Not if the kid accepts it. Really, the indoctrination of any ideology, religious or otherwise, in a child cannot be seen as abuse unless the kid is somehow being harmed by it or refuses to accept it. If it is forced indoctrination, then that can be seen as abuse, but if the kid accepts it, then all you atheists need to leave the kid and the parents alone for having their own beliefs. Posted by: Juris_Naturalis Report Post

That would actually be unhealthy Can you imagine having a child and not being able to share your beliefs with them as fact? You believe something and you have reasons and if you try to convince your own offspring whom no one else should have control over that your view is right then you get charged with child abuse? That's a poor way to treat a family. That makes the parents looks wishy washy on their beliefs and since the parents look weak the child (who most likely does not have the mental capacity to see past the surface of these things) would take that as opportunity to do whatever he wants. If that's the lesson he grows up with, we'd be raising one of the most rebellious generations in America. This sounds like an overstatement, but can you imagine every single household being forced to stand down on what they stand for? Maybe someone near early adulthood could take that in the right way, but a young child would exploit that.



Not to mention, I can imagine how many people would try to use this as a way to stop people from mentioning religion at all to their kids. So then it defies its own premise, because then we are forced to teach them a certain way which is exactly what it wants to avoid.



Third of all the state shouldn't have that much control over what you say to your kids. If you want to raise them to believe the same things you believe who are you hurting? Are you hurting the children? No, because they should be trying to stick with their families anyway, and if he grows up and decides to disagree (which a ton of people do) then it's justifiable to say their rights have not been infringed upon because they were still individuals who made a choice. If they decide to stick with it, then at a point that becomes their personal choice too. There's no adequate justification for this. Posted by: TheOncomingStorm Report Post

Are your freaking kidding me? Obviously you have no idea what "child abuse" is. Many people consider their religion to be the basis of their moral values, so while trying to teach their own children to be good people, they inadvertently end up teaching their religion along with it. Why does it bother you if a kid is raised to believe in a certain religion. When the kid reaches adolescence, he/she will naturally start questioning their beliefs and if they really feel so inclined, they will become atheist by themselves, even if they were "indoctrinated". Now, I do have a problem with parents doing REAL child abuse BECAUSE of their child's religious beliefs, but indoctrination by itself is NOT child abuse; it's just the passing down of cultural and moral values within a family. Posted by: Romanii Report Post

How in the world is it child abuse? I personally believe telling/teaching children about atheism should be considered child abuse. Besides, teaching religion to children is not child abuse nor indoctrination, it is educating a young soul on his origins and of our Lord, God Almighty. Children must learn of faith, or our entire civilization will face collapse and the wrath of God. If these children learn atheism instead of faith, they will burn in Hell, and no one wants that. The teaching of religion to children must be supported and expanded upon, for the sake of the world Posted by: AmericanNationalist Report Post

Depends on what religion and what sort of "indoctrination". I grew up in a Christian home. I was taught Bible songs, I learned Bible verses, and I was taught about the Bible but not once did I feel 'forced' to accept Christianity. When I was older and understood my religion, I accepted it.



Depending on what religion it is. Westboro church for example, those children should be taken away from them because they are indoctrinating a vision of hatred. Legally, they are the parents and it is their choice to "indoctrinate" what belief they want.

But if the religion executes violence, then yes, it is child abuse. But there is nothing wrong with taking a child to church and sharing your religion with them. That is not "indoctrinating" that is proper child rearing. Posted by: glowingdisco Report Post

Not Even About Religion... Every parent has the right to be the primary influence on their own children unless their influence is cruel, dangerous, aggressive or hateful. A good parent loves their child as no other person can, as we often see in mixed families where a father or mother might be the blood-parent of one child and the step-parent of another. This love instills a bond stronger than anything that any law could cause. It applies across the board - not just to religion. How can a family be close if the parents can't share their deepest convictions with the children they give life to? Posted by: Idealist Report Post

What would it look like to not indoctrinate them? If you sincerely believe something is important, you teach it as fact. If you avoid teaching them than you are teaching them that what you believe is not really very important.



You should "indoctrinate" children with many important truths: that it is wrong to lie, steal, cheat, kill, rape, or commit any sort of abuse. Teaching your child what you believe to be correct is never considered abuse in any other arena, how is religion any different?



Not teaching them about something is actually teaching them that it is not important to know. No one would consider it child abuse if you indoctrinate your child into thinking that an education is important, you would never let them just "decide on their own". You would never call it abuse to indoctrinate your child into believing that it is in his/her best interest to brush their teeth, or not break the law.



You always indoctrinate your child with what you believe are important life lessons, they can always choose their own path when they are older.

In order to teach them that having any religion (or none) is fine, you would have to actually believe that. If you really believe that religion is an important eternal matter, than not teaching them would be like prohibiting parents from feeding or clothing their kids. Report Post

A fundamental human right is taken away How does a child comprehend what is fact or fiction when they go into the real world and when the underlying subconscious thoughts are always about the supernatural god and how he loves you but can send you to hell if you do not conform to his ways and worship him with reciprocal love? We fought world wars for freedom to live life free from suppressive ideologies, Therefore why do we have so many idiots imposing their ideologies onto our future generations? Where is the respect and the moral obligation for these children? Report Post

I don't think it should I don't think it should be considered child abuse. I don't think religion should be forced on someone, but it shouldn't be consider child abuse. It is no different than what we teach our kids in school. What they learn in school in indoctrinated. They are taught that what they learn in school is correct. Like grammar, and math, ect. Education isn't child abuse. Posted by: johndoe22 Report Post