Forced into religion?

I notice that many people that have interacted with me on this forum have claimed, or led me to believe, that they think Christian values (or the values of any religion for that matter) are oftentimes foolish and are also forced upon children. This makes children, as a result of this, "ignorant of the facts" and thus "brainwashed".

I just want to know how you can believe this? I am 25 years old this month. I grew up in a household that has been both ways. When I was really young we did not go to church and I basically had no religious interaction at all. Later, after getting into my teens, we started to attend church again. Now I am graduated from college and am married to a wondeful and beautiful wife. I have been free to choose and investigate life for myself for many years now. I haven't had my parents pressure me into going to church since I was 18 years old. Yet I still believe in God and I believe in my religion. Does that make me ignorant then? I would hope that you wouldn't believe so. I have chosen for myself to believe in God for quite some time. Prayer and faith are two things that I wholeheartedly believe in.

I just want someone to explain to me how having parents make kids go to church is forcing them to accept religion?

Edit: Spelling

 

Interesting. I have a dilemma. I am married to a wonderful woman too, and we have a PERFECT three-month-old son. My wife is a Christian and I am not. As a result, we often don't agree on certain things. I believe religion (not spirituality) is a form of mind control and I won't force my son to attend church. She wants him to go and will more than likely take him. He is probably going to wonder why his father gets to stay home on Sunday mornings and read the paper, play with the dog, and relax while he has to go with his mom to church. See where this is going to create problems?
Anyway, the other day I had an idea. If my wife wants to church him up, I think it's important we BOTH decide which church she's going to take him to, and then I think we should expose him to synagogue on Friday nights, Baha'i services once a month, and Mosque whenever the hell they have their services. I guess my biggest concern is that I don't want him to think there's only one way. He has to have options, and I want to make sure they're there for him.

EDIT: Happy birthday Vezner!

 

When someone says some parents are "brainwashing their kids," what they really mean is that "those parents are teaching their kids something I don't agree with."

 

When someone says some parents are "brainwashing their kids," what they really mean is that "those parents are teaching their kids something I don't agree with."

Of course.

 

The number one factor that determines what religion you will be is the religious beliefs of your parents.

For example, if they are Catholic, you will not be raised a Muslim and vise-versa.

I also think "forced" is too strong a word. It's more like "born into". In either case there is no malicious intent on the part of the parents raising their children with their own religious beliefs, for they strongly believe they are doing their children a favor.

 

When someone says some parents are "brainwashing their kids," what they really mean is that "those parents are teaching their kids something I don't agree with."

Probably the best summary and answer that this thread can hope for.

 

My parents raised me a catholic.
I was baptized as one at the ripe age of 1 month.

I am the furthest thing from catholic now, and was baptized by choice at the age of 26.

My mother insists I have been brain-washed, and if that is the case, my brain definitly needed some washing !!

So IMHO being a certain religon because your parents are is just an easy cop-out to learn what the truth really is!

 

Shouldn't spiritual truth be something you're compelled to discover on your own? I had no problem finding it. When I really want to commune with god I go out and find someplace nice to watch the sun set. Nobody forces me to.

 

So IMHO being a certain religon because your parents are is just an easy cop-out to learn what the truth really is!

The thing is, I don't know anyone that claims that they are a certain religion because of their parents. *shrugs* Maybe I need to meet more people but I doubt that you could get a single person that is over 18 to admit that they are a certain religion (or believe in God at all) because of their parents. Each person on this planet has free will, whether they like it or not.

When I really want to commune with god I go out and find someplace nice to watch the sun set. Nobody forces me to.

That's one of the many ways that I commune with God as well. Church is another way.

 

I see nothing wrong with that Mortimer Snerd. I was never comfortable with my religion while I was growing up until I flat-out rejected it and started looking at other religions.

Ironically, it was Atheism that was the winner and very quickly became the most comforting belief system for me. The whole ordeal upset my parents because it's not the belief system in which I was raised, but they noticed a positive change in me when I did, so they respect my decision.

 

Shouldn't spiritual truth be something you're compelled to discover on your own? I had no problem finding it. When I really want to commune with god I go out and find someplace nice to watch the sun set. Nobody forces me to.

Absolutly. But there is only one truth. There cannot be truth here and truth there. Truth is absolute not a mishmash of ideas.

 

You are correct.
There can only be ONE truth.

The truth lies in what we know to be true.
Look to Quantum Physics for answers to the truth of our existence. Science is an endless disovery of truth.
It does not limit itself to that which was written over 2,000 years ago.

 

Look to Quantum Physics for answers to the truth of our existence. Science is an endless disovery of truth. It does not limit itself to that which was written over 2,000 years ago.

Neither does religon.

Thats the funny thing about athesists and agnostics. They believe that religion is so static and unchangable when new scientific discoveries are found they render spiritual understanding obsolete.

I have incorporated both religon and science into my belief system and they seem to merge rather seemlessly.

The truth lies in what we know to be true.

Incorrect.

Truth is absolute. We can only interpret what we see and understand and hope what we observe is true.

 

One who is religious has to be dynamic if they want their religious beliefs to survive. Otherwise they would become obsolete. That is the great thing about the Bible...you can interpret it any way you like to make it fit with what you really know. Whether it is true or not...we will never know.

 

One who is religious has to be dynamic if they want their religious beliefs to survive. Otherwise they would become obsolete. That is the great thing about the Bible...you can interpret it any way you like to make it fit with what you really know. Whether it is true or not...we will never know


Absolutly, positively, 100%, incorrect!

 

Soo...are you going to bother with why he's incorrect?

 

Anyway, back to the topic at hand...

 

Soo...are you going to bother with why he's incorrect?

Why? So you can banter about how I am ignorant about science?

The correct interpretations of the bible can and will never change, they are absolute just as truth is absolute. If you have to change then your interprtation is wrong!

 

If you have to change then your interprtation is wrong!

Well then, it looks like you are caught between a rock and a hard place.

The rock being science and new knowledge, the hard place being your refusal to change your beliefs.

 

The correct interpretations of the bible can and will never change

The correct interpretation is difficult to ascertain. Some of the writings in the Bible are so cryptic and arcane, they can be interpreted to mean almost anything.

This is one of the reasons why there are approximately 1500 or so denominations of Christianity worldwide - nobody can agree on what some passages mean, and which passages are the most important.

But we got way off topic here. For the most part, Christian children are born into whatever denomination of Christianity their parents are. Baptist parents raise their children as Baptists, Catholic parents raise their children Catholic, and so forth. I think when the children grow up, they make a decision whether to embrace the faith they were born into and learn more about it, or reject it and seek out new religious streams. In either case, when they make a decision they will defend their decision based on a combination of their own logic and faith.

 

Why? So you can banter about how I am ignorant about science?

Now you're just being silly.


The correct interpretations of the bible can and will never change, they are absolute just as truth is absolute. If you have to change then your interprtation is wrong!

Here, too. Find me someone, ANYONE that has the same interpretation of the bible as you or anyone else.

 

I grew up next door to a VERY catholic family. The strictest I have ever known. One of the sons was my age and we were good friends. I remember a time when he said, "God, Darn it" when he broke some toy...his mother whipped him 15 times with a belt. Of course there is a lot more to the religious fanaticism of this family. Let's just say that these children, over the years, had such a fear of questioning any facet of their religion.

Yes, it was FORCED upon them from a very young age. The mother of this family grew up only a few blocks away. She was raised the same way. To this day all of the children are grown and also very strict in their religion. Are they raising their own children in this way? I don't know. I look back now as a parent and husband and think what a shame it is to be raised in such an environment.

 

That sounds more like an exception to the rule, rather than the way mainstream society treats religion in the home.

 

Perhaps this situation is not common, however it is an example of religion being FORCED upon children.

 

What i don't agree with is missionaries, going abroad and forcing their religious beleifs onto others they see as wrong. They have much as a right to beleive what they do as you, there is no right religion and there never will be.

I'm pagan and a witch but i was raised a Catholic. No one in my family knows, but i have an idea how they'd react. My stepdad would say i'm being hoaxed, my dad would flip and say that i'm a devil worshipper. I dunno about mum though she practices tarot and knows i do.

When or if i have children i'm going to try and let them choose their own beleifs when they are old enough. It will be hard but i see faith as a personal thing, something that cannot be forced upon a person.

Remember, no one can manipulate you without your consent.