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i get concerned when children get forced into religion growing up there whole young lives under the gun of a brain washing and controlling sect. how come this is not considered child abuse? filling a young and growing mind not with thoughts of love and happiness but with images of fire and brim stone, being so controlled and thought fear by the very people who the kid looks up to for comport. why does religion get a pass in the child abuse department? how come people to not speak up more ? we tolerate this because it has become some sick norm in our society and it needs to stop. its abuse yes strict religious up bringing is a form a child abuse! story of sodomy ? incest? and murder are things no young mind should ever have to hear. so what are your thoughts? are you a child of a religious up bringing? if so how did it effect you ?

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Comment by S.F. Zeigler on May 4, 2011 at 10:26pm: Religion is child abuse. No doubt about it. The three blatant crimes against humanity are #1-Religious indoctrination of children #2- Celebrity indoctrination of children #3- Pedophilia... IN THAT ORDER!

Comment by Gecko, Seth...brother of Richie! on May 4, 2011 at 11:13am: It has been debated often here in the Nexus. Bottom line...you will not can not legislate this problem away. Just like hate and prejudice, it will only get better slowly overtime as the human spicies socially evolves slowly over time.

Comment by Austin Meek on May 4, 2011 at 10:57am: @ Loren Miller: I'm so glad to hear of your daughter's success. I know you have to be extremely proud. Congrats! :-)

Comment by Austin Meek on May 4, 2011 at 10:38am: That's the way the religious virus spreads... through fear. Religious people will stop at nothing to keep their delusional bubble from bursting, even if it means filling their own children with horrible fear.

My grandpa was a preacher for 42 years. Don't get me wrong, I was lucky enough that most of my family had plenty of love in their hearts instead of hate, like a lot of fanatics often do. Throughout my whole life, it was always clear to me that they totally believed in their Christian faith. If they saw anything that slightly contradicted what they believed, they'd blow it off as ignorant, and not give it a second thought. For instance, I remember being at my grandparent's house when I was about 12 years old watching PBS. A doccumentary about evolution started to come on. Needless to say, they immediately turned it off. They also said things like "I can't believe they're playing this," or "they should find the answer in the bible." I thought to myself what's the harm of watching this show if the religion I was always taught was true? What are they so afraid of?

Another time, I jokingly asked my grandma that taught sunday school "how do you know if you've made a passing grade in sunday school?" Her reply went something like "If you don't pass, You'll go to hell when you die." WOAH!!!

I didn't become an atheist overnight. More and more, as I approached my late teens, I began to think about all of the little things like I mentioned above and events in my own life. I slowly began to realize more and more that they were all living in a bubble and none of it made any sense. As I've said, though, I was lucky in the sense that my family didn't constantly preach that brimsone and fire like I know a lot of families did. I also feel lucky in the sense that although me and my family might not see eye-to-eye with each other about a lot of things, we still can generally get along. Sadly, I know there are a whole lot of others who didn't fair near as well as I did. I truly feel for them. It's a cold hard fact, but children are basically at the mercy of the family or guardians that are raising them.

Comment by dr kellie on May 4, 2011 at 9:52am: It is child abuse. Try thinking that you are an abomination for most of your childhood/teenage years because you are gay.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_g52sX8PgX8

Comment by Loren Miller on May 4, 2011 at 9:17am: For a while, I have been on a discussion board wherein there is a group entitled, "I Think Indoctrinating Children With Religion Is Child Abuse." This group has seen considerable discussion, argument and debate. Many theists allege in this group that there is no harm in teaching their bible. Atheists counter with what we know of the seamy underside of the document, as well as the concept that children have no ability to discriminate and that such "teaching" at a young age does indeed amount to indoctrination. For the large part, we hold our own pretty well.

Interesting that I find myself frequently citing the case of my own daughter, who was raised without religion. She took a course or courses on comparative religion in college and investigated Judaism on her own, but to my knowledge, remains areligious ... yet still sharp and emotionally and socially engaged. Oh, did I mention that she graduated cum laude and was working full time the very next day?!?

Comment by roland707 on May 4, 2011 at 8:31am: I agree with you, but it won't stop until religion basically dies. When adults stop believing it themselves and stop teaching their kids.