Should athiests be allowed to adopt children?

[Exalt]

With all the talk on gay adoption recently in the news, I’m curious. Why not ban athiests from adopting children? We probably couldn’t keep them from concieving children on thier own, but we could certainly prevent them from adopting children. Wouldn’t an athiest family bring as much spiritual harm to a child as a gay family? Or even more so?

 

[rpp]

With all the talk on gay adoption recently in the news, I’m curious. Why not ban athiests from adopting children? We probably couldn’t keep them from concieving children on thier own, but we could certainly prevent them from adopting children. Wouldn’t an athiest family bring as much spiritual harm to a child as a gay family? Or even more so?

Oh brother. More Catholic bashing. Can we please stop with the anti-Catholic rhetoric.

 

[Exalt]

It’s a serious question. The same arguments that are used for advocating not allowing gay couples to adopt children can be used for any parents involved in some sort of serious sin - including the disbelief in God.

So what’s the difference?

 

[KarenNC]

Oh brother. More Catholic bashing. Can we please stop with the anti-Catholic rhetoric.

How is this Catholic bashing or anti-Catholic rhetoric (unless you are saying that Catholics are atheists)? There were plenty of (Catholic) responses in threads on adoption by same sex couples that clearly stated the position that only married Christian (not sure they specified Catholic Christian) heterosexual couples should be allowed to adopt as anything else was abusive.

Seems a valid question and extension of that reasoning.

 

[East_and_West]

I do not believe that Atheists should be allowed to adopt. Not only is atheism spiritually damaging but intellectually so because it is the most absurd of all positions.

 

[Bennie_P]

With all the talk on gay adoption recently in the news, I’m curious. Why not ban athiests from adopting children? We probably couldn’t keep them from concieving children on thier own, but we could certainly prevent them from adopting children. Wouldn’t an athiest family bring as much spiritual harm to a child as a gay family? Or even more so?

It depends, is one of them you?

 

[kim3260]

If the birth mother requests that her baby be placed and raised by a certain Religion then by no means should that child be placed with athiests. The child should be place only in a Catholic, Jewish or whatever Religion family she requests. That said, if there is no request, as long as they don’t openly bash God and religions and are open to let the child go to church if he/she wishes to I really don’t see a problem, if all other needs are met.

 

[Ahimsa]

Should Buddhists be allowed to adopt?

 

[rpp]

In Moslem countries, like Indonesia, only Muslims can adopt children. In Indonesia in the case of an orphaned child when the surviving family non-Muslim, the child is removed from the family and placed with Muslim strangers and all contact with the natural family is terminated.

This became a serious issue after the December 26, 2004 Tsunami.

 

[Ramalama]

I think it depends on the country you’re in. In the US we don’t (or at least shouldn’t) discriminate based on religion. Therefore, I don’t see how the government could possibly prevent atheist adoption, any more that they could prevent Catholic adoption.

 

[Evan]

I don’t see a theological connection between the Atheist adoption and Homosexual adoption.

In homes with disordered sexual attraction there is not both a father and mother to show the role of how child should interact with a man and a woman or with a man to a man and woman to a woman. There is not the different aspects of humanities common heritage of male and female brought into the home. The damage done the child is not due to the theological but the biological and social aspects of being human.

People with disordered sexual attraction tend to identify themselves by their sexuality. In homes with young children they often encourage the children to become sexually active at the earliest possible moment, sometimes incestuously. Also with higher incidents of Pedophelia, Abuse, and Suicide.

Atheists are simply people who are IMO incorrect about the conclusion they have reached as to the existence of God. It does not preclude them from obeying God in all His commandments for His law is written on their hearts and if they listen they can be saved. They can also be good parents because they may exhibit virtuous qualities to their children. They have usually reached their opinion after a search, rarely does one become atheist without a search. And they will often encourage their children to search. Something children usually do in their teens and twenties anyway.

 

[NewUlm1976_2000]

It’s a serious question. The same arguments that are used for advocating not allowing gay couples to adopt children can be used for any parents involved in some sort of serious sin - including the disbelief in God.

So what’s the difference?

I don’t see any difference in the arguments or any problems with atheists adopting children. You can still live a good and moral life without belonging to X religion. Besides, the children as they go through life will be exposed to different religions anyways (e.g. friends, school, …), so they will not live in an bubble without religious influences. As the children grow they will decide if they do or do not want to join an organized religion themselves.

 

[KarenNC]

People with disordered sexual attraction tend to identify themselves by their sexuality. In homes with young children they often encourage the children to become sexually active at the earliest possible moment, sometimes incestuously. Also with higher incidents of Pedophelia, Abuse, and Suicide.

And your source for such assertions would be?

 

[mesquite_magic]

Oh brother. More Catholic bashing. Can we please stop with the anti-Catholic rhetoric.

How is it Catholic bashing? I don’t see the word Catholic anywhere in the OP’s original post.

Kim

 

[mesquite_magic]

People with disordered sexual attraction tend to identify themselves by their sexuality. In homes with young children they often encourage the children to become sexually active at the earliest possible moment, sometimes incestuously. Also with higher incidents of Pedophelia, Abuse, and Suicide.

QUOTE]

I would love to see the research you have supporting that statement.

Kim

 

[Catholig]

I don’t know. But I certainly don’t think that catholic adoption organizations should be forced to adopt a child out into an Atheist/Homosexual/Whatever home if it would endanger the child’s salvation.

Catholig

 

[Other_Eric]

It may be tempting to say that an atheist, while disbelieving in the existence of God is still capable of living virtuously, while the facially equivalent example of a person with same-sex attractions cannot. This might imply for some that an atheist household may be an appropriate environment for a child to grow and develop in. This line of reasoning is faulty for several reasons.

To begin with, this nation was founded upon Christian principles and ideas about human dignity that simply do not exist in religions or cultures outside the Judeo-Christian tradition. It therefore stands to reason that the government has a palpable interest in seeing that the next generation is raised in an environment where the child will stand the best possible chance of being raised with those values.

This is something that cannot be overstated. Atheists lack any kind of morality that cannot ultimately be boiled down to personal preference. A child needs to be raised in an environment that cements the idea that morality is static, not subjective. The child needs to be discouraged from viewing moral precepts as something that is merely an arbitrary list of cultural conventions. The environment best suited to do this will always be one in which the parents are both orthodox Christians.

Even the Church recognizes that the faith of a child’s parents is of such import that a child may be removed from the household of even biological parents if the civil government determines that the child would not be brought up in the right religious environment. Those that doubt me on this should read up on the case Edgardo Mortara, who was rescued as a six-year-old boy from his Jewish parents by Blessed Pope Pius IX.

Government has a moral obligation to ensure that children are placed in households where they can learn to develop into morally balanced citizens. The best environment for this is in a Christian household, not an atheist one. Therefore, in charitable defense of a child’s immortal soul, atheists should not be allowed to adopt children.

 

[whatevergirl]

It’s funny these topics…I have known atheists who have raised wonderful kids…and Catholics who have raised kids who are wild and doing drugs. Religion doesn’t make someone a good parent–believing in God most certainly helps…but it doesn’t guarantee someone to be a good parent. So…atheists should be allowed to adopt…

Let’s not act like we Catholics are holier than thou, k? There are PLENTY of Catholics…who have screwed up kids. It is silly, at the least, and arrogant at the worst…to debate against that. Being a good Catholic woman/man, doesn’t guarantee your kids will grow up in the same way. My nephews both went to Catholic schools…and they are now atheists.

 

[KarenNC]

To begin with, this nation was founded upon Christian principles and ideas about human dignity that simply do not exist in religions or cultures outside the Judeo-Christian tradition.

Which principles and ideas about human dignity in particular?

 

[KathleenElsie]

I don’t know. But I certainly don’t think that catholic adoption organizations should be forced to adopt a child out into an Atheist/Homosexual/Whatever home if it would endanger the child’s salvation.

Catholig

Agreed.