This question opened up a series of further questions in my mind. Since it's about parents, the implication is that they're exercising a power over their children. This leads to the question of what are the children's ages? Are they still dependent or have they reached the age of consent? Is a parent's right to change his/her own religious beliefs included in the net cast by the question? Then there's the issue, like in my family of origin, if one parent changes her hereditary religion and then it becomes the child's hereditary religion, does the parent have the power to force the child into the new religion? In turn, when do a child's rights begin and how much of them can be exercised - all rights within limits, or some rights fully?
This could take a month, so I'll limit my position on the debate to the following parameters: as the right pertains to parents over their children, not to themselves; said power is absolute and arbitrary, distinct from being merely influential; the children have reached the age of consent; the parents have maintained their own hereditary religion.
So no, parents don't have power over their children's choice of religious beliefs. Their influence has been exerted throughout the child's upbringing. Influence, however, isn't limited to the parents; it's also the quality of the religion itself that informs the human mind. At the age of consent, the children must decide for themselves. In addition, it's the quality of the religious environment, how the congregants treat one another and nonbelievers. Further, influence comes from how the religious leader delivers the message, explains its relevance and enforces adherence.
How is hypocrisy dealt with? Are "sinners" publicly humiliated, ignored or counseled in private? Does the leader gloss himself over or is he honest about how he deals with his own shortcomings? The clarity of the sacred text used must be taken into consideration, as well. The highest determinants - as far as I'm concerned - are whether guilt and shame are wielded like weapons, and whether everything that can't be logically explained is swept under the "divine mystery" rug. (Sorry, did I mix my metaphors?)
What it comes down to is this: parents don't live their children's lives any more than they live their neighbors' lives. The only thing over which EACH person is absolutely sovereign is his/her own mind. Generally speaking, we're equally sovereign over our bodies, but events happen beyond our control. Consider Christopher Reeve, Viktor Frankl, Anne Frank and Nelson Mandela.
As an example of thinking coherently for oneself, I agree with Thomas Paine's conclusion on the following passage:
Zechariah xi, 7-14: "And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock. Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me. Then said I, I will not feed you; that which dieth, let it die; and that which is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat everyone the flesh of another.
"
"And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people. And it was broken in that day; and so the poor of the flock who waited upon me knew that it was the word of the Lord. And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price, and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver."
"And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter; a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord. Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel."
Gibberish.
Nursery rhymes are more coherent than this nonsense. Actually, having read it, I'm more inclined to pray to the cow that jumped over the moon, rather than give acknowledgment to the Judeo-Christian god.
Much to my mother's disappointment, I bowed out of her religion. It's been over two decades now. She still can't understand how I believe in God, but dismiss the bible. Truth be told, I dismiss any religion reeking of tyranny and incomprehensibility. Trying to persuade her is one thing, but forcing her to make the switch with me is not within my power. Switching me back is not in her power either. Her belief system is not between my ears, and that lone spot of gray in the whole of the universe is the only place where my power is absolute.
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