Parents and Religion

I have been curious for a long time about how parental influence affects children’s religious views. Religions are cultural, religions are social, religions are personal, but religions are also subjectively imposed. Children are malleable and are integrated into their family’s religious traditions at a young age. I do not believe that this is necessarily fair or ethically right. Parents are selecting children’s religions before the children are old enough to understand what religion is and religion is one of the most personal parts of a person. A baby baptized has no say in whether they would like to be bathed in holy water and have their life dedicated to Christ. The same thing is similar for most religions. For example, a Jewish Bar or Bat Mitzvah comes at the young age of thirteen where the parental, social, and cultural pressures often leaves the child no choice but to participate.

Most children are not exposed to other religions until they are older, and usually not by their parents or religious leaders. Even then there are the unknown aspects of the new religion and sometimes more obscure or religions that are not as commonly found in certain areas are harder to find, learn about and experience. The same routine and traditions utilized by the congregation the children have known for many years can leave a child no other option but the one their parents originally chose for them. Some religions ostracize others, leaving no room for the exploration of different religions without the risk of disapproval or in extreme cases, exclusion. Parents often decide a child’s religion for them unless the child has the opportunity to discover a religion they feel more connected to.