by Andrea Nostramo

Created on: June 08, 2009

The Jesuits used to say that if you gave them a child until he was six years old, he would be a Christian for life. This philosophy acts as proof that it is wrong to christen children, or indoctrinate them into any organized religious tradition, before they are old enough to know exactly what it is they are believing in.

Children are often coddled and spoiled by their parents, forcing them to grow up lacking self-discipline and a proper work ethic. But that is just as bad as parents treating their children as though they are a blank slate, taking advantage of their trust and innocence in order to thrust their own religious views onto their offspring, early enough that it'll stick.

In her witty tale of her own religious journey, "Letting Go of God," comedian and former Saturday Night Live alum Julia Sweeney discusses the day she realized that just this problem had befallen her. At the time she considered herself to be a very good Church-going Irish Catholic; she was visited by two Mormon missionaries, preaching the word of God. She welcomed them into her home, whereupon they explained to her the history of the Mormon religion, complete with the part about God leading the Mormon hero Lehigh from Jerusalem to America by boat in 600 B.C. After Julia had waved these men goodbye, she remembers feeling superior to them, with their ridiculous nonsensical faith. How could anyone travel by boat from Jerusalem to America in 600 B.C.? But, as she began to laugh at the silliness of the Mormon faith, it suddenly dawned on her that her Irish Catholic faith was really no less nonsensical. The only reason it felt so true and righteous to her was because it had been thoroughly indoctrinated into her mind since she was a child. Hearing about the Mormon religion as an adult seemed ridiculous, because she was now intelligent, and no longer possessed the vulnerable, impressionable character of a child.

What makes matters worse is that parents know that this is true, and do it on purpose, especially those who are most devout. Catholic parents need their children to be baptized virtually at birth, then have their communion and confirmation, receive religious instruction at grade-school age, and on it goes. There are landmarks of a child's life in which he needs to already be indoctrinated. The rush to proselytize children as soon as they are born is masked by these religious urgencies, but the truth is that it is done out of fear, fear that waiting for adulthood will result in

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>