Children and religion

The wrongs done by Catholic priests in child molestation cases notwithstanding and just generally speaking, church exposure at a young age is a good thing.

That's not because what kids learn or don't learn there will necessarily be perfect, or always correct, but rather, because it will give them a foundation, a place to start in terms of faith, spirituality, beliefs, and hopefully, a blueprint for positive living, for the rest of their lives.

The troubles within the Catholic church notwithstanding, that is what faith or any belief system is supposed to do. They're intended to be good things, and for most people who are active in their churches, a lot of good is what they get out of it.

As kids get older, they still will be able to make up their own minds, regardless, of what they may have been told or taught earlier, when it comes to beliefs. People shouldn't doubt that, any more than they would believe their kids will be able to make up their own minds, and make decisions, about anything else.

Not giving kids any exposure to church just because you're afraid they might be brainwashed a certain way, or something doesn't give much credit to your kids, and it gives too much credence/power to those teaching. It should also make parents realize their own part in making sure that their kids do have a good, right understanding of beliefs. In other words, religious training/exposure should not be abdicated solely to the church. Religious and spiritual discussions should be a topic of conversation and a living example of parents for their kids.

The good thing, and the thing to really realize and think about with regard to church is that when your kid does, someday, "get away from" it, either by choice, neglect or change, or when he/she does go through a period of struggles or questioning, etc., it will still, eventually, probably occur to him or her that church/God/a higher power/whatever, may be a place to which he or she may be able to turn for help, guidance, comfort or structure at some time when they may truly need or want those things. Almost everyone needs that at some point in their lives.

A kid/teen/adult who at least knows about and has some kind of understanding or beliefs about such things would be much more inclined to look for/seek out such possibilities, and to "come back" to it, or join in in the first place, if and when there is a need or desire to do so.

For people for whom there has not been any such exposure, such valuable and positive resource possibilities might not even occur to them, and they will be lost or unavailable to them because of that.

It should be a foundation, a spiritual compass, that people should try to provide via church, not necessarily a hard and fast, set-in-stone direction.

 

Excellent point.

Mrs. OOP and I are not particularly religious, but we do feel faith is something of value and we want to give our daughter an opportunity to grow up with it. If she chooses later on to do something else, so be it, but if we give her nothing, she will most likely have no real choice at all.