what i don't get is why people say they are a certain religion because they've been told all of their life that they are. shouldn't you be allowed to chose which religion you are? does this make sense?
Yes and this is why we must stop labeling children with the religion of their parents. There is no such thing as a Muslim child, or a Christian child, or any thing of that sort. People cannot freely choose when they are labeled from birth, and it is impossible for a child to accept the metaphysical claims of any religion. Think about it, we don't label children with the political party of their parents.
if someone is sayin "i was just raised that way" then they are choosing. ya? its only a problem when they want to change and feel trapped. only role models can help.
I do not think that it is only a problem when they want to change and feel trapped. A child raised to believe a particular faith is much less likely to want to deny that faith then a child raised outside of that faith. The question is not whether you can leave when you want to, but whether you ever have the capacity to want to leave.
i think that's just the physics of growing up until a certain age when someone starts feeling reluctancy and doubt with beliefs. like freedom is a thing only when tapped into, not just allowed. i think the act of saying it's a problem is more like pity than a need for change. the problem should not be about how we were raised but if an individual has knowledge of other religions' beliefs.
In Scientology you choose your Otherness for the Religion: in the probable private religion you choose your religious faith for the discovered Otherness.
It is wrong to raise children with a religious belief because children cannot possibly understand the metaphysical claims that are a part of religious beliefs. Children should be taught about all faiths (and non-faith) and should be told that when they are old enough they can choose what they want to believe. There is no such thing as a Muslim or Christian child any more than there are republican children, Marxist children, or capitalist children. We don't label children with political beliefs, we don't label them with economic beliefs, and we don't label them with artistic styles so why should we label them with something as complex as a religious belief? The answer is clear, parents are sure that they worship the right god and they want to make sure that their children also worship the right god, so they raise them to hold those beliefs long before the ability to understand them arises. This is unfair to the child. Again the question is not whether they can leave a faith when they want to, the question is whether they have the capacity to want to leave.
If parents send their child to a faith school then at that time, they are taking away choice and almost telling the child what you believe in. Yes, some children when they are older will reflect on religion and decide they believe to be right or wrong, but |I have met people who stay with a faith because it was drilled into them as children and know no different. One friend said that she knows her faith to be right for her because she grew up with it; just like you know who your family are because you grew up with them.
thats only half free... learning all the different religions shouldnt be relevant until they are capable of thinking for themselves. they should be told about their religious freedom at an age theyre able to think for themselves. if they're showing that they can think for themselves before then at whatever age, thats even better. idk why you went over that... and i dont think anyone is incapable of changing their religion. just the most important thing is that they know everyone has freedom of religion. As for parents sending their kid(s) to religious schools, the problem lies in the school forcing the other religions out of their school. A school should be there to solely teach and not exclude, so i dont necessarily think parents sending their kids to the schools is wrong because the kids still have their choice of religion, and learning about a religion doesnt necessarily make you that religion.
i survived religion , and am kind toward it . i'd now say to a child , ' let me walk with you , please , i am not much trouble ' .
If they say that they've probably never been interested in their religion. Also, if parents really believe in their religion wouldn't they want their kids to be part of the same religion? If they believe salvation only comes from that religion why would they offer them all religions to choose from? I was raised Christian, but later studied most other religions out of curiosity, but eventually came back to Chritianity. Just because you're raise in a certain faith doesn't mean you're forced to be in that religion.
It is a simple fact that most people follow the same religion that their parents follow. This is why it is possibly to draw colored maps of the world where the colors represent the major religion practices in a given area. Even if you are not externally forced to adhere to a particular faith there is still the question of internal restraints.
It depends on two things: 1. How important is that religion to the parents? 2. How willing is the child to piss them off? Some folks simply go through the motions and pay lip service to a belief system or church to avoid hurt feelings and confrontation. Ideally, your parents should back off and respect your choices, but I don't know many people whose parents are like that.
I dunno I think parents responsibility is to give some sorta identity to there child. I mean u name the kid u dress him/her in a certain way u decorate the rooms according to which kind of identity u like them to be. Yes religion is a complex subject and that's precisely why u label kid with it because there is no way a kid can choose it properly. And don't forget if u don't introduce ur kid to some sorta religion u risk him/her to grow up with no sense of spirituality atoll. U can argue if its a bad or good thing, but would u like to grow a kid up that is excluded from all the religions traditions like christmas... which would exclude him/her from society itself. I think introduction is good only pressure and persistence to follow a curtain faith is bad when a young adult can think for them self and chooses not to.
I was raised Catholic but don't regularly practice it anymore. I consider myself Christian but don't identify with any organized religion. This disappoints my parents, but it's not their decision. Parents can decide how to raise their children, but they have no control over what their kids believe. Personally, I think all religions have the same fundamentals - be good to others, be good to your family, love your spouse, don't lie, cheat, steal, etc. and you'll be rewarded. This applies to non-Christian religions as well. It's the human element that screws up things. I don't think the Bible says not to drink (remember the wedding at Cana? Water to wine?). I don't think the Bible says not to eat meat on Fridays. These are personal values instituted by religious leaders. Awhile back Elton John was quoted as saying religion's caused more problems than it's ever solved. I was shocked when I first read this but later agreed completely. It's not the fundamentals that cause the problems, it's the crazies that decide their religion is better than someone else's and try to force their morals and values on someone else. This results in Jihads, Crusades, etc. Nothing gets resolved.
according to the faith i believe in, at least according to my own understanding of it, "it is encombent upon" everyone, to "independently investigate" all of belief in any and every form to the fullest extent it occurs to them to desire to. certainly not just whatever belief they are most familiar with. or even the one for this age, which began in 1844.
It is called the Bubble of temporal Understanding for History. Are We discovering Essence for knowing that history of situations, OR are We situated per Being Historical Individuals of understanding the essence of the people then and their opinions for knowledge appropriate?
The beginning of the Baha'i Era. I've always liked that you couldn't really be Baha'i until you're 16 (here, anyways) at which age you've had enough time to do the 'investigation' that themnax was talking about.
