Is teaching religion child abuse?

First, the Devil does not send you to Hell. Hell is a willongly separation from God.

Second, Christianity does not teach children to kill or harm others. Learning about God teaches children love, charity, being pure of heart and intention, and kindness. Comparing Muslim extremism - or any form of extremism - is an invalid point because extremism and general religion are different things.

Not all Muslim are terrorists therefore not all children raised in a Muslim home are being abused.

Let's not play dumb here. Obviously, a child being raised to kill is wrong and abusive. Bringing a child to church, or mosque or synagauge is not the same thing.

Yes, what about Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, Tooth fairy? Either it is the parents, other kids or media, but these characters are portrayed as existing, usually unseen, but pretty much real. Noone has seen them, has no real evidence, but ask any kid and they will say Santa Claus comes at Christmas, performs miracles and leaves gifts.
Filling their minds with these stories and then one day, when truth can no longer be hidden, parents just admit they have lied all those years- isn't that child abuse?
But with Jesus nobody can be certain about anything, and if used as a part of teaching ethics etc., i dont think it it harmful. (But it might be my 12 years at a christian school talking )

Teaching children that they evolved from monkeys to black people to an advanced white race is child abuse because it's a lie and the Theory of Evolution is just made up new age religion.

Originally posted by fbnks
First, the Devil does not send you to Hell. Hell is a willongly separation from God.

From the way you Christians make your hell sound to me, it doesn't sound like somewhere many people would WILL to go, especially once they got there. Then who's going to get them out, even though God is supposed to have ultimate power over Satan? No one. Yeah, that's real loving of God. Don't see a fear-based religion there at all.

It's like grown adults still believing in Santa Claus, except in this case Santa Claus is really the Boogey Man and he's meant to scare you and keep you away from learning the "wrong" things all through your life. It really is psychological abuse. At least by the time a child learns that Santa Claus is a socially-accepted lie, they're given a fighting chance at waking up and not being so damned naive. People don't even remember anymore that it was corporations that came up with Santa Claus to make people buy as much useless junk for each other during the holidays as possible. And in the process, oh, why not just go ahead and lie to virtually every young child in the country as well? Sure, hell, why not. Great parenting. You can thank the corporations though, since you didn't come up with it, either.

Second, Christianity does not teach children to kill or harm others. Learning about God teaches children love, charity, being pure of heart and intention, and kindness. Comparing Muslim extremism - or any form of extremism - is an invalid point because extremism and general religion are different things.

Not all Muslim are terrorists therefore not all children raised in a Muslim home are being abused.

Well as a Christian you are more open-minded towards other faiths than I would have first imagined, I'll give you that.

Let's not play dumb here. Obviously, a child being raised to kill is wrong and abusive. Bringing a child to church, or mosque or synagauge is not the same thing.

Imagine you are seeing millions of kids taught the Scientology crap and to beware this or that nonsense, or that the Boogey Man is real and they can never do x things or the Boogey Man will get them when they die, and they are ingrained with this for years during their childhood until it literally becomes impossible for them to ever unlearn it or learn to think outside of this mental "box" that has been created for them out of pure fear of consequences from the Boogey Man. It really is a pathetic and sad thing to see. People begin to willfully turn away from greater knowledge out of nothing but pure fear, and this is exactly what these religious institutions want.

It's exactly like Orwell's 1984 today. They had a "Ministry of Truth," and all they did was destroy records and obfuscate the truth and replace it utterly with lies. Basically every government agency's name was propaganda, and what they really did was the exact opposite of what they claimed they were doing, to better humanity. They were really just keeping people enslaved by keeping them stupid and apathetic, filled with lies and spiritual weakness. That is also what all your big religions do. They tell you they are teaching you about God and spirituality but really they are just telling you what to stay away from, teaching you to never stray outside of the confines of the narrow philosophy they offer you, to stay ignorant of the wider philosophies and viewpoints that are actually more encompassing and explanatory of the reality around you. And you do as they say, and won't deviate from it, either because you are afraid of going to hell, or you want to go to some kind of heaven where your ghost will be happy forever.

They have you tied up such that when people even try to offer insights from other religions, philosophies, viewpoints, whatever, many/most Christians will recoil from it and claim the Devil is after you or them. I can only imagine how many times Copernicus was accused of being misled by Satan during his lifetime, or Galileo.

I consider that demonstrable psychological abuse. It has a discernible and practical effect upon someone who is then exposed to new information, and they totally reject and shrink away from it out of fear that there is something inherently wrong with it and it's the Boogey Man's fault, because only their religion is the true one.

Originally posted by EndOfTheWorld7
Teaching children that they evolved from monkeys to black people to an advanced white race is child abuse because it's a lie and the Theory of Evolution is just made up new age religion.

The Theory of Evolution does not teach that at all. Please don't make it out to sound as if it's a racist thing either. If you don't know anything about Evolution, feel free to ask rather than simply assuming from an unfounded biased piss poor understanding. K?

Based on results teaching Humanism is child abuse. The moral state
of young people has totally deteriorated since US schools dropped any
religious base for public education. Are they happier, healthier, and more
productive that a 100 years ago?

Judging on results in the Soviet Union, teaching Atheism is abuse of
the worst sort.

Oh! but of course these are religions too!

Originally posted by sirnex

The Theory of Evolution does not teach that at all. Please don't make it out to sound as if it's a racist thing either. If you don't know anything about Evolution, feel free to ask rather than simply assuming from an unfounded biased piss poor understanding. K?

It might help to read a book by Charles Darwin, the man who came up with the theory.
The book is called:
The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life.

Well the title sure doesn't sound raciest now does it?

Lets take a look inside:
"At some future period, not very distant as measured by centuries, the civilized races of man will certainly exterminate, and replace, the savage races throughout the world...The break between man and his nearest allies will be then wider, for it will intervene between man in a more civilized state...and some Ape as low as a Baboon, instead of as now between the Negro or Australian and the Gorilla."

Charles Darwin, 1890


Next time read a book on what you preach instead of "piss poor" cartoon shows on Evolution.

That was just Piss Poor man. Come on.

[edit on 8-1-2010 by EndOfTheWorld7]

reply to post by EndOfTheWorld7


The Theory of Evolution has changed with new knowledge and discoveries since Darwin's time my dear boy.

Originally posted by UMayBRite!
Based on results teaching Humanism is child abuse. The moral state
of young people has totally deteriorated since US schools dropped any
religious base for public education. Are they happier, healthier, and more
productive that a 100 years ago?

Judging on results in the Soviet Union, teaching Atheism is abuse of
the worst sort.

Oh! but of course these are religions too!

Your confusing Atheism with a Dictatorship.

[edit on 8-1-2010 by sirnex]

reply to post by sirnex


So when atheism is used as an excuse to enforce a secular justified oligarchy that disenfranchises an entire nation it is Dictatorship and bad people? But when a muslim government figure openly calls for the destruction of an entire nation and incites hatred against members of other faiths it is religions fault? When people from Westboro church hold hate marches it is because they are christian? Really? You honestly do not think it is because they were horrible people with or without religion? Man it must be nice to live in a world full of invisible dragons to slay.

Originally posted by DeathShield
reply to post by sirnex

 

So when atheism is used as an excuse to enforce a secular justified oligarchy that disenfranchises an entire nation it is Dictatorship and bad people? But when a muslim government figure openly calls for the destruction of an entire nation and incites hatred against members of other faiths it is religions fault? When people from Westboro church hold hate marches it is because they are christian? Really? You honestly do not think it is because they were horrible people with or without religion? Man it must be nice to live in a world full of invisible dragons to slay.

Can you provide a scenario where an ideology based on the non-belief of any supernatural deity has been used as an excuse to enforce anything upon anyone.

Please site explicit sources and quotes on this as well.

reply to post by mamabeth


Teaching religion is by no means child abuse.
Backward and superstitious, yes. But not in and of itself abuse.

Now when the kid needs medical care and they pray instead, that is child abuse.
Trying to cast a demon out of a kid... is child abuse. (And delusional.)

Leaving a kid alone in the presence of a priest... well... need I say more?

Originally posted by EndOfTheWorld7
Teaching children that they evolved from monkeys to black people to an advanced white race is child abuse because it's a lie and the Theory of Evolution is just made up new age religion.

Haha, "Theory".

The thing that should be called "Theory" is religion.

The Theory of God, there is no evidence for God, Jesus or almost anything religion throws out, it's all "belief". (The Bible as a historical record or Jesus' Beach Towel are not evidence).

There is clear cut evidence for Evolution, have you not seen Belayev in Russia with the foxes? A very sped up version of Artificial Evolution as one bit of it, nevermind the countless more.

Originally posted by UMayBRite!
Based on results teaching Humanism is child abuse. The moral state
of young people has totally deteriorated since US schools dropped any
religious base for public education. Are they happier, healthier, and more
productive that a 100 years ago?

Judging on results in the Soviet Union, teaching Atheism is abuse of
the worst sort.

Oh! but of course these are religions too!

Athiesm can't be taught, it's not a religion itself.

You can choose not to brainwash your child with religion at an early age, thus rendering them Athiest, but you cannot teach Athiesm.

reply to post by Angus123


I know there are some churches who don't allow medical treatment.
Those type of churches don't represent the majority of christian churches.

reply to post by Lister87


I gave you a star. It seems most people who argue against Atheism don't really understand it at all. Atheists have no core set of 'scripture' that can be taught in the same manner as religious scripture. Atheism has nothing to say on the nature of morality, politics or the proper way to wipe ones own ass. It's simply the non-belief in all supernatural deities and all man made deities. Nothing more, nothing less.

As an agnostic, I'm saying no. I also don't think it's child abuse for atheists to not teach their children religion. However, I do think it's child abuse for an atheist to decide how religious parents teach their children and vice versa.

reply to post by Parallex


Wow, I'm going to apologize to you for whatever caused you to feel this way. I'm sorry for whatever some individuals did to you, but, as a Christian, I'm not a "fundie" or any other insulting name you call people who are polite, respectful, and more open-minded towards you than you are able to be towards them.

I'm also not stupid, socially defunct, etc., evidenced by my remarks on this post.

Again, I apologize for all the wrongs you have experienced at the hands of individuals. Maybe you could focus your feelings on the specific ones who hurt you. If not, maybe you can accept this apology, although, since neither I nor the other members of this site are personally responsible for any experiences you have had outside of this site, you realize no one knows what has happened to you.

Again, I'm sorry, friend. I certainly don't feel that way towards you or anyone else here. There's simply no reason to.

reply to post by mamabeth


Here are my views, concerning children and religion.
Great stock can be placed in the analogies of the good books to teach the general morals of a well rounded human being, and such things can be told without a single mention of a religious figure. Faith in god however, is something that only an adult can really realise they have, and should be there choice to pursue. I had a god-less upbringing, i am now devout in my religion, though i will bring my own son up in a house of learning, and if he wishes later in life, i will impose religion unto him.

Peace

reply to post by Lister87


Religion is theory and mythology rolled into one, and clearly you are an aethiest, which i respect absolutely. Indeed there is no evidence, but there is all the evidence of god. It is a matter of faith, which is why the man of cloth, and the man in clothes will never see eye to eye. The evolutionary scale can be deemed correct and will most probably be proven, but it wont make the slightest bit of difference, especially those of the Abramic religions.