Kids and Religion

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.youtube.com%252Fwatch%253Fv%253D1Rwioe1SGkQ&h=dba32&ref=nf


I posted this video a couple of days ago much to the chagrin of my fundamentalist sister. She thought it was hateful and offensive. I thought is was blunt. It may push the envelope in a few places but the basic message is accurate.

The reason I felt the video to be so compelling is that all religions have one fundamental moral flaw: they teach their beliefs to children. Children should not be taught to choose religious sides. Period. It's a moral outrage. It's wrong.

Children should be taught morals and ethics and critical thinking skills. Children should be taught the difference between right and wrong. How to treat others like they want to be treated. How to make good choices about what they watch and wear and eat. Children should be taught three basic rules: Don't Hurt Yourself. Don't Hurt Nature or Other People's Property. Don't Hurt Other People. NONE of these basic rules require a religion to back them up. All of these rules reside within basic human nature and all humans share this basic ethic. Religion, should it be taught at all, should come much later.

I was five years old when I "went forward and gave my life to Jesus" in a Baptist church. I took this decision seriously. The destiny of my eternal soul depended on it. It affected all the major decisions in my life. Who I married. Where I went to school. Ultimately I decided to go into the ministry because of what I decided was Truth at the age of five. All of these turned out to be decisions that, as an adult, did not work for me. Because, ultimately, I decided that I didn't want to be religious. I didn't want to be married to the person I believed God wanted me to marry. I didn't want to be a pastor or involved in any way with Christianity. Or any other religion for that matter.

As an adult I firmly believe that five-year-old children have no business making a religious decision like the one I made. And adults who allow children, and who encourage children, to make this kind of sweeping life-altering decision, are completely misguided. I don't have a magic number for when a person should make religious decisions. But it certainly isn't five or ten or fifteen.

Watch the video.