Religion, Parenthood, Brainwashing and Branding

[PRmerger]

So I saw this meme on Facebook today…



IOW: it’s a cruel and abusive form of parenting to brand your child with a religious identity.
Just like no parent should tell a child, “No! You don’t like latkes! Your favorite food is fish!”…no parent should tell a child, “You are a Christian!” That’s a form of brainwashing.

Thoughts?

 

[Harry123]

The people/ media who say that want to brainwash people that abortion is good, homosexuality is good, euthanasia is good etc. They’re just upset that by introducing a child to Christianity it will be harder for THEM to brainwash that same child with THEIR ideology.

P.S. I’m happy by parents brought me up Catholic. Best gift ever.

 

[PRmerger]

The people/ media who say that want to brainwash people that abortion is good, homosexuality is good, euthanasia is good etc. They’re just upset that by introducing a child to Christianity it will be harder for THEM to brainwash that same child with THEIR ideology.

P.S. I’m happy by parents brought me up Catholic. Best gift ever.

Indeed.

And, ironically, the meme is doing exactly what it objects to, right?

Isn’t it a form of brainwashing to tell people, “Let your children form their own damn opinions”?

 

[simpleas]

I think the meme might be aimed at the fundamentalists.

 

[JRKH]

Well everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

My experience has been that “Branded” or not, a child will ultimately make up their own minds.
How many threads here talk about children leaving the faith…even leaving Christianity?

Peace
James

 

[edwest2]

The people/ media who say that want to brainwash people that abortion is good, homosexuality is good, euthanasia is good etc. They’re just upset that by introducing a child to Christianity it will be harder for THEM to brainwash that same child with THEIR ideology.

P.S. I’m happy by parents brought me up Catholic. Best gift ever.

That’s the answer. “Don’t believe them, believe US.”

And up is down, black is white, etc.

Ed

 

[oldcelt]

Well everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

My experience has been that “Branded” or not, a child will ultimately make up their own minds.
How many threads here talk about children leaving the faith…even leaving Christianity?

Peace
James

 

[TheAmazingGrace]

Whatever. Should we let them develop their own opinions about everything, or just religion?

 

[PRmerger]

Whatever. Should we let them develop their own opinions about everything, or just religion?

Egg-zactly.

Maybe they shouldn’t be brainwashed into thinking that a girl can be a pilot if she wants to be.

Maybe they should be allowed to form their own opinion as to whether hats exist.

Maybe they should be allowed to form their own opinion as to how to put together a coherent sentence. When they write a sentence for their teacher that looks like this, “jafdkjk;fadj;kf;fsda jkfdjkda;” the parents can defend their son by saying, “We did not indoctrinate him with the stultifying rules of grammar, syntax and spelling”.

 

[casslean]

I practiced family law for quite a while, and a judge made an excellent point when deciding a matter between two parents, one of whom wanted to be able to raise her children in the Catholic faith, while the other, an atheist, wanted them completely insulated from it on the basis that they should be able to “make their own choice.”

He looked at the atheist and said, “How can they make an informed choice if they’ve never been exposed to the faith?”

I was raised without a faith. I was raised by parents who believed they were letting their children make their own decisions. I don’t recommend it. You can always choose to leave a path that you’re on, but it’s very hard to find a path if you’re just wandering aimlessly in the wilderness.

 

[dshix]

This meme is an attempt to distract us from the nature of truth.

Some things, such as food preferences, are not objective, and every person is free to choose what he likes and doesn’t like. It would be “brainwashing” to force someone to believe something which is subjective.

Other things, such as the existence of God and the Divine Law, are either TRUE or FALSE. Religion is the pursuit of the truth in regard to these things.

Would an atheist consider it “brainwashing” to teach a child that the sky is blue? Of course not. So it is also not “brainwashing” to teach a child about God, who theists know truly exists.

 

[edwest2]

"Pope Benedict XVI goes on to say:

"We are moving toward a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal one’s own ego and one’s own desires. The church must defend itself against threats such as “radical individualism” and “vague religious mysticism”. [emphasis added]

Commentary:

“Pope Benedict does not play language games, he is unconcerned with the postmodernist’s corner on untruth. Neither should we be. Notice how he calls relativism a “dictatorship” instead of agreeing that no values and no Truth are the way forward for society. What many fail to recognize is that imposing nihilism and arbitrary tribalism is a form of dictatorship. Where untruth or half truth is the common order, there can only be oppression. Political correctness has asked us to abandon our value-laden language and to pick up a new language proper to the secular forum. However, this secular newspeak is value-laden against the traditional claims of the Western world and as such, is a poison rather than a new order. We can and should bring our own conviction laden language to the table, if we’re going to have any sort of real dialogue at all. Misinformation and restrained convictions are not the proper building blocks for a democracy.”

Source: The Practical Catholic

The thing on the internet, sometimes, is anonymous people keep pressing a certain point or idea, and some pick up on it. We have to be aware that the internet, like many things man creates, can be used for good and bad, and to confuse and deceive. Opinions are not truth. They can be a personal preference.

Ed

 

[Bradski]

He looked at the atheist and said, “How can they make an informed choice if they’ve never been exposed to the faith?”

Both parents were wrong. Whether you think you are right or not, you need to give your children the information they need so that they can make their own decisions.

I think the judge might have done well to point out that the child needed to be taught to question both parents beliefs. A court order that the child attend classes on comparative religion might have been a good idea. Except that the child might have been too young to understand the concepts.

Which should, in that case, prompt a question as to whether he or she should be described as a Catholic or an atheist if they don’t understand the meaning of the terms. Not that I’ve ever heard of a child being described as an atheist…

One of the most important aspects of being a parent (perhaps the most important), is to give your children as much freedom as you possibly can, commensurate with their safety. That’s freedom of association, freedom of speech, freedom of thought and freedom of movement. You might recognise some of those freedoms as being codified in some document or other.

That is not carte blanche to allow anything and everything, especially at a young age, but let the leash grow longer as they grow older.

Explain to them how you got to be who you are and where you are, but don’t expect them to follow the same paths. And get them to develop a healthy scepticism. It will serve them well.

 

[PRmerger]

Which should, in that case, prompt a question as to whether he or she should be described as a Catholic or an atheist if they don’t understand the meaning of the terms. Not that I’ve ever heard of a child being described as an atheist…

A child could be described as a Catholic, even if she doesn’t understand the meaning, because one becomes a Catholic when one is baptized. Not when one understands what it means.

That’s what Confirmation is for.

However, no child should be described as an atheist until she understands the meaning.

 

[PRmerger]

And get them to develop a healthy scepticism. It will serve them well.

 

[Bradski]

A child could be described as a Catholic, even if she doesn’t understand the meaning, because one becomes a Catholic when one is baptized.

So if your facebook picture displayed a font instead of a branding iron, it would be OK.

I think you are missing the point.

 

[PRmerger]

So if your facebook picture displayed a font instead of a branding iron, it would be OK.

I think you are missing the point.

Huh? I certainly am missing the point here.

 

[edwest2]

From post 13:

“And get them to develop a healthy scepticism. It will serve them well.”

Skeptical? Does anyone do that anymore? I’m not trying to be mean here, but many people I know take what they read, for example, at face value, especially regarding subjects that are relatively complex. A sort of “I don’t have the time to be an expert on XYZ so I’ll just go with whatever the expert tells me.”

I finally picked up on an interesting thing in the newspaper in the 1980s. One month, coffee was bad for you. This or that expert laid out their reasons, which sounded reasonable, so you began to have different ideas about coffee. A few months later, coffee is good for you. This according to another expert or two. Then the pattern repeated with bacon. This left me thinking, “Is this some sort of joke?”

Now, I did not start doubting all experts but I began doing a little digging on my own with people I knew, including a few doctors. Just casual stuff. As time passed, I learned how to do research better and I have a broader view of this or that subject. And “wkipedia” is not the font of all knowledge, though it’s an OK place to start, but not for the more complex stuff. But unlike other people I know who actually told me, “Why would they lie to me?” I began to think about that question. Confidence or Con-men do it all the time – and started long before the internet.

Ed

My 2 cents.

 

[Wampa]

I was raised without a faith. I was raised by parents who believed they were letting their children make their own decisions. I don’t recommend it. You can always choose to leave a path that you’re on, but it’s very hard to find a path if you’re just wandering aimlessly in the wilderness.

My upbringing and thoughts exactly!

 

[Bradski]

My upbringing and thoughts exactly!

Would it have been better to have been brought up as a Muslim or a Hindu rather than you making up your own mind?

It seems as if inculcating a child with any belief system is wrong…unless it happens to be the one that you currently believe.