Since a baby is
not a fully developed human it is not consciously aware of being a part of any
type of religion. However many people are born to religious parents and are
often spoon fed their parents religious views. This is not fair since you are
often forced onto your parent’s beliefs. Children are heavily dependent on
their parents and parents often exploit this dependence by teaching them about
religion. What is important to note here is that religion is not the issue, it
is the lack of choice a child has on developing their own views about it.
Just
because you are born into a religion does not mean you have to adhere to it. Everyone
has the ability to change their beliefs if they do not agree with the ones
presented to them. Whilst there may be constraints on how one would go about
doing so in a religious environment it is not until you become older that you
are really able to comprehend religion anyway. At that point you would be an
Adult and can make your own decisions. The fine line is that you should not
thrust your religious beliefs on your children but rather let them find their
own path with guidance. However, not teaching your children about religion will
leave them exposed to other people’s beliefs.
Religion
is ingrained into a person’s nature from a very young age and often remains a
part of them as they grow older. In addition, there are often religious rituals
that are performed on babies that vary depending on the religion. For instance,
a Muslim baby would have the adhaan (muslim call to prayer) whispered in their
right ear as the first thing they hear. Rituals such as these make them a part
of the religion but they still have no choice.
There is no such thing as a “Muslim baby”, we
all know that a baby is not able to think independently on such a complex
concept. They are rather a baby born
into a Muslim family that is brought up with the religion. Whether they
continue to remain in that same religion is entirely up to them.
Amin, I completely agree with your response to this essential question! Your points were all very interesting and made full sense.
ReplyDeleteBabies are usually defined as innocent because of their empty mind waiting to be filled with memories and knowledge acquired over a life time. The religion you adopt when you are a child depends on three things : the first being the country you are born in, second the importance of traditions and how much they dominate your life and finally the influence of your parents. These factors combined create the illusion of “free will”, while some might believe that humans through their choices and decisions control the outcome of their lives, much of their existence is predetermined way before their birth. Religion is a belief you are born in, molded by and you don’t have the ability to create an opinion for yourself until later in life. The reason for this is because in most religious families it is considered as shameful to move away from what is considered to be the right path. Only until later in life do people usually have enough knowledge and their brain is developed enough to make such important decisions, but by then it is too late because religious teachings have been engrained in their mind’s since childhood. However, the same goes for babies who do not have a religion imposed on them. If they are not guided in any religious way, they are seen as outsiders of the certain society they belong to.
In my opinion, children should be free to chose to follow the religion which makes the most sense to them and not the one that their parents, grandparents, and so on have been taught to embrace. The purpose of a religion is to respect a bond which you create through good acts between you and the God you believe in. No one should be allowed to intervene and interrupt this relationship . A human is free to interpret religion the way they want it.
Yes amine you are totally correct on the basis that babies are born as neutral babies in the basis of faith. No baby has the intellect to know his faith or his belief. This belief in a muslim baby or Christian baby is a wrong thought because the baby should have the right to choose their own belief because for a belief to be strong and for someone to be dedicated to their faith it should be their own belief and not raised as you said into their belief. Quiet interestingly the people that change or convert beliefs into their own they are the best believers. Some people that were raised into a religion might not be as strong in belief for the simple reason that they were given what to think. Honestly in my family my parents do not tell me I have to be Muslim however over the years that I lived and just looking around me I know that my belief is the right belief.
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