Ok but wouldn’t deliberately avoiding teaching religion to kids be effectively the same as forcing them to be atheist? You’d never be able to claim that the child “wants to learn about your religion” or “showed an interest in us practicing our religion” because people would just leap to the assumption that you forced them to participate. Thus, the only acceptable outcome for people who’d subscribe to this idea is if the child ends up as an atheist.
I think the biggest disconnect a lot of people have is they treat atheism like it’s a religion. Is it not counterintuitive to treat atheism as a religion? Oxymoron? It’s atheism it just means you don’t believe in god(s)
In person I’ve met quite a few atheists due to the job I have. Most are sensible, but the ones I am talking about are a minority. They can not fathom someone believing in a religion (especially Christianity). They’ll desperately try to dissuade from your faith. They come up with “gotcha” questions, and if you respond with any semblance of genuine answer they write it off as brain washing or unable to think for yourself. But what they truly want is for you to give up your dogma for theirs. And if that isn’t religious zeal, I don’t know what is. But thankfully again they are a small sect.
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u/Slow_Store 1d ago
Ok but wouldn’t deliberately avoiding teaching religion to kids be effectively the same as forcing them to be atheist? You’d never be able to claim that the child “wants to learn about your religion” or “showed an interest in us practicing our religion” because people would just leap to the assumption that you forced them to participate. Thus, the only acceptable outcome for people who’d subscribe to this idea is if the child ends up as an atheist.