Should children be brought up with a religious upbringing? Do you agree? Show that you have considered more than one point of view and refer to another religion in your answer.

Many people around the world think that they should bring their children up religiously. There are quite a few reasons for this, mainly because of tradition. The few main reasons have been outlined below;

Firstly, if the children are brought up religiously, they will be baptized, and once done so, to keep the baptism promises, parents will enforce and pass down teachings and bible quotations to their children which then are led to believe in god. This is similar to Hinduism’s teachings, where the child goes through a special ceremony at birth to welcome god into their lives, thanking them and spending their lives in his debt. Christians have a similar confirmation ceremony which is rather like the thread ceremony for young hindu boys.

From an early age, young Christians may go to Sunday school run by the church, where they would learn stories and prayers, and then assume that god exists because the people around the child believe that he does. In Hinduism, it is quite common for younger children to attend Sunday school hosted by the mandir. They are brought up to believe in god so that they may go to heaven after death.

Most of the time, children are automatically accepted into their parents’ religion(s) because when they hear their parents talking about god or praying, they tend to follow in ...

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Most of the time, children are automatically accepted into their parents’ religion(s) because when they hear their parents talking about god or praying, they tend to follow in their parents footsteps which then lead them to believe and assume that god exists.

As children get older, they are able to attend church which further helps them believe in god. Special festivals such as Christmas are usually celebrated without knowing their background and story, but if children attend church they naturally end up assuming that there are religious reasons behind every festival which end up positively enforcing their beliefs about god. They may also learn these facts through school, their peers and RE lessons. In Hinduism, children are taught about their festivals and nearly every festival has a religious meaning or story behind it, which eventually alters children’s thoughts as they grow older to accompany new religious ideas and beliefs.

Finally, daily prayers and offerings are done by both hindu and Christian children which further enforces their beliefs about god.

Children that are brought up with a religious upbringing usually believe in heaven, and their parents also believe that after death the body will rest eternally in heaven (or hell, in some cases).

I disagree with the question and believe that children should not be brought up with a religious upbringing because they should have their own right to choose how they act and what they believe in.

For example, Hindu children are not allowed to eat beef, and may bear a grudge against their parents for forcing them into Hinduism, or any other religion as such. This could lead to major conflicts which could break tradition, but wouldn’t have occurred if the child could choose what they wished to be.

Without religion, major conflicts which spark wars and other things such as bad behaviour can be prevented.

Even if children are brought up in a certain religion they should be able to choose as they get older and have more experience about other religions. Sometimes children are brought up by agnostics, which can help reinforce the childs’ beliefs.

In conclusion, I think that children have a right to believe what they want in life, and steer their lives in the right direction, for who knows whether the path they choose to live may be the right one for them, if not for others, therefore I disagree with the question stated above.