Yesterday morning I got up and puttered around. I made breakfast at a leisurely pace and spent time checking this blog and my email. Late in the morning I gave one of my dogs a bath and discovered that she doesn't like water! All in all, it was a typical start to a Sunday.
Sundays were far different when I was a wee lad. I couldn't sleep in or putter around. I had to set my damn alarm clock and I was not allowed to hit the snooze button nor sleep through it. I had to get up far earlier than I wanted to. I also had to take a shower, then put on nice clothes and make it to the breakfast table by a set period of time.
I had to do all these things against my will because my parents made the decision for me that I was going to Sunday School and church.
You know, while I personally am not enthralled with religion these days, I have no qualms with a person deciding of their own volition to order their Sunday mornings in this way. If a person decides that church is for them, then that's their decision. To this day, however, I have a real problem with parents making this decision FOR their children. It seems to be an involuntary form of brainwashing and indoctrination.
Almost every religion I know of has something akin to a profession of faith. What this means is that each individual must decide in their brain and their heart if the concept of a god and all the specific trappings of the particular brand speaks to them and they wish to make it a central premise of their life. In order to make this kind of decision, a person needs to be of a certain age so that they can weigh various factors and take a look at the different ramifications of their decision.
In the US, we don't allow children to enter into legal contracts. We don't allow them to join the military to go off to fight in war. We don't allow them to get married either. We don't allow ANY of these things because we recognize that a child is not mature enough to make these kinds of life altering decisions. So, why do we allow children of the same age group the ability to make a profession of faith?
Even worse, why do many parents force their children to immerse themselves in a belief system that these children can't fully understand? Why is religion the exception to the rule?
Sundays were far different when I was a wee lad. I couldn't sleep in or putter around. I had to set my damn alarm clock and I was not allowed to hit the snooze button nor sleep through it. I had to get up far earlier than I wanted to. I also had to take a shower, then put on nice clothes and make it to the breakfast table by a set period of time.
I had to do all these things against my will because my parents made the decision for me that I was going to Sunday School and church.
You know, while I personally am not enthralled with religion these days, I have no qualms with a person deciding of their own volition to order their Sunday mornings in this way. If a person decides that church is for them, then that's their decision. To this day, however, I have a real problem with parents making this decision FOR their children. It seems to be an involuntary form of brainwashing and indoctrination.
Almost every religion I know of has something akin to a profession of faith. What this means is that each individual must decide in their brain and their heart if the concept of a god and all the specific trappings of the particular brand speaks to them and they wish to make it a central premise of their life. In order to make this kind of decision, a person needs to be of a certain age so that they can weigh various factors and take a look at the different ramifications of their decision.
In the US, we don't allow children to enter into legal contracts. We don't allow them to join the military to go off to fight in war. We don't allow them to get married either. We don't allow ANY of these things because we recognize that a child is not mature enough to make these kinds of life altering decisions. So, why do we allow children of the same age group the ability to make a profession of faith?
Even worse, why do many parents force their children to immerse themselves in a belief system that these children can't fully understand? Why is religion the exception to the rule?
Brainwashing,it's not only for Muslims!
ReplyDeleteHello, Trey.
ReplyDeleteI've been reading your blog for a couple of weeks now, I really appreciate your insight. Taoist philosophy has really grabbed hold of me in the past few months (from reading the TTC) and I am trying to begin practicing it in my life.
I'm also a Christian, and a parent, so this post was very interesting. You're right, of course, that bringing your children to church is a form of indoctrination. There are also many other ways I try to 'indoctrinate' my daughter: to choose peace over violence, to love and to listen, and to do good to others!
The difference I see between indoctrination and brainwashing is that I try to teach her to engage with these things herself, at her own level. I hope that she will become a Christian, and I also hope that she will embody the Tao in her own way... but most of all, I hope that she develops an understanding of all these things that is greater and better than my own! In short, I hope that she will become a philosopher. I can only show her what I know and let her take it and use it as she sees fit.
So, I hope that I am cultivating her mind rather than coercing her. What do you think? I'd appreciate any thoughts you have.
(I am also blogging on the TTC, chapter by chapter! I would be grateful for your comments to help a novice! http://cmbryan.com/blog)
i think the difference between teaching right and wrong and brainwashing is the purpose behind it... to either stimulate your child to make their own good decisions or to simply follow blindly without thinking for him/herself. i think if you teach your child to think for him/herself then you are doing the right thing no matter your religion. however, some religions make you promise to follow in the religion for all your life. that is the sort of commitment a child shouldn't be forced to make.
ReplyDeleteC & M,
ReplyDeletePersonally, I would be careful with using the word "indoctrination" at all. It can leave a rather sour taste in anyone's mouth. : )
It's one thing to share basic concepts -- through both words and actions -- with your children and then to allow them the freedom to make up their own minds.
Indoctrination implies a level of coercion and force. From my experience in life, it tends to lead down one of two paths, neither of which is in keeping with Tao.
The first path is the one in which a person clings to certain beliefs without ever having truly examined them. This path is most prevalent among fundamentalists and bigots of all religions. By the time the child has risen to adulthood, the beliefs have congealed in their mind to the point they accept such as unmitigated fact and no amount of conflicting information or thought will sway them.
The second path is one borne of rebellion. As the child enters into young adulthood, he or she decides to reject outright the values of the parents or society, in general. As with the first path, this decision is often arrived at without a clear examination of the what or why to reject. It's just a knee-jerk reaction.
I do realize you placed the word indoctrination in quotation marks and your reference may be tongue-in-cheek, but we each have a tendency to try to impose our will on others. Hey, I'm as guilty of this as anyone else!
Aside from the above comments, I can't offer any bona fide guidance simply because I am not now nor have I ever been a parent.
(Note: AS is her tendency, Iktomi offers a good insight here as well.)