Agree

by Patricia Burke

Created on: October 27, 2011

Whether or not a parent has the right to choose a religion for their child, in my opinion should be answered by yes and no. This is a simple subject to understand.

When a baby is born to a man and woman, most of the time the baby is taken to whatever Church their parents are attending. Whether they are sprinkled, baptized, or welcomed into the Church does not matter. Not to the baby, at least. It means a lot to the Parents. If the Parents are religious people they are going to want to raise their child in a Christian manner.

The children will grow up being taught all about that particular religion, It was this way for all of us as we grew from toddlers to children. That does not mean that we continue always in our parents’ ways.

Usually after children reach a certain age, having gone to school, learning to read opens up a lot of challenges for them.  Being around other children interacting and learning about new things, one is bound to become curious about many things, including church.

Yes, a parent should teach a child their religion. But No would be the answer to making a child stay in that religion. If they are old enough to choose to change that should be their choice. If a child has been allowed to visit other denominations and wants to change, they should have the right to choose. What would be the right age to allow that? When you think they are mature enough. Be careful that you do not allow personal feelings to get in the way.

I knew a family with 3 children. The Mother raised them in her Church. As most children do, as they became preteens, 2 of those children began to kick against being made to go to Church. The Mother told all three that under God’s law and according to the Bible, she was responsible for teaching them about God. She told them that when they became 16 yrs. old, they would be old enough to be held responsible for how they lived their lives. One child continued to go to Church with his Mother, one stopped going for a few years, the other changed Churches and went to another Church with a friend.

One cannot live their child’s life for them. They can only try to teach them right from wrong, respect from disrespect, to obey the law, and most of all, to worship God. But how and where they worship God should be their choice.

Learn more about this author, Patricia Burke.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.