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Originally Posted by Draug
So do you feel that parents are doing their children a disservice by raising them with a similar belief structure as the parents have?
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Not really, it's like gravity or taxes, it's just one of those things that exist and there's little that could be done to change it. EDIT: Beyond a normal change of social norms I mean, who knows at some point teaching religion to kids might be like teaching sex to kids, something not done until they're a little older and ready to understand.
Sometimes I think someone arguing against indoctrination indulges in the nirvana fallacy.. while indoctrination may not be ideal from some viewpoints, there's no alternative so it's useless to argue against it.
As always the devil is in the details and it's always the degree. The parent that teaches a kid to stand up physically for themselves is seen as responsible, while the parent that teaches their kid to bully is seen as irresponsible.
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Originally Posted by Draug
I've heard athiests say it is a travesty that Christian parents raise their children within the Christian belief structure; some have gone as far to say that Christian parents are brainwashing their children at an early age in order to insure they grow up as Christians.
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It's all about degree.
Even before I changed my beliefs, I withdrew from a church for the singular purpose of making sure my kid didn't go to that particular children's church. The denomination I grew up in has some, um, special views that I find particularly harmful and have impacted my adult life in negative ways, and I didn't want to subject my kid to that. But if we'd been at a more moderate church I probably wouldn't have left.
Some Christian parents let their kids ask questions, discuss things reasonably, and understand that their kids have their own lives and need to have their own spiritual life. Tell them god loves them, do unto others, all the good stuff.
Others are extremely legalistic, won't let their kids watch Smurfs or read Harry Potter, make sure they get taught the dangers of listening to non-Christian music by hearing messages when the songs are played backwards or reading anything not written by the right kind of Christian, send them to camps like that Jesus Camp movie, etc etc, threatening them with the fires of hell, eternal punishment for finite crimes, etc
And of course this isn't just Christian, any set of beliefs has this potential. Think of all the Free Kids on the Land being raised
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Originally Posted by Draug
Likewise, I've heard Christians say that Athiests are wronging their children by not exposing them to Christianity.
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I'd probably agree with them, though probably not in degree. I'm all for a comparative religions course in school for example.
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Originally Posted by Draug
I'm not sure where the ideal line lies. I know that my two children, 5 and 3 years old, have exact same belief structure that I and my wife have. It seems only natural that they would. Granted, they may shift as they get older, but I dont think it will be because I am pushing them to do so.
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I think the ideal line is to simply be aware that there's an extreme out there. Usually if you even consider that an extreme might exist, you don't need to worry that you are at it.
If you don't think there's an extreme, then you are probably at the extreme lol