religion and kids

[No Good Boyo]

It most certainly alters their perspective of it.
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in what way is the perspective altered?

 

[Bismillah]

it can be argued that faith does not teach "reasoning". It can be argued that faith is quite unreasonable as it requires you to believe without fact. Also, you do not need faith to have moral values, just look at the number of paedophiles in the clergy.

And it could be countered that looking at the morals that do not suffice to scrutiny should be rejected and our ability to dissect arguments strengthened.

i'm saying that if you were to use reasoning when reading scriptures it would become unbelievable,for example the stories of Noahs Ark or Adam and Eve which require a lot of faith to believe

Many of these stories can and have been interpreted metaphorically and serve to underlay much more important moral issues.

morals IMO are something we as Humans have learned a long time before the major religions appeared.

Did the first humans not have a religion?

 

[No Good Boyo]

not to take the stories of religions as literal

And if anyone has a problem with it, they can bite my backside.

Don't some religions tell us that their "bible" is the either "the word of god" or "the divine inspiration of god" and should therefore be taken very literally?

Like the butt biting idea. Works for me

 

[No Good Boyo]

And it could be countered that looking at the morals that do not suffice to scrutiny should be rejected and our ability to dissect arguments strengthened.

So, does your faith permit you to scrutinise and reject the morals that are derived from holy scripture?

 

[Breathe]

Don't some religions tell us that their "bible" is the either "the word of god" or "the divine inspiration of god" and should therefore be taken very literally?

That's their downfall, though.

Education, not restriction, is the key to their downfall. By punishing or harassing those groups who do that, you're making them cling more to literalism.

I'm also not one who takes any texts literally. If it sounds impossible, it more than likely is.

Besides.
If you don't have any religious influence growing up, what the hell can you rebel against? My parents didn't raise me with religion, so I was gutted. Couldn't protest and be a rebel. I was 19 and 20 before I found out my mother and father's religions respectively.

 

[Bismillah]

So, does your faith permit you to scrutinise and reject the morals that are derived from holy scripture?

Yes I reject the morals of Whabbis for example.

 

[No Good Boyo]

Yes I reject the morals of Whabbis for example.

It is good that you can do that. Please forgive my ignorance on Whabbis, I've no idea what that means

 

[Bismillah]

It is good that you can do that. Please forgive my ignorance on Whabbis, I've no idea what that means

A political/religious movement originating in Saudi Arabia as a "reversion" to Islamic ideals. Currently the religion of the theocracy of Saudi Arabia.

 

[Wannabe Yogi]

Is it really acceptable to push your religion on your children?
I appreciate that the believer thinks that their faith is true, and their faith makes them happy. Therefore it is only natural to wish to pass on this truth and happiness to ones children. However, each believer must accept that there are more people who doubt their faith than there are who follow their faith (as no religion constitutes 50% of the population). To the rational mind this would obviously create some doubt or uncertainty.

My son is expected to practice the faith of my home unless he can give a rational reason for not following Hinduism. Being lazy is the only unacceptable reason not to follow our family faith.

He has learned about not only Hinduism but Buddhism, Christianity and Islam from both home and temple. He is 12 years old and has read Marx and has a fair working knowledge of Atheism. He has seemed to reject the idea of a personal God due to the amount of world suffering. I frankly would rather have him play football with his friends then reading Marx still thats his choice as long as he gets some exercise.

I find some of his beliefs just to extreme and it worries me. For instance if he finds out that someone eats meat. In his mind that person is just unethical.
I am always trying to moderate his beliefs with the opposite argument. Still, I see this as more the function of his developmental stage and not my religion.

We have many types of friends who come over to our home. Atheist labor union activists, Jewish scientists, even Baptist kids from his school. All views are covered. If your ideas are real you should not fear the beliefs of others.

This has hurt his relationship with his Grand parents. In my house it is ok to question adults as long as it is done very respectfully. His Grandparents just don't like to be questioned on their beliefs. My son has told his grandmother that table manors were invented as a way of the rich separating themselves from the poor and it is ok for him to eat with his fingers. I told he that it doesn't matter and he is probably right, but...... he must learn to live in our society and not pick unnecessary fights. He needs to follow the standard eating techniques until he grows up. Then he can follow any rules he wants to. This made grandma nuts who sees manors as just the most important thing in life.

Questioning is good and right. There is still a point that we all need to live together in peace.

 

[Wannabe Yogi]

Yes I reject the morals of Whabbis for example.

I have heard them called Neo-Whabbis, they have changed the views of the original Whabbis and made their views more extreme. Do you see any truth in this statement.

 

[Noaidi]

As a parent, I wouldn't push my subjective values on my daughter. My politics are my politics. My vegetarianism is my vegetarianism. My love of reggae is my love of reggae...

I have taught her universal values (don't steal, be kind etc) but, beyond that, she has to make her own choices. My partner and I are both vegetarian. My daughter is not. She understands our reasons for it, but decided it's not for her. If we were religious, I would hope we would adopt the same approach and let our daughter decide.

I teach many pupils (I would say about 75%) who have very strong christian beliefs, and they are very evidently parentally influenced. When it reaches the point that some pupils don't choose my subject (biology) because they have been told that it involves evolution and 'evolution is wrong', then it becomes a problem. Some parents have even complained to the school about the content of biology and physics classes in the school being 'unbiblical'. And this is in Scotland - not the Deep South!

Children should be free from religion until such an age that they can comprehend what religion is.

 

[No Good Boyo]

I teach many pupils (I would say about 75%) who have very strong christian beliefs, and they are very evidently parentally influenced. When it reaches the point that some pupils don't choose my subject (biology) because they have been told that it involves evolution and 'evolution is wrong', then it becomes a problem. Some parents have even complained to the school about the content of biology and physics classes in the school being 'unbiblical'. And this is in Scotland - not the Deep South!

Children should be free from religion until such an age that they can comprehend what religion is.

I like your outlook on like and agree with your stance.

Scotland??? Really???? I had no idea Jockanese were so strongly influenced by religion. Is this a countrywide thing or is it confined to remote areas?

 

[Noaidi]

I like your outlook on like and agree with your stance.

Scotland??? Really???? I had no idea Jockanese were so strongly influenced by religion. Is this a countrywide thing or is it confined to remote areas?

"Jockanese"?
*ahem* I'll let that one go, seeing as how you are the new boy here...

I live in the Hebrides, and good ol' Free Church fire and brimstone Presbytarianism is alive and kicking up here. I've stopped going to school assemblies because I'm sick of hearing the minister condemning all these 'sinner' children to hell every opportunity he gets. It is child abuse, IMHO.

 

[No Good Boyo]

"Jockanese"?
*ahem* I'll let that one go, seeing as how you are the new boy here...

I live in the Hebrides, and good ol' Free Church fire and brimstone Presbytarianism is alive and kicking up here. I've stopped going to school assemblies because I'm sick of hearing the minister condemning all these 'sinner' children to hell every opportunity he gets. It is child abuse, IMHO.

hehe, it's 6 nations season and general friendly banter amongst the home nations prevails. For the next 2 weeks we're all jocks, micks, taffs and ruperts

I'm quite shocked by this revelation and am surprised that kind of behaviour is tolerated. Can't be easy on you having to witness that kind of stuff. But if it's accepted by the masses then I guess it passes for the norm.

 

[Rainbow Mage]

encouraging them in any way to follow your chosen faith - taking them to church, encouraging prayer, reading of the bible to them, stories of jesus. That kind of thing

Oh well, I agree that's not good, however there are some cases more extreme then others. I don't think raising your child in your faith is necessarily bad, if you're not real forceful and rigid about it like fundamentalists usually are.

 

[England my lionheart]

And it could be countered that looking at the morals that do not suffice to scrutiny should be rejected and our ability to dissect arguments strengthened.

Many of these stories can and have been interpreted metaphorically and serve to underlay much more important moral issues.

Did the first humans not have a religion?

Of course its down to interpretation,if it cannot be literally true then another meaning is looked for,hence there are different interpretations.

I doubtthe first Humans thought about much other than where the next meal is comming from and not being another creatures next meal

 

[Pegg]

it obviously makes no difference in teaching them ones religion because in the end,they grow up and make their own decision. The problem comes with threatening them to keep your religion. If they want it, they will keep it and if they dont, there is nothing you can do to change their mind.

But there is absolutely nothing wrong with instilling your religion into your children...and its one thing to take religion out of schools, but i is quite another to also try and take it out of the home setting...that is wrong! It is a parents right & responsibility to teach their children religion.

 

[RitalinO.D.]

Yes I reject the morals of Whabbis for example.

That's all well and good that you have that freedom to do so, but I see per your profile you reside in Arizona? If you lived in Saudi Arabia, do you believe if you openly rejected the morals of the Whabbis, you wouldn't be immediately arrested by the Mutaween and burried to your neck and stoned for heresy? I've been to Saudi Arabia a few times, I got to see first hand how they treat people that openly speak out against Islam.

 

[RitalinO.D.]

It is a parents right & responsibility to teach their children religion.

I would agree that it is the parents right, however it being a responsibility i guess would have to be in the eye of the beholder. I do not think it is a responsible thing to do, unless the child is made aware of all the truths, such as the different religions, and why people do/do not believe in them. You're giving them a choice. Not giving them that choice to decide on their own can be crippling later in life.

 

[BeeBooga]

I think that religion shouldn't be shoved down any ones throat, especially as a child.
Why?
It can cause you to be biased in a religion, unless you intend to teach them more than one religion.
I don't think its acceptable to MAKE children read the bible, to MAKE children pray, to MAKE children attend your church, and to FORCE all of this on them without their opinion given. Furthermore, it's even worse to ignore them when and if they decide that they wish not to learn of the religion anymore.