Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints polygamist ranch in Texas
Are you surprised, or perhaps even outraged by this story? While extreme, this is basically one of many examples of the religious brainwashing that our young are subjected to on a regular basis. Children by nature trust their parents. What children are taught at an early age stays with them for life. It is impossible for a young child to make a judgment regarding faith. They are too young to understand these supernatural ideas. Therefore, it is not possible for a child to be a Christian, a Jew, a Muslim or whatever their parents happen to be. When parents force their superstitious beliefs upon their children, this is a form of brainwashing.
Religion is like a virus that infects the majority of the world’s population and we are passing this infection on to our children. It teaches them to believe in things that can not be tested or proven and in reality is superstitious nonsense. Religion is like an infection of the masses that continues to spread generation after generation. It’s a virus that causes delusions of the ultimate imaginary friend.
Why is this bad? Because it teaches children not to think. Religion teaches them ancient superstitious beliefs, rather than facts and it is a slippery slope that often leads to segregation, bigotry and hatred. Religion is a destructive force that has caused anger and bloodshed throughout human history. “My God is better than your God” or who’s imaginary friend is the real God? In reality, there are no gods. For those who are able to think – in spite of childhood brainwashing and social pressures – it is clear that believing in an invisible friend up in the sky is just ridiculous. Also, religion is not necessary in order to give children a moral foundation. We should practice “the golden rule” because it’s the right thing to do, not out of the fear of God or Hell’s fire.
If world peace can ever be possible, we must break this cycle and stop brainwashing our young. Children should be taught facts, not superstitions, so that they can grow up to be open-minded, thinking adults who are able to form their own objective opinions. Their is a difference between teaching a child about the religions of the world and scaring a child into thinking they are going to burn in hell if they don’t believe in whatever particular god their parents worship. They should be taught history, science, literature, mathematics and most importantly critical thinking.
It’s time for free thinkers to step forward and say, enough is a enough. In order to become a global community, we need to move beyond these ancient myths and taboos; we have plenty of real-world differences and problems to overcome. Once a child has been infected with the god virus, it is almost impossible to cure them. As always, prevention is the best medicine.
Imagine
Imagine there’s no Heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today
Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace
You may say that I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
You may say that I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as one
– John Lennon
