Children should not be brainwashed with religion

Thanks for clearing up the religion isn"t a huge deal statement, I understand what you were trying to say. I agree we will drop the school point as there are obvious differences between Australia and the US on this matter, however that also means we should not go comparing our laws either. In terms of Mark Joseph Stern, could you provide some evidence or a quote regarding his feelings on Santa? Yes, by subjecting kids to the Easter Bunny and Santa, you are subjecting them to something that is not true. But is religion true? Is teaching kids that (in Catholicism for example) the world was created in 6 days, and that there is a God listening to their prayers true, when there is no evidence to support such claims? As I said, Santa is completely different to religion; it is a childhood legend which kids cease to believe in once they reach a certain age. You say there several studies showing kids raised with religion are psychologically healthier. Again could you provide a link please? To respond to your next argument, "a parents right to choose". Firstly you state that "a parent has the right to abort their foetuses before they are born", however I noticed on your profile page that you are con on the topic of abortion. Yes parents do have the right to choose or control certain aspects of their child"s life. But let"s look at the things you listed: "General physician " this is a living breathing person unlike God. He can help a child recover from illness with SCIENTIFIC knowledge, which is much more reliable than being taught to pray in my personal opinion. "Abortion " again this is an issue with a living organism, and I have already pointed out that your profile already contradicts your pro-choice argument. "Education " a real, not hypothetical concept in which kids learn crucial skills, such as maths, language, science and history etc. These things unlike religion have evidence to back them up and are crucial to a child"s development. The difference between these concepts and religion is that yes, parents should have the right to choose doctors and education for their children because they will actual help them. If you believe that children need to be raised with religion to have good morals and become psychologically healthier, are you then implying that people without religion are not moral people? On the topic of Richard Dawkins, yes he is an atheist, but is well informed on the issue and has more knowledge about religion that you or me combined, which of course he needs to criticize it. I wouldn't"t call him an unreliable source at all. So to summarise my main argument, shoving religion down children"s throats from an early age is brainwashing, as it removes their ability to think critically and analytically on a spiritual level. Religion stagnates our ability to think freely as it has become a part of peoples identity from such an early age. As you brought up fundamentalism, the 27% of Muslims and 7% of Christians who are extremists have these views because from an early age, they have been taught into thinking that their religion is superior to everyone else"s. Is it a majority, no, but out of all Muslims and Christians, for 34% to be extremists is a huge number of people. Sometimes it only takes one however to cause violence, as we have seen on multiple instances throughout the last 15 years. Compared to the other aspects that parents should control that you listed, religion is HYPOTHETICAL. You are exposing children to something that is based on faith rather than reason. To me that contradicts what education is about.