Religion and children

Religion and children.

What age is appropriate to teach children about the religion you've chosen for them? What is the appropriate way to teach them? Is it moral to shape a developing mind/moral compass around the mold of an organized religion?

Feel free to touch on the points you feel are important, and lets try not to argue. Lets discuss.

 

I don't agree in choosing a Religion for others
- I was brought up and raised my children with the individuality of the self - To explore, learn about and THEN for the individual to decide what works for them.
For me Religion is a 'man-made interpretation of a doctrine of 'once upon a long ago' and I have a chosen Faith wiTch works For me
It is not the same as my children though we are all mutually respectful of the others "having a Faith than that which has been instructed by others as "the true way"
I feel that it is a matter of individual conscience and how that individual feels they can take comfort in -
MeThinks (well, it works for us)

 

You spelled "which" wrong.

 

Oh No I didn't! - the emphasis on the T should have shown the 'spelling' to be correct for my tenet of choice
"Tis; the Faith of Lore, of Olde days and of a time when those who performed "Magic" - (or knew and followed Natures cycle more than those of Powerful strength and opinion (i.e. Romans) feared that "wiTch" they did not know (Long before the 'Salem' day/s) - were persecuted, sought out and killed - Hence their strategy of Genocide - But you can't kill a Faith

 

My reason for inquiring you all. Is my girlfriend and I disagree on the matter. She thinks that sunday school, early year church thing is good for them and because of that its good overall. I on the other hand have a negative knee jerk when she says things like that. We're already at good terms with our religious differences. I didn't even know I disagreed until she mentioned it. I don't have a rock solid opinion, so I cannot really comment.

I will say that's believe it is very possible to teach right and wrong without fear of post life judgment, as I'm agnathiest and don't believe in post life life. Where it gets gray for me is whether or not learning them to religion from an early age is morally right in the first place. Which is why I want outside opinions and well, I respect the opinions of the people who frequent this part of hipforums.

 

Sons #s 1 and 2= Daddy--is there a god?

Daddy= I don't know, son and neither does anyone else. Many say they know, but you'll have to make up your own mind about it.

They never mentioned it again, but I assume they've made a decision. Or not.

 

children will do family things like sit on the kitchen floor
and all shine our shoes on sunday then go to town , sing
some songs about love , be loved , and be beautiful .

may the circle be unbroken

.
.

 

Yes but what does that mean?

 

I was raised in a Christian home, going to church 5 days a week my entire adolescence. I feel like I missed out on having a family life. We only had a church life. I consider myself more of an agnostic these days, but honestly, even though they're considered necessary, I don't like labels. I don't plan on imposing any type of religion on my children. That being said, my entire family is devoutly religious, and I do allow them to take my kids to church/church functions when my kids visit. It's not something I plan on raising them in,but I also want them to be reasonably educated on all different types of religion, so they have the ability to choose what is and isn't right for them when they're old enough to explore their own spirituality.

 

I think tikoo is pointing out that it doesn't have to be about indoctrinating your kids into some religion, but can be about family, community and bonding with same.
For some church involvement can be very rewarding and fulfilling, as can involvement in many community based endeavors.

Remember, you still have the ultimate control in guiding your children's religious views and can mitigate any things you may take issue with by focusing on the family and communal aspect rather than the religious teaching.

 

I think it's wrong to push religion on children. I think the main thing to teach them is the Golden Rule, which I learned as "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Nowadays I guess I would say, "Treat others the way you would like them to treat you." I do believe that most of the goodness of religions comes from that one simple rule.

The first time they experience death of a pet or someone they knew, questions will probably come up and then I think it's OK to share what you really believe even if it's from a particular religion, because they will need to make sense of it.

When my daughter was about six, I had the idea of taking her to various churches, synagogues, mosques so she could see for herself, but I gave up after the first one. Religions are so crazy, most of them, that I didn't think the experience would be beneficial.

My daughter is in Thailand now and I'm hoping she might be attracted to Buddhism, which is the only religion that makes sense to me.

 

I want to expose my son to different religions so he'll learn to be respectful of different beliefs and also understand that no one is completely right or wrong.

I'm pretty agnostic so my answer will be easy when he asks about God - "well son, I don't know and neither does anyone else, although some people THINK they know."

 

I would tell my son he's the chosen one and then play the self titled Black sabbath song for him.

 

i want to expose my dog to different religions . this year
we visited a cult . i knew it was a cult when they asked
me for money but i was forbidden to go out and earn it .

yes , there were children there . children were especially invited
and they were mostly ignored . the adults insisted 'we are the children' .

the kids very much liked playing with the dog .

the religion : hippie high holy

 

it is never appropriate to chose beliefs or very much of anything else, for anyone other then yourself. what you need to teach children is how to avoid getting hurt and how and to, avoid hurting others. what each of us comes to believe, comes to each of us through the process of our own lives and experiences.

there is no right or wrong age of the recipient to tell others that you believe in the existence of non-physical things, or even that you believe such and such about them. but as soon as one person tells another TO believe the same things as themselves, this is how trouble is brought into this world.

 

i really think those private catholic and christian schools for kids are like indoctrination, get them before they can think for themselves, it's child abuse.

 

J.J. Rousseau had a problem with this idea. We raise our children to be properly free after the age of Reason. That is to educate them for the use of their own faculties of reason in the liberal sciences. The child is guided by reason to risk for himself from the mind the truth for loving his neighbour and being understanding to his soul.

The main reason was to come to an understanding of the liberty each person had for himself, and for the essential duty as human beings to human beings. To be sure it wouldn't already be a good will for the Good progress of Man, but it should be a freedom to God (and country?) determining choices ethical by the standards indifferent to the standards of the government and state at the government of the time. That way the people would be directly subservient only to God; the slavery to man would be relieved; and I guess, the subject being ethics, the educator primarily had to refer the ethics in the personal family relationship.

We'd start early with the child about reasonable thinking, and thus the child could choose appropriately himself to be a member of a democratic social context.

 

Personally I think it's unethical to introduce children to religion on any level. Once they have reached the age of an independent legal adult, where they can reject your religion freely, then you can ask them if they want to hear about religion.

If you teach them that there is validity to religion, you're also teaching them to make a habit of believing things without evidence. Once the "reason" bit has been switched to 0, so to speak, any kind of religious (or other) programming can follow and there's no limit to the potential damage to their minds.

Religious activists target children because they know adults aren't so easily tricked. I think that's really wrong. Just my opin.

 

Myths and fairy tales are great for kids--what is wrong with religious values at the same time? (Some people are going to be surprised that I am saying this). young kids need to know everything is good, and fair, and that life is not doomed to the dark shadows of German existentialism where all of us are doomed to the cold winter of life, as a bitter cold sweeps across our misguided souls as they wander lost in meaningless physical existence. Where the only reprieve is death's bitter end, as we are finally devoured by the sharp metallic teeth of the earth Maul, at least metaphorically---because all is without hope, and only ends in the dead dust of decayed flesh and bone. They have plenty of time to find that out later. (And I hope you read that last part with a thick German accent).

Seriously, children need hope, they need love, they need to feel that things do happen magically----because guess what, whether you understand it or not---you as the child's parents are understood in a way that is all-powerful---you are filling part of the archetypal structure within his psyche that is the Mother Goddess, the Father God---all of those things that you may not want him or her to be indoctrinated into. You provide the food, keep them safe, love them, do all the things that you as their all-powerful should do.

You can teach them stories and traditions---expose them to all kinds of traditions. Any major city should have a buddhist temple, maybe a synogogue, possibly a church. You can expose them to all kinds of traditions. But you can also teach them to question.

And myths teach in very powerful ways that we do not see on the surface---especially to children---because they teach in the language of the subconscious.

I shared some Bible stories with my son. He went to church with us (my wife is catholic) he went to the church I grew up in----no I am not Christian. He has been to Buddhist temples, he would go with us to a Taoist Temple in Manila, and would be with us while we asked questions to the Taoist Priestess who talks with the spirits (I don't know what you would call her) to shape our luck. He's been in shrines, and exposed to all kinds of beliefs.

During his childhood and adolescence, I taught him to question everything just as I had. He read Dr. Spock on Vietnam in 6th Grade (my prized copy of course), and again in 8th or 9th Grade, after watching Horton Hears a Who with me. And then we watched Killing Fields. I did not share my own questioning of religion at that time---it was up to him to choose what he would believe, I just downplayed my wife's Catholicism, but did not discourage it. Meanwhile I was growing ever more atheist in my own beliefs---I guess the timing was off---my son was still quite a bit younger.

The whole time he was free to chose what he would believe.

But then when I started walking the Red Road, he would pick up on things that would happen to me. He wanted to tag along with me when I went to my second sun dance. Right away he started seeing animals on the side of the road that weren't there (the same thing that happens to me, but i didn't tell him about that---I was amazed when it happened to him too). The Sun Dance was amazing to him---the eagles circling the arbor, the rain all day around us except above us (until right after the last dancer left the arbor, then it rained hard. He really picked up on the power and the feeling.

But that doesn't mean he follows the Red Road. A vision quest or a sweat lodge may not be his thing---but he knows the power of it. He also knows that it is not a religion, it is a spiritual way---he knows where to turn if he needs it. He can go his own way if he doesn't---there is no indoctrination, there is no judgement, or stipulations that if he does not believe he will burn in hell... But he has seen first hand that there is more to this universe than what we physically experience.

 

My kids learn about what different people believe in. It will be their choice to adopt a religion or adapt their spirituality to their liking. I think it's important for them though, to understand that religion exists and to have some understanding of what the people around them believe and the influence religion may have on others.