Hello folks
I love to watch debates. Especially those featured on BBC (The big questions). They are attended and participated by people in all walks of life and are conducted in an extremely democratic and secular manner. More often than not both sides present rational arguments. There are of course bad apples sometimes, but on an average it's intellectually enriching. The themes covered are primarily ethics, morals, religions etc.
The post is about the one I recently watched. And I had strong opinions on that one. So decided to tickle my dead blog with this mulling.
The issue : Is religion good for children?
Is childhood indoctrination necessary? Would they be lost for moral code without religion teaching them one? Are they incapable of being good human beings without this religion-derived set of values.
I think absolutely not. I think being good to people, having a sense of obligation towards fellow human beings etc. are inherently wired into our brain over the years. There is a reason man is called a social animal. Yes there is a give and take kind of a motive also. But all these traits form a very strong moral code in itself without the need of any external enforcer like religion.
There was a beautiful quote I came across on Facebook, "if religion is the only thing that stops you from being a horrible person, then you already are a horrible person". (amazing content on Facebook, that's going to be my next topic.)
This is one of the reasons why atheists/non-religious are still looked down upon in our society. Anyone who denounces the notion of a higher power is consider morally corrupt. This is particularly understandable in a milieu like that of India. Thanks to the years and years of cementing and defining the social and moral structure by the religions. That too dime a dozen.
One should ask oneself does one have an authority to spew morality lessons, when his/her good-doings are based on such a brittle foundation. Just the other day I was having an argument with a friend about religions bringing out good in people. I asked him, if your religion is removed out of the equation would he immediately turn into a murderer, a rapist, a thief. I do good things not because I am coveting a place in heaven or fearing the heck. I do good things because it makes me feel good.
And same is the case for any psychologically stable human being.
And that's why I am against childhood indoctrination. To borrow another beautiful quote, "children should be taught how to think and not what to think". Unfortunately in our society this rule will be taken as a blasphemy. The results of such "training" is evident. A closed and narrow mindset, an inherent discomfort to any dissenting view, and a latent opposition to freedom of speech. Why should children be taught good values on threat of retribution.
I refuse to believe that it is impossible to imprint upon children good values regardless of the age group, provided the parents do it properly. It's very easy to pass on ethics and morals if you yourself have a moral system that is a result of your own deciding. I am sure morality instilled this way will stay with them forever.
Religious approach
Do not lie...Because the god will punish you and send you to hell.
Non religious approach
Do not lie...because it hurts when one lies to you or it makes the other person feel bad.
How simple is that...It's absolutely arrogant and insulting to think that children are not capable of understanding this line of thinking. Many of the world's most developed countries have significant nonreligious populations. And yet,their social and moral fabric is stronger than ever. It's true that such type of thinking has a long way to go till it is pervade in our country.
But there is a ray of hope. More and more people are becoming liberal, rational and open minded thanks to tremendous amount of "unbiased" information and meeting people sharing similar ideology. They are understanding the fallacy behind the religious way saying what is good and what is bad. And hence I hope this generation will make sure that its children are brought up with a pristine set of values derived from their parents alone and not some artificial source.
To sum it up, be good not because someone up there might be keeping an account of your activities, but because you are inherently a good person.
See ya.
I love to watch debates. Especially those featured on BBC (The big questions). They are attended and participated by people in all walks of life and are conducted in an extremely democratic and secular manner. More often than not both sides present rational arguments. There are of course bad apples sometimes, but on an average it's intellectually enriching. The themes covered are primarily ethics, morals, religions etc.
The post is about the one I recently watched. And I had strong opinions on that one. So decided to tickle my dead blog with this mulling.
The issue : Is religion good for children?
Is childhood indoctrination necessary? Would they be lost for moral code without religion teaching them one? Are they incapable of being good human beings without this religion-derived set of values.
I think absolutely not. I think being good to people, having a sense of obligation towards fellow human beings etc. are inherently wired into our brain over the years. There is a reason man is called a social animal. Yes there is a give and take kind of a motive also. But all these traits form a very strong moral code in itself without the need of any external enforcer like religion.
There was a beautiful quote I came across on Facebook, "if religion is the only thing that stops you from being a horrible person, then you already are a horrible person". (amazing content on Facebook, that's going to be my next topic.)
This is one of the reasons why atheists/non-religious are still looked down upon in our society. Anyone who denounces the notion of a higher power is consider morally corrupt. This is particularly understandable in a milieu like that of India. Thanks to the years and years of cementing and defining the social and moral structure by the religions. That too dime a dozen.
One should ask oneself does one have an authority to spew morality lessons, when his/her good-doings are based on such a brittle foundation. Just the other day I was having an argument with a friend about religions bringing out good in people. I asked him, if your religion is removed out of the equation would he immediately turn into a murderer, a rapist, a thief. I do good things not because I am coveting a place in heaven or fearing the heck. I do good things because it makes me feel good.
And same is the case for any psychologically stable human being.
And that's why I am against childhood indoctrination. To borrow another beautiful quote, "children should be taught how to think and not what to think". Unfortunately in our society this rule will be taken as a blasphemy. The results of such "training" is evident. A closed and narrow mindset, an inherent discomfort to any dissenting view, and a latent opposition to freedom of speech. Why should children be taught good values on threat of retribution.
I refuse to believe that it is impossible to imprint upon children good values regardless of the age group, provided the parents do it properly. It's very easy to pass on ethics and morals if you yourself have a moral system that is a result of your own deciding. I am sure morality instilled this way will stay with them forever.
Religious approach
Do not lie...Because the god will punish you and send you to hell.
Non religious approach
Do not lie...because it hurts when one lies to you or it makes the other person feel bad.
How simple is that...It's absolutely arrogant and insulting to think that children are not capable of understanding this line of thinking. Many of the world's most developed countries have significant nonreligious populations. And yet,their social and moral fabric is stronger than ever. It's true that such type of thinking has a long way to go till it is pervade in our country.
But there is a ray of hope. More and more people are becoming liberal, rational and open minded thanks to tremendous amount of "unbiased" information and meeting people sharing similar ideology. They are understanding the fallacy behind the religious way saying what is good and what is bad. And hence I hope this generation will make sure that its children are brought up with a pristine set of values derived from their parents alone and not some artificial source.
To sum it up, be good not because someone up there might be keeping an account of your activities, but because you are inherently a good person.
See ya.
Well, religions are widely misunderstood and misinterpreted. We could say that religion is needed only by those who choose to put their faith in an external entity and not just on themselves. This is the result of centuries of upbringing and imposing of practices down generations. Religion was to serve as a means to spirituality but has unfortunately turned out to be nowhere close now. Religion has divided people more than it can unify.
ReplyDeleteGood example, I agree that we do not need religion to bring out the morality in us. Religion is faith based, whereas spirituality is understanding based.
I agree with Ashwin, Religions are indeed misunderstood and misinterpreted. The best Sanskrit name which comes close to defining religion is 'Dharma', which can be interpreted as 'set of ethics which are morally right'. These are the same morals which need to be wire framed into young children’s mind so that they turn out to be better individuals. Of course, you can always question these pre-defined ethics and decide for yourself if they are correct or not. I guess that was the core value upon which basis of many a religion was based, but sadly we have deviated from this to such an insane extent that children are threatened with 'hell' and the wrath of a unknown external 'deity'.
ReplyDeleteMorals/ Dharma/ Religion should be taught to young children from the very basics, so that he/she understands why not to do a certain thing logically rather than just mindlessly accepting something that is being imposed. An example of why 'not to lie' in the post can be further broken down to explain the child that when you lie, you steal another person’s right to tell the truth and stealing from someone is not your right, which is 'Adharma'.
~Rohit
@Ashwin
ReplyDeleteIf you would know, almost all of the Abrahamic religions and Hinduism do not at all subscribe to such spiritual discourse. They have a clear guidelines, a well-defined dogma that has to be imprinted upon the young.
Religion has been more of a means to control masses than to spirituality. I do not deny the existence of few that aim at the latter. However just take eg of the top 2 religions in the world. It's the majority. And a majority within them use their religious books, that contain objectionable verses as a guide book to life. And worse, they teach that to the kids.
If a majority misunderstand and misinterpret their religion, then may be there is something wrong with the religion itself isn't it. It isn't always convenient to disabuse oneself only from the wrongdoings of one's religion and laud the good parts.
Pardon the detour, but I would have loved to be in a world where it were used as a mean towards spirituality, and more importantly, was not infringing upon the free will of someone else.
Sadly it isn't so. Correct me if I am wrong.