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California just passed a ban on ex-gay therapy for minors. It got me thinking in general if there should be legal limits on what parents are allowed to teach to their children, either religiously or otherwise.
Could it be considered child abuse to raise a child as part of the KKK? To force a gay child to attend a very conservative Catholic church? To raise a child with anti-American beliefs and 'off the grid?"
Obviously the decision in CA is a bit different because ex-gay therapy is masquerading as a medical technique. But the same parent who wanted to send their child to such therapy can inflict many of the same techniques in a home setting. Gay children and teens have a high rate of depression and suicide, often because they are in home situations where they are shamed, forced to hid, or pressured to change.
At what point does a parent's individual beliefs cross over the line into child abuse?
Should there be any limits at all to what concepts or beliefs a parent can attempt to pass down?
Absolutely not. The parents have every right to raise children up in accordance their beliefs.
Children who are afflicted with same-sex attraction should be taught that their instincts are not sinful, but acting upon them is, just as a normal newly-teenaged male should be taught to restrain from masturbation and channel his sexual instincts elsewhere.
I do think that taking children away from parents because the parents are teaching ideologies of any kind is wrong. Parents do have the right to attempt to pass down their beliefs.
However, it is not good for parents to isolate the children from other viewpoints. I am not sure what should be done with those who are paranoid enough to totally indoctrinate their children and keep them away from all other views by living in a compound or something like that.
Interesting discussion. My personal belief is that ex-gay therapies should be outlawed altogether.
In general it is a slippery slope as witnessed by how delicate it seems to manage groups that are in the "Hate" grey-area, such as the Westboro Baptist "Church", etc.
To be fair the OP was talking about extremist views.
The OP was talking about the Catholic Church also.
Absolutely not. The parents have every right to raise children up in accordance their beliefs.
Children who are afflicted with same-sex attraction should be taught that their instincts are not sinful, but acting upon them is, just as a normal newly-teenaged male should be taught to restrain from masturbation and channel his sexual instincts elsewhere.
Absolutely not. The parents have every right to raise children up in accordance their beliefs.
Children who are afflicted with same-sex attraction should be taught that their instincts are not sinful, but acting upon them is, just as a normal newly-teenaged male should be taught to restrain from masturbation and channel his sexual instincts elsewhere.
This is exactly the problem. Should the Puritans ever become the majority, then the likely outcome would be that they'd take my kid away, because they won't like my ideology as it's completely opposite of the above.
You can never assume that your ideology is going to be the one held by the people in power, just because it's righteous to you.
So no, the government should not impose limits on the passing down of ideology to your kids.
So the children must shoulder the burden of their parents' beliefs? What about their rights? In the case of the children named after Hitler, I think what you are saying is precisely why the judge took them away. They would have been socially shunned through no fault of their own.
I don't have the answer, but I also don't think parents have free rein to screw up their childrens futures.
Children "shoulder the burden of their parents", period. Good or bad. SOMEBODY has to raise them, it may as well be MOM and DAD. However, MOM and DAD have beliefs that may not agree with you. That's why we have a world of many, many languages, political opinions, religious preferences, etc..
The only people who would shun little Hitler and his siblings are adults. Children have no idea who their monstrous namesakes were. Even most young adults have no idea who they were.
As far as the last highlight goes, do you think we should be handed a government manual to follow when we give birth?
Quote:
Originally Posted by tvdxer
Children who are afflicted with same-sex attraction should be taught that their instincts are not sinful, but acting upon them is, just as a normal newly-teenaged male should be taught to restrain from masturbation and channel his sexual instincts elsewhere.
Elsewhere as in raping girls? Or other boys? Perhaps you mean watching others undress, shower or have sex through windows at night. FYI, masturbation is a healthy thing, for boys AND girls.
It has to be taken on a per-case basis. By that I mean, there is such a thing as emotional or mental abuse, and this could have some overlap with "teaching ideologies" to an extreme. But to set blanket prohibitions on passing down ideology is simply unreasonable. There are laws in place to protect children from abuse, and that is sufficient framework to work from. In fact, even those laws should be under constant close scrutiny.
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