Should Parents Raise Their Child(ren) Into a Religion?

Should parents instil religion in their children? No.

Is religion necessary for raising a child? No.

Should they let the child decide and make an informed decision? Of course, but that's easier said than done. Many religious families havew traditional and cultural habits, ones they would have to suspend specifically around the child so as to not affect it and leave it biased. Highly unlikely and difficult to pull of.

Xsoteria:

Should parents instil religion in their children? No.

Why?

^I answered that later in the post. I think they should let the child make an informed decision.

Xsoteria:

^I answered that later in the post. I think they should let the child make an informed decision.

So you think parents should be required to present information on every religion? You think it's wrong to actually raise a child with religion?

^Well I actually think that's even more impractical than not instilling religion in them at all. Ii mean I hardly think that your average Joe knows nearly enough about other major religions, as he knows about his own. And I doubt he wouldn't be biased, or would consider to educate his child like that in the first place.

Ideally, a child would be religion free up until some age of maturity. But it's all highly impractical and unlikely, but since we're talking in theory...

As long as you give the kid a choice. I don't think that you should force a kid into anything. I am pretty sure that if I suddenly wanted to switch religion, my mom and grandma(I no longer live with my dad) wouldn't have a problem; they know that it's my life. They encourage me to go to church, but in the end, it's my choice.
On the other hand, I had a friend one time who's parents were just the other way around; she had no choice once-so-ever. If she suddenly wanted to switch to, say, Catholic, her parents wouldn't let her. They would probably kill her if she wanted to turn anything other than Protestant.
A religion isn't necessary, but it's nice to believe in something.

i honestly feel children would be way better off if they were only tought reasoning and tolerence from the get-go something many religious groups have lost sight of, but on another note it's nearly impossilbe to tell people how to raise there children. keep in mind though; children aren't born with ignorant hateful beliefs. hate is tought.

sadodruscillaism.:

So you think parents should be required to present information on every religion? You think it's wrong to actually raise a child with religion?

not religion in specifics but ignorant and hateful personal opinions r often put together with holy scripture.
case-in-point: bible says to love all gods creates yet many christians hate gays... where that leap come from?

qtkie:

not religion in specifics but ignorant and hateful personal opinions r often put together with holy scripture.
case-in-point: bible says to love all gods creates yet many christians hate gays... where that leap come from?

Because bigoted people will always twist words to support their own bigotry. I'm a non-straight Christian, so obviously if I were to raise my children in the Christian faith, I would not teach them to hate homosexuals.

sadodruscillaism.:

Because bigoted people will always twist words to support their own bigotry. I'm a non-straight Christian, so obviously if I were to raise my children in the Christian faith, I would not teach them to hate homosexuals.

thank you! there will anlway be bigotry of some form in religion, thus there will always be a vestage of hate and hypocracy in religion. with that unerlined point made it seem pretty rational to believe that more tolerant level-headed generations can be brought-up without religion, clutted with personal opinions.

I'm a bit divided on this. I personally believe that each child should be allowed to develop their own ideas and beliefs. I also believe that there's nothing wrong with parents trying to raise the child to follow their initial beliefs. If I was a parent I wouldn't try to force the child to believe one religion. I would however tell them that there's a higher power that they could talk to if there were things they didn't want to discuss with me. Things like rape or abuse from anyone or anything like those that could hurt them emotionally.

I don't know if that made any sense but it's the best I could explain.

I won't lie, I'm incredibly torn on this topic. While I do have every intention of raising my child with my own religion, I want to make the choice on whether my religion is the one for them or if they should choose another path - and raising a child with a religion basically brainwashes them, making choosing a different religion own the path possibly difficult.

I wasn't raised with a religion at all - though my parents are Christian - which is why - right now - I'm searching for my religion. I really love that, too; because I'm not Christian, and having to endure Christianity and churches would've been hard. I've been to church a select few times and every time I just ... Christian isn't my religion. I have explored it. And I don't want my children to be raised with their mind set on one religion, because my extreme-Christian sister is doing that and I can't express my own opinions openly around her, her children or her husband because they all deny it and try to 'make me see God' (no offense to Christians). I don't believe in God himself or Jesus - more like, I'm confused on the subject - and I have to sit there like a good girl whilst my niece goes off about God and how amazing he and how certain people are 'demons' who don't 'have God in their hearts' because of a certain thing they do. Which makes me not want to raise my children with a religion, out of fear of brainwashing them and having them turn into that.

But ... I know once I find my religion, I'll probably seriously practice it. I'll be as serious about it as those church-going, God-loving, serious Christians. And I want to include my children, and have them experience my religion with me. Not to mention, if my future husband/wife has a different religion, I don't want us to fight about it.

I guess when I've actually found my religion and have a child, I'll know what to do, right?

floraltights:

... and raising a child with a religion basically brainwashes them.

I think that depends on the way the parents in question raise their child. Not every religious person is a cult leader.

^ agreed

Like be dru's hero said, it really depends on the way they raise the child. If they explain to them the reasons, but the fact that they'd love them no matter what their religion was, it's not brainwashing.

But, if the parents constantly try to make their child believe the religion, I don't think that's reasonable. Sure, you can raise the child to believe what you've always known, but they have to know that the child will make its own decision for itself later in time.

be dru's hero.:

I think that depends on the way the parents in question raise their child. Not every religious person is a cult leader.

I suppose you're right - I should think things through more thoroughly. I'm going by the way my hardcore Christian sister seems to be teaching her children, and not realizing that not everyone teaches their children that way.

qtkie:

not religion in specifics but ignorant and hateful personal opinions r often put together with holy scripture.
case-in-point: bible says to love all gods creates yet many christians hate gays... where that leap come from?

It's because people have twisted scripture to their own ends. The thing is we're not meant to hate people, God tells us to love the sinner, but hate the sin. Of course whether being homosexual is a sin or not is up in the air, and the worse thing is that people get stuck on homosexuality and don't realise that God treats all sin equally. People just make mountains out of molehills.

I was brought up in a certain religion, and by the time I was 16, I wanted no more part in it. My mother noticed, and forced me to go to church. She would literally stand outside my Sunday School class to make sure I didn't leave.

I think it's fine to raise a child with religion, as long as they aren't forced into it. The child will later on decide if they would like to stay with the religion, follow another, or quit religion altogether. Parents have to realize that their children will have to make decisions of their own, and religion is one of them.

I think it is perfectly acceptable to raise a child in a religious family. But at the same time that child should feel that it is okay for them to explore other religions, or that it is acceptable if they personally don't believe in God at all. They should feel like there family won't disown them or hate them. I don't think that it is necessary to have religion in your life as a child. I didn't and I'd like to think I turned out okay.

Parents should definitely be able to raise their child with religion. If a parent believes that their beliefs lead to joy and eternal life, it would be wrong for them not to want to share it with their children. And ultimately, it is the child's decision to choose their beliefs. I don't believe what I believe because my parents "shoved it down my throat." It was a personal decision.

Religion is not necessary for raising children, but teaching morals and manners is. And a lot of the time, those morals are taught through religion.