What Would Jesus Do?
A deliberation on the immorality of subjecting a child to religious indoctrination.
By John C. Duff
Copyright 2010 John C. Duff
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10 Nov. 2010
In America, where nearly nine in ten people identify with some sort of religion and 78% of the population adhere to some form of Christianity (Newport), there is an exploitation of children that is ignored by the majority: religious indoctrination. The indoctrination of any religious dogma is immoral and abusive but, because of the country’s addiction to Christianity, research will shed light on the effects of these most cherished beliefs.
Religion, especially Christianity, is full of superstition and myth that, with very little study, will prove to parallel the ancient mystery cults and be rooted in ancient Egyptian philosophy. For example, The Book of Going Forth by Day, written 3,260 years ago, reveals a resurrecting god and commandments that are synonymous with the Bible (Faulkner 2, 31). The ancient Mystery religions, which preceded Christianity, incorporated not only resurrecting gods into their theology but also included virgin births, Sunday worship, baptism, heaven and hell, communion with a cup and bread, and judgment after death (Gilmore 210, 419). These ancient mystery doctrines also came with the story of a suffering savior god whose death was the sacrifice for the atonement and salvation of mankind (Maccoby 196). There are many hypotheses regarding the origins of these particular beliefs, but one thing is certain, none of these doctrines are original to Christianity.
Such dogma, original or not, is unproven by empirical evidence and to adhere to it “is a matter of faith rather than knowledge” (Hand Philos. 93-94). To educate a child in any field, one must either compliment their reason with empirical evidence or indoctrinate them. Religious ideology cannot be confirmed with “rationally decisive evidence” so a child’s reason must be dodged in order to “psychologically” force these beliefs upon them (Hand Relig. 550). Therefore knowing that “all religious propositions are doubtful in this sense is sufficient to indicate that teaching for belief in them is always indoctrination” (Snook 74). If, in fact, religious propositions were rationally supported, the many Christian denominations in the U.S. would be unnecessary. In this case, the unifying structure of doctrinal practices would be undisputed and result in one denomination.
While the indoctrination of any unknown proposition can have negative results, there are benefits to introducing children to biased religious training. For example, in the pamphlet 10 Reasons to bring your child to Sunday School, Tony Kummer makes a point that children need to receive “Biblical instruction” that is “age targeted.” Parents may want their children to learn the beliefs of the family religion in a fashion that is geared “toward the developmental ability” of adolescents. Most parents lack the ability to properly indoctrinate their children, so religious training is a great way to take over where parents fall short. A child who attends Sunday school will be mentally stimulated because the “teachers do work hard to teach the Bible in ways that are relevant and fun for kids” (Kummer). Kummer also suggests that, by attending indoctrination class, “your child will build positive friendships with their peers by discovering God’s Word together”.
Spiritual mentoring is another attribute of indoctrination class. Along with friendship and fun, parents might also want a “positive role model” for their children. Sunday school can offer “dedicated spiritual mentors that are great Christian role models who will support and help to inspire your child’s faith” (Kummer). With positive role models and a strong faith comes confidence. A study on “health, religion, and spirituality” has shown that religion and spirituality is perceived by indoctrinated children as helpful when it comes to battling illness (Barnes, Plotnikoff, Fox and Pendleton 900).
Subjecting a child to indoctrination has positive benefits for parents as well. According to Melinda Wenner’s Study: Religion is Good for Kids, parents who involve their kids with Christian groups will experience “social support” in parenting by having important information (religious or familial) “reinforced by others”. This can have an impact on how seriously the child “accepts certain messages while at home”. Furthermore, Wenner suggests that “the types of values and norms that tend to circulate within Christian groups can be very pro family.” A pro family message is wonderful, and can be very comforting to a child. A message of this variety can also have an impact on how parents relate to their children, and how children will grow as a reaction, ultimately “instilling a sacred meaning and significance to parenting”.
Positive social and pro family attributes are a bonus when it comes to Bible school attendance but the negative elements have a far more damaging effect for the future of human kind. Religious indoctrination is a major contributor to the rampant problem of prejudice in the world; a well known example is homophobia and misogyny (Balkin, Schiosser, and Levitt 421). Proposition 8 provides a perfect case for the obvious homophobia which is born only of ignorant interpretations of ancient religious texts. In a 2009 Gallup Poll, Pelham and Crabtree proved that the more religious someone is, the more they tend to support the idea that “their communities are not good places for gays and lesbians to live”.
Furthermore, individuals and groups who adhere to religious fundamentalism, which typically places women in roles that are more traditional than those chosen by most contemporary women, are more likely to exhibit sexist behavior (Balkin, Schiosser, and Levitt 421).
Children should not be exposed to this cycle of ignorance.
On top of human rights oppression, the prejudice of religious intolerance is a major problem in the U.S. as well. The recent anti- Islam aura in America is a great example as people are burning Qurans (Porter) and protesting the construction of Islamic temples all under the guise of anti terrorism. Down through history, the Church has practiced religious intolerance and can be found in the writings of early church fathers and leaders. The Roman Emperor Constantine I, who declared Christianity the official religion of Rome in 321 CE, supported the anti-Semitic stance of the church by stating “Let us then have nothing in common with the detestable Jewish crowd; for we have received from our Saviour a different way” (Pamphilus III, XVIII). This type of hatred has prevailed, and children do not deserve to be misinformed with this type of favoritism.
Along with prejudice, indoctrination will have an effect on the cognitive and behavioral development of a child by teaching for belief in irrational doctrines and ideologies. In Christianity, according to Hanna and Meyer, children are taught to pray to an omniscient, moody, god who is also all powerful and ubiquitous. Children are taught to pray to this powerful god in hopes of obtaining answers when nobody else can be relied on or trusted. Beliefs of this nature will promote anxiety as children are taught that in order to escape punishment; one must obey god’s laws. The cognitive problems arise with the belief in a contradictory, authoritative, supernatural force that can be good, bad, abusive or kind depending on the compliance of extremely ambiguous tenets. This ambiguity, because of the simple logic of children, will cause confusion in how this god is to be worshipped. Adherence to these confusing doctrines may usher issues well into adulthood that “could conceivably result in problems with authority, contradictory behaviors, and control” (32-42). By taking a child’s objectiveness and building a partition of ideology down their field of reason is fiercely abusive and, by doing so, the child’s ability to rationalize as a free thinker has been suppressed (Wilson, Williams, and Sugarman 174-175).
Pseudoscience also plays a major factor in the indoctrination of Christian dogma. For example, ancient mythological stories like a worldwide flood or a 6,000 year old Earth are taken literally by many Christians today. In a study taken from a Gallup poll, conducted in 2005 by Darren Carlson, 76% of Americans said “they would not be upset if creationism was taught in school”. The belief that the Earth was created by a supernatural being, in its present state, is known as creationism or intelligent design. This widespread belief is also taught to children as an alternative to the empirical and verifiable scientific theories which play a major role in our everyday lives (Northwest).
Furthermore, children who are indoctrinated with pseudoscience will also be put at a health risk by being taught that prayer or unlicensed medical attention is a means of curing diseases. In certain sects, people are encouraged “to seek outside assistance” by “asking for prayers and other rituals from clergy, relatives, and other church members”. A Christian sect in Indiana, after a federally instated law that requires ”religious exemptions to child abuse and neglect”, were reported to have a “3-fold increase in infant mortality” and an “80-fold increase in maternal mortality compared to the general population” (Asser and Swan 625-626). This epidemic of unawareness is a result of religious indoctrination and the vicious cycle needs to end. Encouraging pseudoscience, like creation mythology or superstitious practices, as reliable, is indoctrination and society can absolutely survive without it.
Research has shown that the immorality of exposing a child to religious training incorporates prejudice, ethnocentrism, cognitive regulation, deceitfulness, and pseudo-science. But on the other side of the coin, religious training can provide a sense of community in which the child will make friends, have mentors, and carry on the family tradition (First Comm.). These positive attributes of religious exposure can be attained without the interference of unverifiable dogma which has proven to result in an antinomianistic population. For example, in our country where almost 90% of the population claims to be religious, 76% have admitted that they sense the moral standards of America declining (Jones). Furthermore, look no further than the U.S. prison population to confirm the pre-conventional moral standards of religious adherents. The U.S. prison population in fact, is the largest in the world (Paul 437) with 93.1% of the inmates who claim some type of religious affiliation and 73.9% of them being Christian (Federal BOP).
Religion is a worldwide phenomenon that cannot be ignored, and sadly children will continually be forced to inherit the ignorance of their parents. Because of this fact, religion must be carefully examined and exposed to children but in a systematic setting. If the public school system offered a religious education class as an elective, the negative aspects of religious ideology would slowly dissipate. This type of equitable class could expose students to every extant religion of the world and the beliefs involved with each. Children could also be taught the historic roots of each religion and the comparative features of all which would include mythology as an understanding of how stories were relayed in ancient times and the role mythology plays in religion. A religious education class, as described above, would eventually strengthen our country, and world, by putting an end to the enmity that is all too common today. The United States of America needs to ditch the Bronze Age mind set, and make this 21st century transition one for the history books.
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Works Cited
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