The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #95248   Message #1852022
Posted By: Jeri
06-Oct-06 - 11:08 AM
Thread Name: Children and religion
Subject: RE: Children and religion
I grew up around people who talk about their religious beliefs as if those beliefs are a given. People assume you believe what they do, if you're in the same community. You learn to 'pass' because you know those people would suddenly despise you if you told them what you believe, but as long as they don't ASK you (which they won't), you can still fit in. You go through military basic training, where the only place you can socialize is at church, so you go, and you just put up with the religion. You suck it up, let it go, and you enjoy the rest of the experience. You work somewhere where they institute a morning non-denominational prayer, and you say nothing, because the majority - your 80% - don't have a problem with it. At least they don't say they do. You hear people casually refer to God in their everyday speech, obviously assuming you share their fundamental meaning. You're in the middle of an intelligent discussion with a co-worker and friend whom you respect, about some evil act done by a religious person, when he says, "At least he's not an atheist." So you think you might say, "well I'M and atheist," but remember you have to work with this guy and don't really want to suddenly become the subject of disdain and hatred, so you suck it up.

I have plenty of reason for hating religion and religious people, but I don't. People who are marginalised and despised can go through life flyng under the radar - in the religious 'closet', so to speak, they can let their anger at the bigotry they feel spill over and be very mouthy and obnoxious, or they can just try to avoid either extreme and just be a decent person who's honest about their beliefs, without making others feel bad about theirs.

As for the Witnesses, indoctrination happens with every single belief of the parents, religious or otherwise. It's the base they have to start with. The worst thing those kids who travel door-to-door with their parents have to face is hatred and abuse from those who answer the door and aren't capable of just rationally saying 'No'.