Religious effect on children's critical thinking *

http://omeka.lib.fsu.edu/files/original/5956982422caac2340c95c21f7c18764.pdf

An essay dealing with the impact of forcing a child into a religion early in life.

[Cory Weintraub, Fall 2015]

This essay has to do with the implication of forcing a child into a religion before they can fully understand the meaning of this action. The main focus surrounds the idea that fostering critical thinking, and allowing a child to embrace all religions early in their life being more beneficial than choosing a path for them. The relationship between memorization and critical thinking is discussed and applied to young adults critically examining the different aspects of religion. Multiple interviews are shown in this document. These interviews are concerning families which entered the child into their religion early on and families which allowed the child to discover different ways of thinking for themselves. A brief discussion on religion in schools and how to effectively grow an interest in other religions in a child. Not only are religions involved, but also other cultures and how parallels can be drawn between teaching about religion and teaching about culture can overlap. Ultimately the position of allowing a child to embrace all schools of thought from an early age, then allowing for critical thinking regarding all religions, until finally reaching a consensus on the type of faith they would like to experience is bolstered.