Why do parents expect their children to accept the religion of the family?

Is it not logical that a child be exposed to all religions as history lessons so that he can form his own opinion when he matures?

I feel this world would be a better place if we were allowed to choose our religion after eighteen.

Your thoughts.

When I was younger, I knew there had to be a better way. So ever since I was young, I invented, and began to celebrate, Festivus! It's a Festivus for the rest of us!

Parents have a responsibility to teach their children as they profess When a person reaches 18 or so they are free to seek whatever their preferences happen to be. Its not possible to give free reign to intellectual development till the adolescent has sufficient cognitive and emotional maturity to seek his/her own perspective.

People do change their beliefs. People keep the same religion. I was brought up in church and I continue that. It was never forced on me and I do what is right for me. Some parents force their beliefs (no matter what the belief) but not all do. I think it would be normal for parents to raised their kids with what the belief (whether religion, manners, etc)

Where do you live, that you aren't allowed to choose your own course after you reach your legal maturity?

Well, isn't that what our PARENTS are supposed to do; provide us with social manners - skill sets to survive - give us the building blocks for the basics and then we continue on from there?

I was raised Southern Baptist: attended church twice on Sunday - Wednesday night was youth group - Friday or often Saturday was volunteer work day! So between school - 4-H - our own chores...it just seemed like we were kept busy - working and too tired to do any harm! But we still managed great moments of play & fun times. It wasn't until my high school days that I got to looking around; wondering what the other churches did - believed - taught.
Sure, I used to fuss and resent all those 'STRICT RULES' that the Southern Baptist Preacher screamed at us/me during his 1� pulpit slamming - bible shaking - {sermons} diatribe; GOOD GRIEF - Mister you look like your about to blow up!!!

yea, i watched that Seinfeld episode too...

Why do you think its not possible to give free reign to intellectual development...??

I would expect my children to form their opinions based entirely on their reasons after having read texts of all religions and weighing them against each other. If nothing appealed to them, they might just be agnostic.

I am afraid you are confusing between religion, values, ethics and morality...

I am only talking about religion and all the myth and dogmatism that go with it. If you are talking about values, ethics and morality, they should be passed down the generations with reference to their implication on the society.

If I did something or plan to do something, let me ask to myself on the implication of my actions to others, to the society and eventually to myself...I would get all answers.

Building up of a conscience in the child as to what is universally right and wrong is the only responsibility of parents. Rest of it should be figured out by the person himself.

but would they be "free" after nearly two decades of Indoctrination?

Hummm... why would a 38 yr old man be on a date site complaining about his parents trying to instill morals & values.

Well, its not about me. I have already formed my opinions based on reasons and evidence although my parents are religious. People say I am a skeptic but I tell you I am the biggest skeptic of my own skepticism. To me, how you think is far more important than what you think.

I understand, this is a dating site. Possibly, one day I would meet a like minded women here...Law of Attraction ;-)

I have already explained with an example as to what may be considered universally right or wrong with reference to its implication on the society. In our lives, there are two masters - pleasure and pain. Our life is nothing but a fleeting experience of these two feelings and the objective of our society is to bring happiness to all and one. In order to do that Universal Justice is required.

If I did something I would look at its implication on myself, my family and the society I live in. How would it affect others? If everyone started to do the same thing, how would I, my family and the society be affected. Thinking with reasons, we can find what is wrong and what is right.

By your own posts, you feel their Faith was forced on you & therefore it has been shoved & forced on everyone.
Maybe, whatever it was, was forced on you, to live a certain way. But they can't control your thoughts. And once you turned 18, they had no control over your body. So being 38, you should be over that by now, & moving on with your life. Do what you want to do. Believe what you want to believe or not.
The world isn't out to convert you. The idea that any Faith is shoved down people's throats is an illusion.
It is your past, not your present & certainly doesn't have to be your future. Because the reality is.. most people don't give a sh@t what others believe. Even with my strong Faith, I don't care, what you or anyone believes.
You are on your own.

Good luck in your quest or search for serenity.

Careful...your philosophy might create a new religion in the long run...

Living in the US you are probably oblivious of the happenings around the world. As I have written earlier, this is not about me but when I see the problems on the planet due to differences in faith and ideologies, it triggers many such questions in me.

Yes. I see now, that you are in the capitol of Qatar (assuming what I read from here is correct).

I am not familiar with the practices of the society their as regards this, but I have heard that in some areas near there, that people are not allowed to openly change their religious affiliation at all. If that is the case in Qatar, then I truly sympathize with you.

As to the exact way you posed your question, I will give some observations which may have something to do with it.

* religion is different from all other of the many kinds of teaching that parents give to children. Practical concerns, such as how to build a house, or what to do as a trade to make a living in the world, may indeed be logically presented to the child of a very religious person, as a free choice for them to make. However religion is not seen as a rational CHOICE by such people, it is seen as an imperative fundamental element of the child's view of the universe itself, necessary for their child to exist in any positive sense in the world.

It is no more logical to expect a parent to train their child to wander spiritually in order to choose a religion, than it is to expect them to train their child to wander in traffic laden street, in order to learn about the concerns of pedestrian safety.

* Historically, societies developed and all discovered that some form of cooperative order had to be established, if the society was not to be a constant clash of violent brigands. Religions grew out of that basic need to find commonality, and the desire to have the members of the society police themselves as much as possible.

It is again, illogical to expect a society to want to train it's children to begin all over again from complete disarray, and have to discover ways to cooperate for themselves.

* Finally, from a purely practical standpoint, it is unlikely that more than a very tiny number of parents anywhere in the entire WORLD, have enough knowledge of religions other than their own, to provide the child with genuine options. At most, they would be able to teach their children their own beliefs, and then tell the children that other conflicting beliefs exist as well.

Here in the United States, we were fortunate to have those who established the government here, be strongly opposed to the imposition of religious beliefs on individuals by others. Therefore it is written into our Constitution to try to prevent the government itself from imposing such beliefs. But there are still many people here who insist even today, that the government should nevertheless support them in their desire to impose their beliefs on everyone else around them.

It is an unfortunate element in the nature of most Religious beliefs, that for one to choose, proves that they are lost, and even dangerous to everyone else within that belief system.

So while I support your general sense that beliefs should be something each person seeks to discover for themselves, as a part of personal development, I cannot see any practical way to persuade strongly religious people to set their beliefs aside for the sake of that ideal. It is inherent to them all, that they demand that what they obey, is the Truth.

1 Corinthians

12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by[c] one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.

15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues[d]? Do all interpret? 31 Now eagerly desire the greater gifts.



We are all different and thank God for that. What a boring world if we were all the same. We should celebrate our differences not try to force our views on others.