Is it morally irresponsible to teach childeren about religion?

It is my personally belief that organized religion is more of a detriment to society than any other organization in the world.

It is a fact that more evil has been done in the name of religion since the dawn of time and it is the source of a majority of the hatred in this world.

Is it not our responsibility as humans to try and better our society as a whole? Would the first and biggest step be to get rid of religion?

It's understandable that people do not want to feel alone so they fabricate a god but still, it's horrible what people do in the name of that god.

agreed, its irresponsible to force a religion to children

the best thing is to teach science, politics and everything else, so the kid has the ability to use their brain to figure it out if they want an organized religion or not

the problem of organized religion is that, since its based on a divine thing and not on facts, anyone that can read can interpret some magical tales as whatever they want to fit their agenda

thats why people kill and do stupid things, they can find justifications on these texts ...

organized religion dont incentive the use of the brain, since everything is already explained in a way or another

It is morally irresponsible to tell others what they can or cannot teach their children.

'Nuff said.

I think that the family religion should be taught to the kids...thats what familys are for..
But, anything outside of familys should have it in context and given a broad education of popular beliefs, from christians, muslims, jewish, buddist, and athiests...all systems of belief that makes a mark on society simply for the purpose of letting the kid know what he is up against when he walks out the door.

My personal thoughts on religion are simple...religion cripples spiritual development...but, that doesn't mean I should therefore be ignorant of all religions...especially when I walk into a place where a fundamentalist whatever is doing something...ignorance is harmful in those cases

...like my first trip to Egypt in the airport, almost everyone in the airport moved to a area and started the call to prayer...I (not knowing jack about islam) wasn't sure wtf was going on...was I supposed to join in, was this some sort of crazy attack cult...was I even supposed to be watching...making noise...etc... Eventually I learned (more than I wanted to) about islam...but not before having a number of heated debates with some rather interesting locals.

Originally posted by muzzleflash
It is morally irresponsible to tell others what they can or cannot teach their children.

'Nuff said.

OPs didn't say anything about parents...I took the context as our children, meaning societys...aka, school system or some other offical function.

I think yes as stated above though.

As far as what a parent can teach their children...hell, a parent can make up a religion if they want...its their kid..eventually that kid will be faced with opposing views and facts and can make their own mind up.

reply to post by muzzleflash


yeah, tell that to the guy who did put the name Hitler in his child

some people are just clueless and cant be parents

Originally posted by born-indigo
It is my personally belief that organized religion is more of a detriment to society than any other organization in the world.

It is a fact that more evil has been done in the name of religion since the dawn of time and it is the source of a majority of the hatred in this world.

No, it is not. Look at the atrocities of the 20th Century, the hundreds of millions of deaths in the Soviet Union, China's Cultural Revolution, Cambodia's Killing Fields, none of which were killed "in the name of religion." Either religion played no role, or the lack of religion played a role, your choice.

Is it not our responsibility as humans to try and better our society as a whole?

Obviously.

Would the first and biggest step be to get rid of religion?

Obviously not.

It's understandable that people do not want to feel alone so they fabricate a god but still, it's horrible what people do in the name of that god.

I have long held two truisms that respond to your claim.

First, that religion is not the source of bad behaviour, but rather a motivator of it, and I agree, wholeheartedly, that using religion to convince someone to do an evil is a horrible thing. However, if that motivation is removed, the desire that prompted it, the power, the greed, whatever, that still remains, so another motivator will be found, whether nationalism, racism, or something else. People will continue to commit atrocities, with or without religion, and there is no indication that they would do less (or much less) in its absence.

The other truism is that your claim ignores the significant amount of good that religion does, whether as an organized charity, as a supportive community or on a personal level for billions of people. It is absolute madness to claim that the amount of "evil" done that can solely be tied to religion (as above) would even fractionally offset the good that religion does.

Believe what you want to believe, let me and others believe what they want to believe, and work to make the world a better place by adding to it, not by subtracting from it.

I feel it may be irresponsible to teach them about religion if you yourself are irresponsible with your religion(Extremism, Apathy, Not walking the talk etc), as it will be passed on to your children, just like any other irresponsible teaching or behavior would be passed on.

It is not morally wrong to present children with your beliefs or non-belief.

It is morally wrong to be an incessant dictator.

Children are very good independent thinkers - if allowed to be.

They should NEVER become sheep.

reply to post by adjensen


YES(NO)

lets explain that religion dont cause any problems by using an example where religion wasnt involved (in your view)

thats smart

so, lets ignore everything else and lets live in this virtual world that is yours where religion is not involved in any kind of conflict

I feel it is ethically wrong to make up the mind of the child. Present all evidence and allow the child to construct with all of it.

Teach about religion...don't just teach religion.

I think it would be morally irresponsible not to teach you children about religion. Most religions make no secret of the fact that they actively seek to recruit young people. A responsible parent should teach their children that there are those out there in the world who have no qualms about taking advantage of a child's trusting nature and inexperience. Parents should teach their children to use critical thinking to help protect themselves from those who would prey upon them.

Originally posted by born-indigo
It is my personally belief that organized religion is more of a detriment to society than any other organization in the world.

It is a fact that more evil has been done in the name of religion since the dawn of time and it is the source of a majority of the hatred in this world.

Is it not our responsibility as humans to try and better our society as a whole? Would the first and biggest step be to get rid of religion?

It's understandable that people do not want to feel alone so they fabricate a god but still, it's horrible what people do in the name of that god.

Let me get this straight. It's your personal belief that organized religion is more of a detriment to society so you think we should ban religion.

You want to force your personal beliefs on others. Since you believe religion is bad, religion should not exist. You don't beleive in God so nobody should.

What about people that believe religion helps them get by in life? What about their personal beliefs? Do their beliefs matter or only yours?

This is why individual liberty is so important to preserve so no one person or group can force their beliefs on others.

My mother believed in "many roads".

Walk ALL of them before you choose the one you want to walk.

reply to post by Erasurehead


the problem is not about believing in God or whatever you want

the problem involves organized religion that are organizations like Google or any other, they are here to make money, and nothing else

when you have religion and money in the same sentence, I bet there is something wrong

Children should NEVER be exposed to religion. Exposing them to any books and organizations that breed HATE is just wrong. Such behavior should be considered child abuse and should be made punishable by law.

People have murdered with hammers, should we stop making hammers?

Cars have killed people and they're dangerous to drive if you don't know how to drive. Should we stop making cars?


Religion is a tool. A device which is inanimate and malleable to be used for whatever purpose people want to use it for. It has the power for immense good and immense evil.

Realize that, please.

Originally posted by Baloney
Children should NEVER be exposed to religion. Exposing them to any books and organizations that breed HATE is just wrong. Such behavior should be considered child abuse and should be made punishable by law.

I'm not giving up yet another freedom to TPTB, so screw that idea. You feel free, though.


I believe you have the right to teach and love your children as you know best, and that includes religion. If you want them to be raised Catholic, fine. Just remember that one day they will grow up, research it, and maybe choose a different religious (or non-religious) path from their own conclusions. If your child is very intelligent, this could be at a younger age. When they make the conscious decision of disagreeing with the actual beliefs, then yes, I think it is wrong to force it, and in doing so could push your child away from you forever. However, in no way should the government be involved unless a form of abuse is taking place.

Religion should not be taught anywhere and I agree with your statement about ridding the world of it. It's really just about if you agree with the idea of teaching nonsense rather than reality.

Of course there will be a lot of this "forcing of beliefs" statements going on in this topic, religion is a belief, it requires faith, as it has no evidence of anything supernatural etc. Science is not a belief, it requires no faith. When you are doing math and come across question like "2+2", you don't just go well I believe the answer is a watermelon and expect to be taken seriously. The fact is that saying watermelon or anything similar that has no basis, and it is wrong. Telling someone this is not forcing a belief onto them any more than forcing reality on someone who is willfully ignorant.

And of course there will be these "spiritual" types who will come here and preach against organized religion as if they are any less ignorant. It's two sides of the same silly coin.

It's my opinion that if someone holds a belief that is just invalid, it's your responsibility to bring them the truth. Saying "it's my belief" doesn't make it any less stupid.

reply to post by Faiol


I quit organized religion years ago for my own reasons. I have not stopped trying to live my life according to the teachings of Jesus.

Be kind and treat people the way you would like them to treat you.
Love your fellow man and don't live life full of hatred and jealousy.
Help those that are in need. All that good stuff.

I am teaching these basic prinicpals of Christianity to my children.