Just wondering

[Aevy]

Were you brought up to be religious, or did you find faith yourself?  

[loIitoads]

I don't really understand how this is a debate. So, I'll add one in.

'Raising children to be religious is like brainwashing', discuss.

Personally I agree (despite the hyperbole). One should be allowed to make a decision based on their own experience throughout life, not taught from birth that there is only one way to do things. For one thing, that method makes the 'faithful' less impressive, because they spout the same arguments as everyone else. To have arrived to faith independently, that is commendable, and shows a stronger person than the 'brainwashed' child.  

[ioioouiouiouio]

Quote:

I don't really understand how this is a debate. So, I'll add one in.

'Raising children is like brainwashing', discuss.

Personally I agree (despite the hyperbole). I do not understand that children are not born with the proper faculties for decision-making, either physically, morally, or theologically. I do not understand that a parent teaching their children to be a part of a certain faith is no different than a parent teaching their children evolution. Both of which are theories that, while contested, are believed by the parents in question to be truth, however I find distinction because one is religious and one is not

FIXED  

[loIitoads]

Cometh The Inquisitor

Quote:

I don't really understand how this is a debate. So, I'll add one in.

'Raising children is like brainwashing', discuss.

Personally I agree (despite the hyperbole). I do not understand that children are not born with the proper faculties for decision-making, either physically, morally, or theologically. I do not understand that a parent teaching their children to be a part of a certain faith is no different than a parent teaching their children evolution. Both of which are theories that, while contested, are believed by the parents in question to be truth, however I find distinction because one is religious and one is not

FIXED

Parents do not and should not teach children evolution. And I'd thank you kindly not to make assumptions on my understanding of facts. I am aware that children cannot decide things for themselves, and that is precisely why I am against raising them in a certain faith. To my mind, they are as ready for that as they are ready for sexual experiences. Children should be taught the fundamentals of science and ethics (not: not religion, but ethics), when they are young, and only actual religion when they are old enough to cope and make their own informed decision. (For another example of how biased religious teaching is: an RE teacher when I went to school refuses to teach any faith but her own).
Of course, none of this is possible, due to the family unit, and as such things will remain as they are. Now, if you'd care to tell me why it is all right to force children who cannot make decisions themselves into a system of belief they may spend the rest of their lives at odds with?  

[SinfulGuillotine]

For me, it was a combnation of both. I was raised in a very religious family, and for various reasons, I drifted away from it for a while, and for various reasons, I eventually drifted back, but I came back to the same faith and denomination (Catholicism) with a completely new, and I think better, perspective.

As for raising children religiously...I don't think it's nessesarily a bad thing to raise children with faith, but I also think it's important to expose them to different faiths, ideas, and ways of thinking as they get older. I invite and encourage my step-son to come to Mass with me and do my best to educate him about my faith, but I also try to inform him about other religions and philosophies, and encourage him to talk to people about what they believe. It's more important to me that he comes to his own conclusions than if he adheres to my exact beliefs.

Faith (or lackthereof) is a decision that, ultimately, needs to be a personal decision. I don't think there's anything wrong with giving a child a religious foundation, but I do think that brainwashing them and not allowing them to explore other options is not good.  

[Tarrou]

Oh, let's just not teach our children anything at all, because clearly even science is too uncertain for us to impose it on their fragile little minds. I know! Let's all teach them to be post-modernists, and to view the meaning of everything as being subjective; that way they'll grow up without a single, concrete belief in their heads. Then they can all hang out at Starbucks and smoke clove cigarettes and suffer from terrible ennui. Sure, the economy will collapse and everyone in the world will be an insufferable prat, but at least no-one will have been abused with the fascistic parental imposition of beliefs.

Must stop posting at 6:00 in the morning; not good for me, not good for others.  

[loIitoads]

Tangled Up In Blue

Oh, let's just not teach our children anything at all, because clearly even science is too uncertain for us to impose it on their fragile little minds. I know! Let's all teach them to be post-modernists, and to view the meaning of everything as being subjective; that way they'll grow up without a single, concrete belief in their heads. Then they can all hang out at Starbucks and smoke clove cigarettes and suffer from terrible ennui. Sure, the economy will collapse and everyone in the world will be an insufferable prat, but at least no-one will have been abused with the fascistic parental imposition of beliefs.

Must stop posting at 6:00 in the morning; not good for me, not good for others.

Exactly- posting at 6 o'clock in the morning seems to bring out your 'not listening' side.

I never said children should not be taught anything. I said that they should taught ethics instead of religion. I will, however, give Sinful Guillotine some credit for a more broad minded approach. People in general, though, cannot be relied on to be so liberal.
Children can be taught science, but only proven bits of it. Therefore they'll have a good base and better be able to understand what theories are and make their own choices. Rather than evolution being sandwiched in with everything else and people blindly accepting it.  

[SinfulGuillotine]

catgirlsPLZ

I will, however, give Sinful Guillotine some credit for a more broad minded approach. People in general, though, cannot be relied on to be so liberal.

Well, at the end of the day, I respect a parent's right to raise their children how they see fit, provided it's not blatantly abusive. So I don't really think that it matters how people can be "relied on" to be.

I simply stated the way I personally think is ideal to raise a child, and how I am raising my step-son and will likely raise any other children I have down the line. That by no means should be a law. I'm not sure if that's what you're implying, but creating laws regarding the values and beliefs that parents are allowed to teach their children rubs me the wrong way.  

[loIitoads]

SinfulGuillotine

catgirlsPLZ

I will, however, give Sinful Guillotine some credit for a more broad minded approach. People in general, though, cannot be relied on to be so liberal.

Well, at the end of the day, I respect a parent's right to raise their children how they see fit, provided it's not blatantly abusive. So I don't really think that it matters how people can be "relied on" to be.

I simply stated the way I personally think is ideal to raise a child, and how I am raising my step-son and will likely raise any other children I have down the line. That by no means should be a law. I'm not sure if that's what you're implying, but creating laws regarding the values and beliefs that parents are allowed to teach their children rubs me the wrong way.

Yeah, I'll give you that. I think I came on too strong, 'cause I'd agree with you there, and what I meant was really just my opinion.

I do think, though, that the education system (specifically in Britain, I can't speak for America). needs to be shaken up as regards to this. By no means should Christianity be taught as the main base with others as 'comparative religions'. Every religion should be taught individually and compared, but in equal depth, and young children should just be given ethical lessons to learn what is right and wrong in the eyes of society before the eyes of a God.  

[SinfulGuillotine]

catgirlsPLZ

SinfulGuillotine

catgirlsPLZ

I will, however, give Sinful Guillotine some credit for a more broad minded approach. People in general, though, cannot be relied on to be so liberal.

Well, at the end of the day, I respect a parent's right to raise their children how they see fit, provided it's not blatantly abusive. So I don't really think that it matters how people can be "relied on" to be.

I simply stated the way I personally think is ideal to raise a child, and how I am raising my step-son and will likely raise any other children I have down the line. That by no means should be a law. I'm not sure if that's what you're implying, but creating laws regarding the values and beliefs that parents are allowed to teach their children rubs me the wrong way.

Yeah, I'll give you that. I think I came on too strong, 'cause I'd agree with you there, and what I meant was really just my opinion.

I do think, though, that the education system (specifically in Britain, I can't speak for America). needs to be shaken up as regards to this. By no means should Christianity be taught as the main base with others as 'comparative religions'. Every religion should be taught individually and compared, but in equal depth, and young children should just be given ethical lessons to learn what is right and wrong in the eyes of society before the eyes of a God.

Well, I can't speak for America either, though I've heard monsterous stories about their abstinence-only education.

I think that religion of any kind needs to stay out of public school systems. If parents want to teach their children religious values, that's their right, but keep it out of public schools.  

[loIitoads]

SinfulGuillotine

catgirlsPLZ

SinfulGuillotine

catgirlsPLZ

I will, however, give Sinful Guillotine some credit for a more broad minded approach. People in general, though, cannot be relied on to be so liberal.

Well, at the end of the day, I respect a parent's right to raise their children how they see fit, provided it's not blatantly abusive. So I don't really think that it matters how people can be "relied on" to be.

I simply stated the way I personally think is ideal to raise a child, and how I am raising my step-son and will likely raise any other children I have down the line. That by no means should be a law. I'm not sure if that's what you're implying, but creating laws regarding the values and beliefs that parents are allowed to teach their children rubs me the wrong way.

Yeah, I'll give you that. I think I came on too strong, 'cause I'd agree with you there, and what I meant was really just my opinion.

I do think, though, that the education system (specifically in Britain, I can't speak for America). needs to be shaken up as regards to this. By no means should Christianity be taught as the main base with others as 'comparative religions'. Every religion should be taught individually and compared, but in equal depth, and young children should just be given ethical lessons to learn what is right and wrong in the eyes of society before the eyes of a God.

Well, I can't speak for America either, though I've heard monsterous stories about their abstinence-only education.

I think that religion of any kind needs to stay out of public school systems. If parents want to teach their children religious values, that's their right, but keep it out of public schools.

Equally it should be kept out of politics, etc, etc. As long as a government doesn't repress a religion, they should have no right to make it political. The Anglicans in England are kicking up a fuss about abortion now, just because they hadn't been on the news recently.