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Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
CMV: Children's exposure to religion should be minimised

Disclaimer: I'm an atheist and generally anti-religious, so I'm obviously coming from a place of bias here. I will, however, try to make the arguments from the assumption that religion isn't all bad, that reasoned faith (as opposed to blind faith or faith solely based on emotion) in a religion is indeed an ideal. Reasoned faith (as I would define it, feel free to challenge this definition) is faith that is borne out of rational engagement with the dogma and knowledge of a given religion.

This view comes from my personal experience observing the activities of Christian Sunday schools. "Educational activities" usually involve drilling into children messages such as "I love Jesus" and "God is great", and children are encouraged by teachers and peers alike when they demonstrate a greater degree of fervent faith. I am arguing that such practices and other ways that children are exposed to religion, at best, teach children that blindly believing in their religion is an ideal, and at worst akin to brainwashing. Hopefully you fine redditors can broaden my view when it comes to other religions as well that I am less familiar with.

I have heard arguments from parents that their children want to go to church. And why wouldn't they? It'll make their parents happy seeing their child with such unshakeable conviction. Or they'll get to spend time with their friends. Children are not considered in the eyes of most laws globally to be able to give consent (in the broadest sense), or be held accountable and responsible for their actions. This is supported by our understanding of neurological development which tells us that a child's brain is vastly different from adult's. Given all these incentives to go to church unrelated to a commitment to recent faith, why should we bring the child to church, knowing that it will likely only develop their ability to blindly believe?

Thinking from the perspective of psychological development, we know that early childhood experience has a huge impact on behavior later in life. When we expose children to these beliefs with none of the nuance that accompanies (some) religious sermons and text, doesn't it make sense that many of these children will go on to believe that blind faith is the ideal, even if they're told otherwise as adults? We also see lots of children leaving religions as they mature, some comparing their childhood experiences with religion to brainwashing.

My policy proposal here is that children not be allowed to be involved with religion until they reach an age where they can make informed decisions regarding their beliefs (probably a recognised age of adulthood, although something as early as 16 might be safe). Failing that, some form of safeguards to ensure minimal appeals to emotion in any religious teachings directed at children.

I recognise the problem that you can't really insulate children from religion simply because religious parents will (consciously or otherwise) teach their children morals and beliefs linked to their religion. That's inevitable, but if we agree that children will have great difficulty taking up religion through reasoned faith, then the intent of my policy proposal still stands: minimising exposure of children to religion. I view organised religious activity as the best place to target.

In anticipation of those who might say that secularism is a religion too (thanks Naomi!), I acknowledge its history but will nonetheless assume it here to be the "default setting" (especially since many governments are secular) and argue that it occupies a neutral place in society.

Thanks for reading and I sincerely hope you can change my view!
gpt
There is no such thing as an absence of ideology, the absence is the ideology.

There is no default setting. By not raising your child with a religion, you are raising them as atheist.

Christians or some other group that sees their views as the default could use your same arguments and laws to ban exposing children to atheism until they are older.