Is it acceptable to pressure your kids into being Atheist, Buddhist, Catholic, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, or any other religious affiliation you may belong to?

If your answer is no, how do you remain neutral?

I'd say whether you pressure them or not simply growing up in a household that has a certain view they are going to be more likely to follow that path.

the word pressure has this coercive nature about it. i think it's alright to simply guide them that way without any pressure. But like korput said simply being in the same household your children are more likely to taken in your lifestyle.

The way i would remain neutral is simply being aware of what i say. i mean there's not much to it, i think. and that itself is incredibly difficult, maybe impossible.

In many places, the religion may be the norm, and by letting your child do whatever they want, then may become an outcast from your society or family, and letting your child become an outcast could also be seen as bad parenting.

But there's different types of things to teach as well.
Indoctrination children about your religion, and punishing them when they don't understand is wrong.
Informing them of your religious and cultural values, is alright.

I agree, but parents that take it to the extreme of grounding or other more extreme punishments when a kid comes out as a believer in science, is that okay?

I agree with everyone though that you should be open with your kid when it comes to your cultural beliefs.

Another thing is, counter culture today is huge, I believe kids may be pointed towards being the opposite of their parents just because that's the cool thing.

Not where I live (chuckle)
At least for me.. I'm going to pressure my kids extremely to be my religion.. for a lot of reasons.. which I'll go to at another time... Like religion is really important to some people for a lot of reasons.. and trying to protect your kids.. even if it's misguided and say science is right.. it's still respectable etc.. now killing someone cause they're joining a different religion is a bit extreme.. and maybe what happened in fiddler on the roof is as well (I semi agree with him though in the movie) anyways I do agree that involving your kids and teaching them what is right is important.. now if you aren't believing in what's right etc that's another argument.. and hell this whole talk may be invalid cause I'll probably need an arranged marriage to get married anyways.. and they don't do those a whole lot.. but anyways expressing my opinions..

it's important to some ppl doesn't mean it will be important to everyone, and it doesn't mean everyone won't be able to live without religion.

I'm not a religious person, but I do see some good points in religion. However, the thing I hate religions (note the s) the most, and probably the reason why I'm an atheist, is that they emphasize on things that they believe is right, and those who don't agree will be punished.

Things like "those who don't believe in Him (or oppose him) will be punished" with the extreme examples as the witch hunts in the medieval time, and u can still see it clearly with the all time debates against Christianity. And many more things I can list, with the outcast being the mild case.

I apologize if it's wrong, but it seems to me that u're the victim of this Jake. And as usual I'm strongly against forcing someone's idea into another, but I can't really force them not to force their ideas into someone else, since that would be doing the same thing.

If it's true that ur parents are forcing u into their religion, I would recommend u to just put up with it. Learn wat u agree, and don't care about things u disagree. And when u are old enough to be independent from ur parents, then u can get out of the religion (idk the terms though) and be free.

Wait, what? No Aister this isn't about me.

I'm a cold-blooded heartless piece of Atheist scum! Also, I am very proud of it! I believe in science but I will not deny the existence of a higher consciousness. The fact of it is, our knowledge of science is incomplete and things that we can not explain still happen (although they most certainly have a scientific explanation, that of which is to this day undiscovered but still very real) I still believe that a higher being may be at play. That being said, I do not believe in any god that we know of today. Mine is not a God but rather a super computer that we could only explain as God.

Again though, I am Atheist. This discussion was inspired by me reading a book called A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and his essays The Doors of Perception and Heaven and Hell. I fear that the circular logic of Religion is but a trap to the Human mind, and that it was an idea that the ones in power had thousands of years ago. Religion in the past has been used to twist peoples arms into genocides and large scale wars that most probably had nothing to do with what the public was told.

Religions circular logic is evident in the very concept of Heaven and Hell. Stating that only the good rule followers go to heaven, but what if heaven is not real. Now that idea in itself is sinful and because you had it you are now guilty of sin and may possibly not go to heaven. Now you are fearful of eternal damnation.

Another possibility is that all religions are giant metaphors for the brain, I sometimes ponder this because the brain does many wondrous things, such as limiting the information we get so we can comprehend it all. It limits us to knowledge we only need to know for survival. Also, all decisions of body movement are made several seconds before the thought crosses consciousness.

Very interesting indeed.

Why do people keep bringing up science?
Has someone taught you people that science is the opposite of religion or something? It's no more the opposite of religion than history or geography is.



Religion isn't something that some ancient rulers cooked up in some dark cave thousands of years ago, it's something that has arisen naturally, has helped push civilisation forwards, and has helped people cope with things they can't understand.
For example, writing was developed and passed on as a way of recording religious rituals, architecture has developed as people wanted to build bigger temples to please their gods. Having a faith in common, and similar moral values, helped people in early societies get along with each other.
Yes, there are individuals who use religion for their own selfish purposes, but those people would use whatever means they had, so you can't say religion sucks because some people act as morons (because they would still act as morons without religion).


That seems like a cherry picked argument, and doesn't really apply to most religions (or the concept of religion itself).
The core of religion is try to explain something that can't be explained.
e.g. What happens when we die? I do/don't believe nothing happens/reincarnation/heaven. Why do I believe? Faith.
-where's the circular logic in that?


Metaphor? I do not think that word means what you think it means.
Religions are, in essence, memes.


Saying that as just a blanked statement is as misleading, and untrue as saying we only use 10% of out brains. So far, it only seems to be random choices that are pre-made unconsciously.
If we actually had reaction time in the order of seconds, out species would have been extinct long ago

*Cracks knuckles*

Actually, I agree with you. I was referring specifically to Christianity and Catholicism I actually like the Hindu and Buddhist approach. Also, yes science contradicts Christianity, specifically Evolution over Creationism and the Big Bang over Creationism.

I apologize if I offended you, although Religion served a purpose for providing answers it is really no longer needed. But really, the way Christianity was used after the fall of Rome was pretty brutal, with the crusades and all. Realistically speaking, that kind of bloodshed would have been impossible without Catholicism, however I'm sure people would have found another reason to kill each other.

I'm not sure what you're arguing with me for though.

Also, when you ask if someone has taught us that science is the opposite of religion, I answer with a yes. I was raised Catholic and went to a private school until I was nine, when my mom switched me to a public school. I discovered that Atheism was much more sensible than the Church in around 7th grade, and now I am here.

(That being said, this post was still not about me. I thought about it when I was reading Huxley and it talked about conditioning our kids/brainwashing and I thought about Christianity in the States. Again man, sorry if I offended you.)