Children's Rights?

[perkeyone]

@devonin, i hope youre not suggesting that religion should "immune to criticism", as dawkins put it, simply because people might be offended.

[Cavernio]

"only the idea or religion is never redacted."

But millions of people were raised with religious beliefs and now don't believe them, so clearly this is not the case. And many people find religion only well after they're adults. I find it hard to believe that you've never had the thrilling opportunity to discuss with someone, either you parents or someone else, the possibility of God existing. I'd imagine that christian pastors/priests etc. come across the question on a regular basis, probably especially by the younger people in their community.

The ~real~ difference b/w santa and god is that one of them is clearly impossible, (unless santa was god or something.)

It seems to me that your problem with religion is not that it isn't looked at critically, but that it can never fully be disagreed with, even though it could easily be hogwash, and that to give such a value to a child is very harmful, seeing as you're comparing it child sex.

As to a child's 'understanding' of something...well, if you've read what I posted about child sex (awhile ago now), I think that children are pretty good at understanding a lot more than we give them credit for. If they weren't, then things like sexually abusing a child (without physically harming them in any way, shape or form), would have no impact on a child.

And as to the argument about teaching right and left until the child understands, how do you know when a child understands the difference? We talk to kids and kids see things that they may not understand immediately in their lives all the time. That really isn't a good argument.

It seems like you have personal feelings attached to this perkeyone, but you are generalizing them such that your argument is weakened. Either that, or you are assuming things are worse for kids then they are.

I personally was raised Catholic. It indeed was a very large part of my life for the majority of it. However, I still don't feel like I was...abused because of it.
Your arguments would make very much sense to me, personally, if they were more about the level of 'indoctrination' that a child would undergo. However, as it stands, to essentially outlaw teaching religion to kids is something that morally seems wrong to me.

[Cavernio]

Originally Posted by perkeyone

@devonin, i hope youre not suggesting that religion should "immune to criticism", as dawkins put it, simply because people might be offended.

For all we know he deleted the post he was talking about.

It also makes me think he has kids...:-p

[MopeyJoe]

Cavernio, you are right about how we cannot feed ourselves when we are born, but perkeyone is also right on how children are born Atheist. No one is born and immediately thinks "Ok, so I'm a Christan."

Think about this, what if we never had technology and we had to survive by hunting and gathering? The mother would take care of the child until it can fend for itself. I don't think along the line somewhere the kids are going to think "You know, I think I should make a ritual for this mystical being in the sky."

That side note aside, I do think forcing religion on a child should be illegal because, let's face it, Christans tell their kids if they don't pray to god, they are going to hell. That is known as Fear Tactics - People scaring others into doing what they want, which can also be considered a threat.

And the fear tactic continues throughout the entire life of the believers with all the sins in the Christan religion. I've figured out that almost anything could be considered a sin in the Christan religion. For example (this is a bit branching out), me sitting on this computer typing this up would be considered a sin in the Amish eyes, and people being baptized as a baby is could also be considered a sin in the Amish eyes. Hasn't anyone learned about the Amish?

That is why I said "No." I refused to believe such nonsense. Am I really expected to believe that if I believe and pray long enough, that I could throw mountains into the ocean? Because that's what it says in the Bible if you didn't know.

[Cavernio]

But the priests I listened to only use the bible as very, very loose backbones to their preachings. I never grew up afraid of the devil or hell, but of the beauty of believing in god and all the good things god is.

No, at some point i don't think someone would ever think "I'm going to pray to this mystical god in the sky", but people ask themselves things like 'Why do I exist?', and 'How can I feel all these things?', or 'Why is it, if I'm in a group of people who are doing the same thing, I can feel connected to them even though we are clear, separate individuals?'
The...specifics that a religion bring to religiousness are clearly man-made. But the religion itself..the belief in something larger than you, the faith in thinking that there is more out there than just yourself...that is what I'm thinking about. Like, humanity creates art, and it's supposed to evoke emotions and such, but all that is clearly an aside of the art itself. The art is just a medium for those emotions, and sometimes not everyone will perceive the art in the same way. That is what ritual is. It is the best way we have of communicating the other stuff.

Really, if you think about it, why do we have this romantic idea of love? Is love 'real'? We can't see it, we just feel it, and we're sometimes disappointed by it. Does that mean you think we shouldn't be taught that love exists? Do you think that romantic movies shouldn't exist, or stories in general exist, because they will just show the exciting parts of life, giving a very false view of what life is?

perkeye's argument could be used for saying that parents shouldn't let their kids watch romantic movies because they are unrealistic. That is the basis for their argument, (at least what they've posted that I can tell), that people believe something more exists, like true love or God, therefore, because it is unproven and likely does not exist, it should not be taught because the parents will never sit them down to say, 'Look, I live with your father/mother, but I don't love them like in the movies, yet I still believe in love."

[MopeyJoe]

Originally Posted by Cavernio

but people ask themselves things like 'Why do I exist?'

So you think people invented religion to find an easy answer of why people exist, why they have emotions, and why they share similar interests with others? Because scientists have a theory about where people come from, yet you religious fanatics refuse to believe it and therefore is still a theory, even though there is so much evidence to back-up that theory. It's just that one tiny bit of argument that people carry with them, and it is this:

Discussion between a man of science and a man of Christianity.
Science: "We humans descend from apes."
Christianity: "No, you are wrong."
Science: "How so?"
Christianity: "God created Man."

And that's the only argument. I'm surprised to see that people haven't abandoned religion yet with all the evidence in science's favor and absolutely no evidence or even a clear explanation of how we got here from religion. Did god one theoretical day say, "You know what? I'm going to create a living thing called 'Humans' and just let them roam free across this newly created planet," and then snapped his fingers and poof there we are?

There's no explanation, and there never will be.

Wait, how did this thread go from "Children should have rights to their own religion" to "Is religion right or wrong"?

[devonin]

Originally Posted by perkeyone

@devonin, i hope youre not suggesting that religion should "immune to criticism", as dawkins put it, simply because people might be offended.

My post had nothing to do with the subject, but instead had to do with the attitude of some posters. Keep it civil.

[G.S.M]

Children have rights, most just don't know that they do.

I am mostly basing this off my childhood and what I think about some of this stuff...

I do think the topic is silly, we know whats bad and whats good. Should parents teach their religion to children? Its their right. Are they allowed to force it on their children? Yes they are (hell most children choose their own path later, then they can decide if they want to keep the religion they were taught or not). Who are you to tell other parents how they raise their children? Yes there are bad parents, in which case the child may run away, or think its normal, or someone else finds out and the parents lose their child.

Don't be silly about this... of course child sex/beating/etc is wrong, I thought this was the critical thinking forum? Anyways the parents CAN beat their children but its just a matter of time before someone finds it out. Or maybe no one does and the kid will be emotionally scarred for the future? Who knows... i don't think it is illegal in some countries though... not sure.

No matter how hard a parent tries they will NEVER control their child fully. Controlling a child is wrong, I agree, however not every single child will be brought up the same way. Welcome to planet Earth. I myself was brought up with fantastic parents! my grandma was religious, but she is no nut. Never followed that from her. My mom? no religion, she never talked about anything religious, she believes people have the right to believe anything.

Oh yeah. There is also the influence from other family members.. like grandparents! Mine were inspiring. My grandma grew up in Germany in the ww2 era separated from her parents for many years and eventually reunited with them. She became a strong woman from that and I respected it. That helped me become the strong person I am today - because it inspired me. My grandpa is also a strong person, very smart, was in the Korean war (EDIT: oops put in the wrong war LOL, fixed), was a sheriff for a long time, lots of medals, built things (sheds and other cool things). Now that is inspiring indeed. Mom is also strong.

AS for me I mostly learned good moral choices and thinking from the world around me. My parents/grandparents helped with that a lot. I have seen the bad, but that is not getting me down.

Getting offtrack here but you get my point. Every childhood is different, so I cannot speak for others... just what I think about it.

Originally Posted by MopeyJoe

Wait, how did this thread go from "Children should have rights to their own religion" to "Is religion right or wrong"?

I understand that the bible teaches good moral lessons, but it is an old dead thing (in my eyes). Religion seems silly to me. I also don't like being labeled atheist or anything they come up with... I honestly just don't care because its not going away any time soon.

let me contradict myself for a minute...

I don't think there needs to be a higher power for us to exist. Seriously? I believe in myself... I believe in Humans. We are capable of anything.

no tldr for you

[MopeyJoe]

Originally Posted by G.S.M

I understand that the bible teaches good moral lessons, but it is an old dead thing (in my eyes). Religion seems silly to me.

I completely agree. The thing is, I wouldn't have such a problem with religion if people didn't constantly nag about it every time someone says something against it. It's like they don't know people have the right to choose what they want to believe.

Although, I would still have a problem with it if people didn't nag about it because some of the stuff in the bible is just stupid.

[Cavernio]

Originally Posted by MopeyJoe

So you think people invented religion to find an easy answer of why people exist, why they have emotions, and why they share similar interests with others? Because scientists have a theory about where people come from, yet you religious fanatics refuse to believe it and therefore is still a theory, even though there is so much evidence to back-up that theory. It's just that one tiny bit of argument that people carry with them, and it is this:

Discussion between a man of science and a man of Christianity.
Science: "We humans descend from apes."
Christianity: "No, you are wrong."
Science: "How so?"
Christianity: "God created Man."

And that's the only argument. I'm surprised to see that people haven't abandoned religion yet with all the evidence in science's favor and absolutely no evidence or even a clear explanation of how we got here from religion. Did god one theoretical day say, "You know what? I'm going to create a living thing called 'Humans' and just let them roam free across this newly created planet," and then snapped his fingers and poof there we are?

There's no explanation, and there never will be.

Wait, how did this thread go from "Children should have rights to their own religion" to "Is religion right or wrong"?

This post of yours changed the topic. I also do not believe in god or some other religion, so clearly I'm not a religious fanatic. I don't even think buddhism is a good 'religion'. I also never refuted anything science says.

But yes, I do believe people invented religion to explain such things like our emotions and the world, and still exists even for some researchers and scientists because even if you believe everything science says, it still doesn't answer things like why or how does energy exist, or what existence of anything really is. You can still fully believe in evolution and cause and effect and science and yet still believe god exists. The two aren't mutually exclusive.

But all that is really an aside to the topic about whether or not parents should be allowed to pass on religion to their kids. Perk's argument is that religion is unnatural and harmful to children, both of which I don't see as true. And as to natural, I wouldn't exactly call science natural.

A much stronger argument against being allowed to teach kids religion is to say that it by nature breeds animosity between differing religions, and therefore is always going to cause strife and war and the like. But if using that argument you could then use it argue against allowing more than a single mainstream culture to exist.

[~kitty~]

I kind of feel like lots of these posts are either, "Let's just conform to what the government considers right or wrong." which just kind of says we can keep the things the way they are, this doesn't need to be improved. The family is where lots of things start and why lots of corruption exists, and even if it may not necessarily be illegal, why shouldn't it be? However, the other side is also biased and thinks a bit too freely because this is "America" or that we should just be able to do whatever we want and not be guided to some healthy moral development. I was away for a week so I didn't see these posts until now.