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Indoctrinating Children To A Religion Is A Form Of Child Abuse
One of Christopher Hitchens stronger arguments.
 moreno  17 May 2008 12:50
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If you tell a five-year-old they will go to hell and suffer eternal torment if they dont follow your religion, most of them will spend the rest of their lives doing things they don't really want to do or not doing things they do want to do because they believe its necessary. You are taking away their individuality and their ability to think for themselves.
 
 ur_wrong  04 Oct 2008 00:17
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I think it certainly can be harmful in later life, just look at the recent cases of the Fundamentalist Mormons and House of Yahweh in Texas. Not only do they raise the kids to think that polygamy and pedophilia is right, but it messes up their chances of having a normal, decent life later on.

I don't think there's usually much wrong, in theory anyhow, with non-fundamentalist religions teaching their kids about their religions, but you keep seeing case after case after case of religion killing and destroying lives.
 
 Cephus  17 May 2008 21:26
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This is totally true. Religion cannot be enforced onto people if they wanna believe in another thing let the child do so. You cant slap a bible in there face and force them to read that's child abuse...
 
 Pure  17 May 2008 18:38
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 Actually my parents never forced me to read the Bible.
by  Mark
 18 May 2008 01:06
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Yes, I'm not sure you can ever fully escape that early childhood conditioning. Even when your mind rejects the magical belief system later on, there are still emotional undercurrents in your psyche deriving from it.
 
 Hidell  17 May 2008 14:45
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 Strong assessment, but what about a child's own over active imagination? Are you to say that too is product of parental conditioning.
That would be ironic and outrageous if the parents need to mentally condition their children was to counter a child's imagination, because in reality they are using that imagination against the child. That's deep, I wonder what type of temperament that produces, what the clinical label is?
by  Bacchus
 17 May 2008 17:30
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When cigarette companies were under scrutiny, it was revealed that they knew their product was addictive AND they were actively targeting children with their advertisements. The cancer peddlars knew that if they couldn't get people hooked as kids, they would never get them.

The same goes with the religious industry. If they don't get their pedophilic hands on kids, they'll never convince an adult who has the mental faculties to fight attempts of indoctrination.

Indoctrinating kids in religion is pedophilia, and proselytizing to adults is rape.

Edit:

What's the matter, godbot? Does my preventing the sexual molestation of children by religious people bother you? Why would it bother you, godbot, unless it was your intent to molest children?

With religion, I mean.
 
 K9  17 May 2008 13:10
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 Boo-hoo-hoo. Grow up you big baby. EDIT: Most religious people do not rape children. Quit being a whiny baby and get a bloody education.
by  Mark
 17 May 2008 22:54
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Children not having a say of what religion they can choose and being indoctrinated by their parents and supplemented by the church they go to, is child abuse. They are told the horrible things that would happen to them if they don't believe, scaring them into the religion with devils and hell and everything in between. A religion should stand on its own merit and not be forced upon children until they are old enough to make an objective decision.
 
 moreno  17 May 2008 12:53
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 I hear you, and seems to be traditionalism that
is the main culprit. Since the day of paganism,
how many young virgins were raped on the alter, even young male virgins in some quite
swept under the rug practices. No one can seem to corelate the two.
by  Bacchus
 17 May 2008 17:53
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Telling them about a religion, sending them to classes about it, having them share your own religious experience at church - is NOT abuse. However, verbally or physically harassing them because they don't comply or don't agree or don't care is indeed abuse. It all comes down to context.
 
 Grenache  18 Sep 2008 21:46
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What a silly statement. All children are indoctrinated by their parents into a belief system. It is equally accurate to say that it is child abuse to intentionally deny them the opportunity to be steeped in a religion or to attempt to raise a child without a belief system.
 
 Cons_Lies  16 Aug 2008 02:02
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Religion gives a child its first grasp of morality, and teaches respect and love.
 
 joe9  21 Jul 2008 07:50
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Post reading Hitchens, i would suggest reading Douglas Wilson's numerous answers to him. Teaching a child when he is young that he is loved by God and is in His covenant and is expected to act accordingly is the best possible thing to do to a child. To do otherwise is neglect on the part of the parent. To give a child the impression that he could have another option is not only wrong, it will be punished most severely on the day of judgement. What can possibly be a detriment of teaching your children the infallible truth?
 
 davidsuggs  23 May 2008 15:35
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 How many infallible truths can there be?
by  Hidell
 23 May 2008 15:37
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If you take religion away from a child, you have taken choice away from that child. If we follow your argument, then children should not be educated; they should not be taught anything. Children should be left on their own to learn by themselves. This way you eliminate all choice. Which would be the only fair thing to do.
 
 pusspuss  19 May 2008 00:39
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I only disagree because the phrasing is all encompassing. Not all religions are this way. I don't like fundamentalism in general because it tends to close minds and seems hypocritical in many ways. However, the vast number of people that practice their religion or have faith don't fall into this. I don't diminish the numbers that do, but there are plenty of people who raise their children in a gentle environment with the flexibility to probe their beliefs.
If done properly a constructive religious childhood can instill basic moral principles that can help form a child toward being a better person as they grow.
 
 innomen  17 May 2008 13:18
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 I would argue that the Jewish religion is less fire and brimstone than, lets say, the Christian and Muslim doctrine which the two do not stray far from that logic of understanding.
by  moreno
 17 May 2008 13:39
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