Is it wrong that religion is pushed on kids too young to make up their own mind?

Answer 1

You've certainly got some interesting answers to this question!

I don't have kids so I'm not the one to give anyone parenting advice. But I don't have a problem with kids receiving religious instruction. Or even with parents -deciding- for the kid, after all a small kid doesn't have the background to decide for himself. Religion as a framework for moral values is okay. Often (as in my case) it is taught as a cultural heritage.

Hopefully the kid will be allowed to make his own decision when he's old enough to be able to think about it for himself. It -should- be a personal decision, don't you think?

But also religion undeniably has a -dark side-. I think it's wrong to teach a kid that God loves people who believe what -we- believe more than those who don't. I was raised Jewish, and I got really tired of hearing my little friends tell me, in perfect confidence, that God hates Jews because they killed Jesus. This is just the wrong thing to teach a child. And when I would confront a friend's parents, they'd shrug their shoulders and insist, with wide eyes, that they'd never told their kid that! they didn't know where he heard it.

It's one of the great ironies of our age that religions putatively based on love and respect and tolerance are the biggest drivers of hatred and intolerance and genocide. These kinds of categorical hatreds are only possible when taught from a young age.

Answer 2

Definitely.That's why religions like the Baptists advocate Baptism by immersion, while the Catholics baptize at birth. This is to ensure that people are making an informed decision. Baptism of babies is not, although Catholics and Jews too have confirmation or Bar Mitzvah rituals at adolescences, Still making children go to church is like brainwashing them., and I have problems with that.It also contributes to hostility towards atheists agnostics, or adherents of other belief systems.It interferes with pluralism

Answer 3

When kids are young they will believe anything that their parents tell them. It is wrong for parents to indoctrinate their kids into beliefs of the world which cause the child psychological or emotional pain. The idea of there being a hell where they are going to go if they are bad kids, the very idea of a God who is constantly watching and will punish them for any wrongdoing, are both meant to scare kids as a tool for them to be good christians. Yes it is wrong, it is a form of cruelty to kids and should be stopped.

Answer 4

So, let me turn it around on you. Is it wrong to push on children to young to make up their own minds to be polite, obey the law of the land, and try to make the world a better place. Or should we all grow up to do whatever we want and damn the consequences? If parents are religious, they will naturally teach their religion to their children. If they aren't, they won't. But it is incumbent upon all of us to train our children up to be something better than hooligans. Besides, if you're so sure that there is no God, wouldn't it follow that no amount of religious training when you are young would convince you if you are an intelligent person?

Answer 5

Is it wrong that sex is pushed on kids too young

Answer 6

Religion shouldn't be pushed. I'm wiccan, but i'm gonna let my kids go to a christian church, or whatever they want to. it's up to them.

however, i will be a good parent and make sure they don't go into the drugs.

as Wakka said in FFX-2 "I gotta show some presence."

Answer 7

Absolutely! That is why religion, even though it is outdated and full of holes, continues to thrive.

"If I were to suggest that between the Earth and Mars there is a china teapot revolving about the sun in an elliptical orbit, nobody would be able to disprove my assertion provided I were careful to add that the teapot is too small to be revealed even by our most powerful telescopes. But if I were to go on to say that, since my assertion cannot be disproved, it is an intolerable presumption on the part of human reason to doubt it, I should rightly be thought to be talking nonsense. If, however, the existence of such a teapot were affirmed in ancient books, taught as the sacred truth every Sunday, and instilled into the minds of children at school, hesitation to believe in its existence would become a mark of eccentricity and entitle the doubter to the attentions of the psychiatrist in an enlightened age or of the Inquisitor in an earlier time." - Bertrand Russell

"The reason organized religion merits outright hostility is that, unlike belief in Russell's teapot, religion is powerful, influential, tax-exempt and systematically passed on to children too young to defend themselves. Children are not compelled to spend their formative years memorizing loony books about teapots. Government-subsidized schools don't exclude children whose parents prefer the wrong shape of teapot. Teapot-believers don't stone teapot-unbelievers, teapot-apostates, teapot-heretics and teapot-blasphemers to death. Mothers don't warn their sons off marrying teapot-shiksas whose parents believe in three teapots rather than one. People who put the milk in first don't kneecap those who put the tea in first." - Richard Dawkins

Answer 8

I believe so.
My kids will learn about many religions but it will ultimatly be up to them to decide how interested they are and in what specifically they are interested in.

good question by the way; one I've thought about more than a few times.

Blessed be.

Answer 9

Your bias is shown by using the word "push".
Life for children in a church is a very healthy one. They meet loving adults, have safe and fun activities with their families and other kids - are free from swearing, drinking, etc. How about kids being exposed to that stuff in secular environments? You could consider that behavior as being "pushed" on them too.
If they learn God loves them and wants the best for them it becomes a foundation. And they have a solid ground to live their lives out in.
They make up their minds as adults regardless - that is often when it gets real anyway.
What, specifically, are you opposed to?

Answer 10

as a christian, it is very important to me to talk to children at that age. it isnt brainwashing... i have an uncle who was born a christian but is now a buddist and i also have a cousin who is agnostic but for the most part we are all christians. once you believe something in your heart and let the holy spirit guide you, you will not be mislead. teaching at a young age is not wrong just like teaching someone as a grown adult isnt either.