I was shocked to see LifeSiteNews — a Catholic website that usually promotes conservative beliefs, opposes abortion rights, and argues against LGBTQ equality — republish an article from the American Thinker all about the problems with pushing religion on kids from a very young age.

To show how religion can be used to manipulate people into doing awful things, the piece condemns the kind of “indoctrination from birth” that atheists have been calling out for years.

From very early on, the young child is indoctrinated in the belief that there is an omniscient, ever-vigilant God who observes everything a person does and even everything he contemplates. Nothing whatsoever escapes this omnipresent, all-knowing being. God keeps tabs and bestows incredibly desirable rewards if one behaves as told, while dispensing unimaginably tortuous punishment if one strays. The very young Christian begins with questions at every step, with fears and hopes entangled with the need to survive and thrive. He is curious to know who he is. What is this world all about? What is he supposed to do and how? Where is he headed? People die. Where do they go? And on and on. The information booths available to him in the fairground of life provide him with answers that may help relieve his innate existential anxiety. And it is here that the Christian religion plays its critical role and holds great appeal. Jesus’ religion provides a surefire answer to those who are willing to take it on faith. … Christianity is a powerful magnet for the masses that are unable to deal with the uncertainties of life and death on their own…

Wow. They get it! They finally get it!…

Wait. No. I messed up. Sorry. That’s just an excerpt from an article trashing Islam, published the day before 9/11, except I replaced “Allah” with “God,” “Islam” with “Christianity,” etc.

They seriously used those arguments to scare people about radical Muslims, completely unaware of the fact that the same arguments can be (and have been) used to condemn Christianity. Conservatives have no problem teaching toddlers about Hell, showing them how to pray, and telling them myths like Jesus was born of a virgin mother. But when Muslims do it, it’s evil.

Maybe one day they’ll become self-aware. We’re obviously not there yet.

(Image via Shutterstock. Thanks to Kerri for the link)

