Brainwashing children

Yesterday, I wrote a post about British religious education policies coming under criticism. I consider myself conservative on religion and philosophy, but I agreed with the secular groups that the education policies should be changed, although my reasons were different than theirs.

Some people I’ve talked to have gone to the other extreme and say no one should tell kids about religion. At least one person suggested there should be a law to prevent parents from “brainwashing” their kids with religion. Kids should be raised without being indoctrinated, and once they reach age 18, they can choose for themselves what they believe. There are a few problems I see with that idea.

First of all, the philosophy seems to assume it’s possible to raise kids as blank slates untouched by religion or philosophy. It’s not possible. There’s no such thing as a neutral philosophy. Everyone lives with some kind of bias, and kids learn by example, so they will learn those same biases.

I’m not just talking about religious biases. These are underlying philosophies, principles and values that influence every decision you make. Why do you get up in the morning? Why do your kids go to school? What do you do with spare money you have? If you child steals candy from the grocery store, what do you do? These situations, as well as thousands of others, are what shapes a child’s worldview.

Secondly, even if it was possible to raise children without any philosophical biases, this modern culture would still make it impossible. If you want your children to stand a chance at being competitive in this world, they will need to understand at least a few basics about culture and current events.

Why did people hijack planes and crash them into the twin towers? Why is peace in the Middle East so hard to achieve? Why did so many people make religion a factor in their presidential vote? Basic religious knowledge is essential in at least starting to understand these questions. Issues relating to religion come up on an almost daily basis. If your children have a half-way decent knowledge of current events, they know about religion.

Plus, it’s not just current events. Pop culture, movies, tv, music and the internet all talk about religion. Anyway you look at it, there’s no way to isolate your children from religion.