u are choosing to believe or not.
as far as actually legality in governmental form, i am unsure, but i do believe it wrong to do that to a child. sure, taking them to church and having them go to sunday school is a good thing. they at least know about the religion even if they don't belie it. much like knowing about how a car works even if they don't need to fix it.
but a baptism is a personal reflection of a persons belief in one true god and his son having died on the cross for our sins on this earth. a baby can't know the meaning of it, and therefore that would be wrong to baptise a baby. children mature and grow at different speeds, so much preperation should be taken and maybe even tests of faith. but batpism should never be free willed nor forced upon.
some parents do to try and force, which they obviously don't know about it enough to do so without realizing this. they try to have their child go to church and be christian/catholic so that they are better 'well-behaved'. until u are 18 or legally living elsewhere, they can eitehr punish u or make u go. after that, its entirely up to u.
2007-09-09 16:20:34 · answer #8 · answered by Bored 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Obviously as a baby your parents will make decisions for you, including your beliefs and religion. Parents want their children to grow up with similar views as them, and so they take actions that lead them in that direction. It is the individuals' choice to pursue it or not. Whatever pain you may feel from this religious victimization was, so to speak, inflicted by your parents, and something you had no control over. Move on according to your belief system.
2007-09-09 16:16:29 · answer #9 · answered by ? 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I'm not sure but you might be getting baptism and christening mixed up. Christening is what is done to babies with the water cross marked on the forehead and its a sign of saying Jesus protect this child whereas baptism is a concious decision where someone is fully dunked underwater to wash them clean. Christening isnt violating anything as it is just saying Jesus protect them, although forcing you too go to sunday school was a breech of you freedom to choose.
2007-09-09 16:29:19 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋