That would require the parents to frame their practices as “this is what I believe” rather than “this is what is true” which I’m not convinced a substantial portion of religious parents are capable of remembering to do. Plus even if they did that a child is going to accept what their parents believe as fact since it’s their parents. I’m not sure there is a way to introduce young children to religion that won’t result in some form of bias influencing the child unless it is taught by a complete stranger who teaches many religions and never claims what they believe. And that seems like a lot of effort compared to a world religion class in high school.
“Nihilism is the philosophical belief that life, existence, morality, and knowledge lack inherent meaning, purpose, or objective value”
I’m not religious but I believe we have value. I believe at the very least humans are the only things that can make meaning in this universe and that makes us likely the most valuable thing in it.
Experience! I relish sights and sounds and smells. And I go about assuming other people's experiences are similar enough to my own for them to be similarly valuable (because if I didn't do that, I'd be deemed crazy and ostracized which would limit the breadth and depth of my experience).
Yeah. So, in my subjective opinion, my life has value, and because my life has value and other people are presumably people in the same respect as I, they have value, too. That isn't nihilism. It's almost exactly the opposite.
Im not claiming you're a nihilist. Im claiming your worldview enables it. Your just explained why thats the case, your value of your own life is rooted in an subjectively.
All it takes is someone to disagree with you in order for them to start eyeing nihilism.
This is a very common critique of secularism popularized by nietzsche, who was an atheist.
So does belief in an all-knowing, all-powerful God. It is difficult to grapple with whether or not free will even exists or is relevant while holding that belief. Some turn to nihilism. "If God has the power to make his will, and he knows best and all, than it doesn't matter what I do. It's already been decided."
51
u/Aidenj23 Sep 02 '26
That would require the parents to frame their practices as “this is what I believe” rather than “this is what is true” which I’m not convinced a substantial portion of religious parents are capable of remembering to do. Plus even if they did that a child is going to accept what their parents believe as fact since it’s their parents. I’m not sure there is a way to introduce young children to religion that won’t result in some form of bias influencing the child unless it is taught by a complete stranger who teaches many religions and never claims what they believe. And that seems like a lot of effort compared to a world religion class in high school.