I disagree. I think a religious education can be a life enriching experience. However, I don't think religion should be forced and I firmly believe in helping children to think for themselves and reach their own conclusions with regards to faith.

Yes! That makes perfect sense to me. I don't like it when parents force their kids to follow their religion. Kids will believe whatever is drilled into their heads. Give them some time to see the world and learn about different religions before making a choice!

I respect you Frank ,but I have to disagree.Not that church kids get into any less trouble.God has parental rights to have a relationship with HIS children and to work in their lives.Plus who would do the christmas play?

It is very important to share your faith with children and involve them at a young age. This is a command from the scriptures. When they become teenagers, then they should be given the choice whether or not they wish to continue attending.

I think children need a good foundation and should go to some sort of religious services, along with their parents. When they are teenagers, patterns have already been set. Of course, they will decide for themselves as they become adults.

Unless they have experience with church/temple, on what basis/standard/facts would they be making this 'decision'? Teenagers are notorious for making very self-centered decisions.

I agree completly with you. They ought not to be forced to go to religous services and told all this nonsense and rubbish, and then beleive it only because they're children and don't know any difference. Let them grow up, let them grow smarter, and then let them decide if they want to go do all that stuffs. To Hell with the notion of “Give me the child for his first seven years and I’ll give you the man”.

Yes, I agree with you 110%

church is a family thing and who are you leaving your children with when you go think first.people who go to church take there family. it also teaches good behavior, how to sit quitely, and how to get along with others. its not all religon. my children went to church and at times still do as adults. but they dont feel as if it was pushed on them

No. I believe that parents should teach their children the ways of the LORD. It is their repsonsibility. I thank God for a godly family who took me/sent me to church even when I did not want to go. I also thank God for godly grandparents who were God's instruments in leading me to the Lord Jesus Christ. -In the service of the Master. Thank you and God bless you!

I think to each is own. I'm having a problem because my 15 year old wants to go to church, but I have a problem with the bigotry of my religion & don't want her to go

Scripture specifically states that "unless" one comes to the Lord as a child...so I think it would be crucial for the children to go to church early. Mark 10:15 - (KJV) Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” Mark 10:14-16 (in Context) Mark 10 (Whole Chapter)

I definitely agree. The only reason scripture says that you should bring children to Church is so that it can brainwash them. We know how impressionable young minds are, and scripture does a great job at exploiting that impressionable nature. Wait until they've learned other life lessons and common sense before they are exposed to things like that, so that they can decide for themselves rather than having it spoon fed to them and feeling like they owe someone something due to a false sense of authority or loyalty.

I'm not really for or against your approach. I wouldn't respect a parent less for wanting to introduce their child to a religion if they truly believe in it. As long as a child is able to exercise his free will when he is old enough to do so (be it going to church or leaving the church), he's at no disadvantage either way you choose to go about it.

Agree.

I am an Agnostic/border line Atheist however I disagree. I think the parents should take their children to church should they wish to, I see no harm in doing so, as long as they dont force the child to do so against his/her wishes.

You see questions like this, and quickly you know that atheists are going to be for this and religious people against.. with some cross overs.. and the reason people ask questions like this is to hopefully open someones eyes to possible alternatives... and it gives some of us hope that you know maybe this question will be the one to change the minds of the masses, or that question or that perspective or this arguement or that arguement.. and even if we get a few converts, there are still so many more to replace them to come up with new arguements, to put their faith to the test, and sometimes, hell a lot of times, find that faith wins out in the end... I see questions like this and think, whats the point? Whats it going to do? how many peoples lives is it going to change? and even if it does change a few maybe it might change quite a few, but will we see the change in our block? in our town? city? Now my opinion... the point of this question, is somewhat to combat indonctrination, if everyone did this then maybe christianity would lose a lot of grip on a lot of people and maybe die out... and christians think you know this is horrible they are just trying to destroy us, or maybe theyre just being polite and ignoring the implications, answering the question in as polite a manner as possible... but the implications are there.. if we destroy indoctrination, then the church loses a lot of potential members and christianity fades a little bit.. but one christian may ask, why would they do this? What did we ever do to them, its not even their buisness... but what if christians are wrong? If youre wrong, if every religion is wrong... what implications does that draw out? give it a moment of thought consider the broad range of implications.. maybe you cant see them all.. thats alright, im really not trying to change your thoughts, ive given that up... but if youre wrong, should we allow the majority of the country to travel around in ignorance of the ignorance they have? Are we any more justified to remain silent, than the christians who dont spread the word of God? I've tried to consider leaving them alone, and politely telling them to leave me out of it, but if i stay quiet and it turns out that everyone is wrong, (im agnostic i really dont know) then im allowing the world to live in ignorance... Im allowing them to teach others to live in ignorance, and the tradition continues... Of course theres always the possibility that im wrong... but that only implies that ill go to hell, and as long as im not ruining peoples lives, im not ruining the name of atheism or agnostics... Anyways, should we allow them to chose when they are able to? Well I believe in choice... we deserve to have a choice... parents as much as children or teenagers... by chosing to allow parents to teach their children faith, inevitably faith continues.. and if im wrong, all the better for them, but if im right... well what does it even matter, none of us will ever know in this life time...

I do agree with that. I think beliefs should be decided upon by the person, not decided for or forced on by the parents of said person. Children are people who will form their own opinions over time and experience, not here to carry on the ways or wills of their parents.

I am not religious and I don't want my children christened or anything. That is an infringement of human rights. They can decide when they're older if they want to make an informed decision and become part of a religion. I am not a fan of religion, but I would love my kids no matter what.

In a way I do, but even if childeren go to church, they will grow up and have their own belifes anyways. Unless its like a mega brain washing church.

For children to make an informed decision about how they choose to follow the ways of a religion, they have to be, at the very least, informed about SOMETHING. Child attendance with parents is the only practical way to achieve this. When they have a chance to learn about religion as a foundation for living, then they can accept or reject it from an informed perspective an position of knowledge. My Church provides learning opportunities, fellowship, and recreation, and permits to decide when they reach the age of eight years. There are no infant baptisms because we do not believe in them. If children later decide to walk away from the church, they are encouraged to reconsider but always welcomed back without discrimination, should they choose to return. I like our way of doing business because expecting a child to choose religion or faith without any preparation is pointless. We provide for an informed decision, an that seems only right.

Disagree. You can always let them know what you believe in and give them options and provide them opportunities to understand various belief systems etc. What is wrong in telling about his/her heritage and be proud of it? Your children also should know about it.

I disagree... and I am an atheist. I don't believe children should be forcibly subjected to, or made to pay lip service to, their parents' religion with no discussion of what people outside the family believe - but I don't think it should be kept from them, or they should be excluded from it, which is effectively what would happen if they were 'banned' from church until teenage years. How are they supposed to learn what they really believe unless they are shown all the options -- both the faith of the parents and in addition also shown other views (through the school system and education, interacting with people of other faiths, reading etc).

No, good habits and examples are formed from early on. Children are taught great teachings in Church, if it is a great faith that you, yourself love and honor. I belong to a Center where all faiths are honored and focus on loving God is the main key. We have an hour of question and answer where we go around in a circle and speak of one topic and everyone takes a turn if they wish to speak or not. The kids have a group where they do the same on their level. It's awesome and kids look forward to coming and learning and sharing, they are so smart, it's a pleasure to have them included in a lifetime of learning values and respect.

I will agree with you if you will agree with me that 'Civics' and 'Social Studies' should also not be taught in schools until the late teen years when the students are old enough to decide for themselves whether they agree with the subject matter or not.

I myself do not attend any kind of church, but did with my family as a child. I think it is just fine to bring your children to church with you when they are young as long as you are not forcing them to chose that or any other religion once they are ready to do so. They should be free to explore all or NO options if that is what they want and be unjudged and completely supported by the parent. They will look into it like everybody else at some point and make the choice on their own as we all do. Trying to force them to choose will only cause problems between the child and parent. It is always OUR choice in the end!

definitely. i'm an atheist, but i will not raise my children into atheism. the way i see it, all children should be raised agnostic. when they're mature enough, they'll find a religion (or choose not to find one) for themselves.

I disagree. Church serves more than the obvious purpose of faith. Your logic would basically mean that participation in all social events be held off until they are teens.

Nope I have to disagree for a couple of reasons. When I baptised my son, I made a commitment to God to raise him in the community as a christian. Part of that is getting together with the community....going to church, volunteering, fund raising, and being an example to others of a fine human being. Secondly, not all churches pound religion into kids heads...my church is fun for kids. 5 minutes into mass, the kids are lead downstairs for snacks, stories and crafts. The daily message is told to them in a way they can relate to. My son sometimes says he doesn't want to go and I say ok, it's your choice. But God is waiting to hear from you when you're ready :)

I think this is an intelligent well thought out point of view, but I disagree with you. I think the children should have to go if their parents want them to. But then as they become teenagers they should decide for themselves if they want to go and if they believe in what their church/temple is preaching.

No. Kids don't like to eat vegetables either. Should the parents wait until they're teenagers before tempting them with vegetables? I also wonder who will watch the kids while the parents go to meetings. Will they have to wait until their wayward teens decide that church is okay, or will Mom and Dad have to wait until Junior reaches adulthood, when they can go to church before heading over to the jail to visit him?

Nope

Allow them to go if they want, but if they don't want to, don't make them.

I agree and disagree at the same time. Being a Christian who takes my son to church with me every Sunday, I believe that it's good to install morals into children at a young age. I also think it's good to introduce that kind of faith. Now if my son elects not to believe in it in the future, then that's ok. I would hope that he would come back to the faith, but it's his decision.

Typical liberal thinking. Let everyone do as they want. As a matter of fact don't teach anyone anything, let them find out for themselves about life and make their own decisions. Maybe even send them to a camp made up of nothing but children so they can develop without any adult influece at all, so they can be who they really are. None of this adult thinking, no preconcived ideas at all, just total anarchy....WOW what a great idea!

I believe inculcation from a tiny age is wrong. However, I don't see anything wrong in joining in traditional yearly festivities. This does not oblige your children one way or another. I can see your point but I don't think keeping them away completely is necessary unless you have a particularly intrusive priest or church/temple-goers who are going to comment on your and your children's activities and THAT, you certainly want to avoid.