Are Babies Born Atheist?

@Mike197602 _As their parents followed their grandparents. I am not anti-religion only against mindless indoctrination of children. Isn't this also a form of child abuse?

@josie_ I am pretty much anti religion but I wouldn't go so far as to say it is a form of child abuse. But thinking more I suppose it could be seen as such if the parents indoctrinate the kids into things that are illegal etc.

@Mike197602 _ Unfortunately what is ethically unacceptable to you may be justified by others as a moral obligation according to their belief system. War is a good example.

@Nawsheen _Religion is never force on children. It's not necessary since children are susceptible to new ideas that are encourage by people they love and trust. It's not religion per se which is causing problems today but the intolerance of belief and ideology alien to our own.

@MaiteMaite _Not all atheists use science in their argument against the existence of God. Some rely on practical experience and common sense.

@Nawsheen Atheists arguments are weak. They tend to believe in science and science is constantly changing.

@josie_ It is probably a side effect of my own experiences, since most people I speak to online seem to feel swamped with the zealous defenders, but most of the people I've sat and spoken with in person (after the dance of making sure the other isn't the dangerously indoctrinated type) tend to more or less agree with calling ourselves "paper [insert religion here]", generally speaking of not believing the stories told in children's church groups any more than the stories told at bedtime, and feeling most of the things are man-made. I moved every couple of years in my childhood, so my experience is, at least, not from just one church, or even just one state. Even in a Catholic University, I lost my faith faster than I'd ever learned it. Most of the people I spoke to there were the same. That said, I agree there are those who take it all too far and make force by leaving no other room for growth. I have seen those people, even had the creepy voyeuristic pleasure of being invited into one such home, and I love conversations like this simply for being another stone someone trapped in those situations might somehow stumble across and maybe open an eye. There's a great chance I've somehow lucked out in my skipping around, and the majority of religiously-raised children get the full indoctrination method, rather than the games-about-the-stories kinds of classes I've seen. Whichever is more common, making sure absolutely every single person, no matter how young, is given information and the chance to make an informed decision is still the priority in this, as well as in so many other plagues humanity faces (also taught from childhood, ever-invasive, such as gender and racial stereotypes, and the skewed notions of how exactly the human body should look). Factual information, over all opinionated information, needs to be broadcast everywhere. There should ideally be nowhere to hide a child from the truths they will build their identities upon, and not the least of these is the truth that religions are a dime a dozen and vary so little, and that science should trump each of them at the core. Religions are run by mankind, and are interpreted and rewritten by mankind, so if one cannot exist with the facts laid out, it is the proven facts which ought to remain. Above all, informed decisions.

@KiraNoFutago _Religious institutions exist for the purpose of propagating their faith. They put up schools for children whose minds are not yet fully develop and easily manipulated. The word "force" does not only imply the use of physical means. In this case it is to induce a powerful effect or influence on unquestioning and trusting young minds. Is it any wonder many became adults who don't question but accept uncritically the religious teaching of their elders? I also don't believe they will simply shrug their shoulders and say "ah well, I grew up with it so.." On the contrary, they will defend their faith "forcefully".

@KiraNoFutago _Unlike medieval times when ignorance made people fear the unknown and the church prospered by encouraging superstitious belief. Because science deal only in facts and logic, it has become the new religion. But mankind's problems seem to be growing despite the many advances in technology. Materialism and keeping up with the joneses are the false idols many now worship at. Children are still being manipulated today. The Bible have been replace by Facebook, instagrams and other social networking apps. Their high priest and priestess are the Justin Biebers and Miley Cyrus' of the entertainment world. Video games is the preferred choice for brainwashing and mindless time wasting. We have simply substitute one belief for another.

@josie_ Even if adults many time think irrationally, I think that children should be exposed to religion at a later age. Thinking and asking questions all the time is the only way to avoid brainwashing.

@LadyDuck _Sometimes I wonder if children should only be expose to religion when they have acquired the ability to reason and think critically. But then again many adults still think irrationally and accept what they are told by their leaders hook, line and sinker. I hope Zac who is very inquisitive never stop asking questions (something I encourage in all my grandchildren to never assume what a person say is the truth base solely on their position or age). It's the only way to protect oneself from people who are manipulative and self-serving.

@RasmaSandra _Belief in God is an emotional question. It can't be rationalize nor explain through the use of logic. It's not something that can be measured or proven. It is a matter of faith and it is personal.

@Yadah04 _We all have this innate quest regarding a higher purpose in life. But I don't believe spirituality can only be found in a religious institution. The church can provide us some measure of comfort although most people seek happiness through external means. The contemplative life is not for everyone.

@josie_ to that i agree. The church is there to provide comfort, but ultimately it is within each one of us to decide how to find that happiness.

@Yadah04 Yes spirituality is important and it is the only road that takes us to a lasting happiness.

@suziecat7 _ Zac is now 7 but his dimple still attracts the girls in his class. He's enroll at a born again Christian school since his mother belong to that denomination. His father is an atheist.

@aishanee _When I think about Mahatma Gandhi, I am reminded of his response when a western news reporter ask if he was a Hindu. Gandhi replied, "Yes I am. I am also a Christian, a Muslim, a Buddhist and a Jew.". At their very core, all religion share this universal brotherhood.

@josie_ I didn't go to that Sunday School for long, thankfully. When my parents found out about the "Service Guy" (as that's what they referred to his rants -- "Service"), they told me and my sister that we didn't have to go to "Service" and to just meet my dad on the playground after Sunday School let out. Which I did and got away with for a while, but then my Sunday School teachers caught me and decided that I was sneaking out to play on the playground and that I needed to be punished. They were going to force me to go into the room alone with that crazy guy, and I got very upset and kept insisting I needed to meet my dad. So one teacher decided to go find my dad and prove that I was a liar. He lectured me about how I was going to hell for lying the entire time we walked. We ended up running into my dad, who was looking for me. My dad fortunately told the Sunday School teacher off and informed him that I was, in fact, NOT lying. I never went back after that. That experience really turned me off from church forever.

@Srbageldog _It puts into question the qualification of your Sunday school teachers when they automatically assume a child is lying instead of telling the truth. They should remember that Christ said "let the little children come to me for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these". This would have been the perfect comeback I'm guessing your father wasn't the narrow-minded fundamentalist type of believer.

@Srbageldog _I have heard about speaking in tongues by adults but this is the first time I learn even children are force into this practice. It must have been traumatic for you and the other kids. I would have put that overzealous guy inside a padded room with half a dozen certified insane people and give him a taste of his own medicine.

Whoaaa.... @mommaj...come here...you never saw this side of Pony..lol @CoralLevang...I give up with this confused candidate..sometimes, he is decent like a priest, at other times...lol

@josie_ I am not certain of anything, but I know of my own experiences with hypnosis. For someone who hasn't tried it, it is an eye-opening experience. To experience the realness of it and feel and see and be there again right inside the scene, so to speak, seemed amazing to me at the time, and still does now. I have no real explanation for it. There are other plausible explanations too I suspect other than saying it's actually reincarnation. To me, our soul is like the inner filament in the light globe, (something like what you said) It shines through the outerness of ourselves giving us a light that shines outwardly from inwardly when we live from it as our guide and higher self.

@innertalks _Since this discussion is speculative with no right or wrong answers, I bring up the idea that if a soul exist it needs us just as much as we need "it". There is no higher or lower "self". Ours is a symbiotic relationship on equal terms.

@innertalks _I have read about past life regression through hypnosis. It's a controversial issue but for reincarnation adherents it is us who choose our parents. We know the biology of life produce by the union of the egg and sperm but how does a soul fit into this arrangement? Is it akin to the holy trinity? The soul being the "holy spirit". Perhaps it's purpose is like a dry cell battery. It needs an appliance (human) to power else it remains latent. Where did it come from? Is it a microcosm of the universe simply appearing out of nowhere. If it's not a product of cause and effect but a self-creating being. Then the question arise why not bypass the human biological process of creation.

@MaiteMaite _Islam is one of the fastest growing religion despite being a relative newcomer when compare to older religions like Judaism and Christianity. It appeals to many people who have been marginalize by society and injustice. However I feel the religion is being politicize by it's leaders

@MaiteMaite _Other religion also cannot agree on the interpretation of their holy scriptures. Even if the holy books are the word of God, many religious leaders interpret passages out of context to serve their own selfish interests. Religion has become divisive and authoritarian.

@josie_ If somebody honestly wants to see what Islam is they should study Quran and they should study Hadith but all Hadith that goes against Quran or against intellect is liable to rejection. As Hadith is collected by humans so they can make mistakes. What Islamic leaders or Muslims are doing is not a Standard instead the only standards are Quran and authentic Hadith. For example, many Muslims agree that apostates should be killed. The killing of apostates is not allowed by Quran. God clearly announces in Quran that whosoever wants to believe they are free to do so and whosoever wants to disbelieve they too are free to do so. The whole point of Islam is that those who believe in God out of their free will they will be rewarded in the hereafter. God does not like to compel people to believe in Him. A special case of apostasy was that some non-believers tried to play a trick with Islam. They said that in the morning accept Islam and in the evening leave it so that people can think that there must be something wrong with this religion and we should also leave Islam. So Muslims and Islamic leaders are not the standards. They can go wrong. Quran and authentic Hadith do not go wrong as they are the standards.