Should Children Be Exposed to Religion?

The question of how a parent should instruct their children in regards to religious matters is one that has at times been hotly debated. The current policy is that a parent has the last say in what their child is taught as long as the said parent does abuse their child in some way. However, some secularists are not satisfied with the ability to sue people for public demonstrations of faith and are turning their attention to the supposedly private aspects of a person's life. One prominent CP, Jeff Musall, demagogue of the far left, wrote an article entitled "Should Church Be Rated PG-13?" in which he elaborated on the idea that the typical church is filled with rants against Islam, embraces the idea that everyone should be forced to accept Jesus Christ, and is entrenched in fear and hopelessness. Musall claims that it is wrong for children to be brought to church or to be exposed to religion in any form whatsoever. While I do not know if Musall himself would be so arrogant as to call for legal action to be taken regarding this matter, the logical extension of his writings does demand some kind of law to be passed, banning children from all religious organizations.

Jeff's claims regarding church are, of course, absurd. Obciously, I have been to church and I have yet to hear a single rant. I have attended chapel at my school and still no rants. In fact, I'm not even familiar with the radio personalities Pat Robertson, John Hagee, and Janet Parshall that Musall refered to in order to prove his point. When one commentor pointed out all the good things that the church has done, Musall said that these were not the churches that were at the forefront of the Evangelical movement. Funny how I've never even heard of those how supposedly are the real leaders of Christianity. Musall even claimed that the Christian message of salvation is somehow hopeless and children should not be told that there is an all-knowing, all-loving God who endured agony we cannot even begin to imagine so that we could be svaed from eternal damnation. Apparently, this message is depressing. I'm sorry, but I don't see atheists sending millions upon millions of dollars to third-world countries.

I'm sorry, I seem to have gone off on a tangent. However, these are serious allegations and I feel that it is right that I addressed them. Anyhow, the more important question still stands: isn't this brainwashing? Wouldn't it be better if a child were allowed to wait until they were at least an adolescent before exposing them to religion, thus allowing them wait until they are ready to decide for themselves what they believe? The answer is that it is impossible to give a child an unbiased education. If a child is never exposed to the idea that there is something out there that is beyond our mortal understanding but are at the same time taught about things that can be measured and seen, then they are going to have a hard time listening to someone who tells them that there really is a God and a Creator. I'm sure there are many who would respond to this by saying that this is because there is no God and no Creator, but that is a discussion for another day.

The truth of the matter is that someone who is raised in a religious environment is actually more likely to be open to other religions and ideas. If a Christian looks at the beliefs of Islam, they are going to find many familiar ideas with which they can relate and the same is true of a Muslim who examines Christianity. If a child is exposed to the idea that there is more to this world than what we can understand, they are going to be more prepared to accept any religion, regardless of what religion they were actually exposed to. In fact, because they are also exposed to all the tough question, there is even a chance that they will become an overall unbeliever. In summary, one who has been exposed to religion as a child is more open to other beliefs than one raised in a secular environment.

In recent years, secularists have been pushing further and further into American life to try and ban faith. To any secualrists who are reading this, please, do not bother me with complaints about how this is a foundless and untrue allegation, you know as well as I do that you would just love to see every church in America burned to the ground. It is vital that we protect our freedom of religion against these people who so readily mimic the religious extremists they claim to oppose. Atheism is as much a belief as Christianity, despite what many atheists claim. It takes faith to believe that there is nothing beyond what you can see and touch and feel.Therefore, to protect our freedom of religion, it is essential that America continue to oppose those who have tried to force their faith in a great emptiness upon the rest of us.