A British humanist campaign is questioning the morality of the religious indoctrination of children. Should children be given the freedom to decide which religion they want to belong to, if any? Is it ethical to force a religion, and a religious label, upon a child?
In the UK, a final phase of a much publicized and imitated atheist campaign is asking these kinds of questions, forcing the public to reconsider long standing prejudice and bias around a parent's supposed right to force religious indoctrination upon their children.
The ad reads: "Please don't label me. Let me grow up and choose for myself."
The sentiment is simple and straight forward. If the slogan was not directed at religious superstitions, it would be taken as an uncontroversial truism. However, given that it does take aim at a sacred cow, (so to speak), it has generated some consternation in the British press.
The advertisements are part of a campaign to challenge state-funded religious schools. The ads show one or two young children surrounded by religious labels, such as Catholic, Muslim and Hindu, mixed with secular descriptions including Marxist and anarchist. The point being, if it is silly and wrong to label a child as an anarchist, a Democrat, a Republican, a communist, a socialist, a Marxist, etc; than it is equally wrong to label a child a Catholic, a Mormon, a Muslim or a Sikh.
Labeling children as "religious" is a form of brainwashing. Each one of us must make up our own minds about such matters. Indoctrinating children, forcing them to parrot ideas and beliefs that they do not understand or accept, is wrong.
Just as corporeal punishment is rejected and shunned by the enlightened, so it will go with religious indoctrination. Often such indoctrination is child abuse, plain and simple. The fact that parents, suffering from their own religious delusions, are often in favor of such abuse, does not change the fact that it is, indeed, abuse.
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Comments
The religious indoctrination of children has always bothered me. There is something wrong about forcing children to accept the religious dogma of their parents.
Parents teach their children the beliefs they have that are important to them. How DARE anyone question whether it's OK for parents to teach their children morals according to their religious beliefs?
"Each one of us must make up our own minds about such matters. Indoctrinating children, forcing them to parrot ideas and beliefs that they do not understand or accept, is wrong."
No, it's not "wrong" From birth, we as parents teach our children our own values and beliefs. That includes our religious beliefs. Studies have shown that if children are taught NO values and religious beliefs as children they will have NO values and religious beliefs as adults. That is the exact goal of "humanists".
This is merely more atheist propaganda as Richard Dawkins wonders whether there is occasion for “society stepping in” and hopes that such efforts “might lead children to choose no religion at all.” Dawkins also supports the atheist summer camp “Camp Quest.”
Phillip Pullman states the following about his “fictional” books for children, “I don't think I'm writing fantasy. I think I'm writing realism. My books are psychologically real.” But what does he really write about? As he has admitted, “My books are about killing God” and “I'm trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief.”
Yet again, atheists are collecting “amazing sums” during a time of worldwide recession not in order to help anyone in real material need but in order to attempt to demonstrate just how clever they consider themselves to be—while actually loudly, proudly and expensively demonstrating their ignorance and arrogance—need any more be said?
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