Young children should not be forced into religion

Thank you for accepting this debate, however I did state that round 1 was an acceptance round only but as it is too late now I will continue on to your points. Firstly, I am glad that you agree that the government should have no say in this matter however I was focusing more from a community, school and upbringing point of view. I agree that it is a parents right to bring up a child whatever way they see fit however that does not make it morally right. Young impressionable children are being fed religious teachings from a very young age, especially through school and community. I do not feel it is right to shove all these teachings down the throat of a child who is too young to think rationally. All these ideas are being sub-consciously formed in the child's brain which is blatant brain-washing as they cannot possibly know any better because they are being pulled into religion at such a young age. As the saying goes "there is no such thing as a religious child, only a child with religious parents". You say, "Would parents who simply want to have Christian, Jewish, Atheist, Satanic, Wicca, Hindu, or Scientologist kids have their kids taken away because they have faith in their own faith and want to spread it to their kids?". However this is a contradiction to when you say that children are not slaves and can make their own decisions. The idea that a parent feels their kid is taken away because after so much brainwashing, the child ends up not sharing the same views is a very tragic but real occurrence in a lot of cases. Would it not be so much better and moral if a child is taught that religion exists and what it consists of but is not blatantly and helplessly forced into it. That way when the child is old enough and is able to think rationally on the information in which they have received, they can then decide which path to follow, whether it be religious or non-religious. You say that religion doesn't harm children however I feel that it very much can and does. If a young child is told that there is a place called hell and that if they are bad in their life they will go to it, not only is this immoral but it also in no way can be good for the child's pshycology. It is brainwashing an innocent child who cannot think for themselves on the subject. Religion also teaches children that it is okay not to question anything as there is already a supposed explanation and that "God" will take care of everything. This is teaching kids that they are basically puppets and that such ownership is okay. Creationism is taught in many elementary schools. This is filling children with ideas that we know are just not true and how can you say that teaching children false information is not causing them harm? Maybe it isn't directly causing harm but it certainly is mentally causing harm. I agree that families most likely won't crumble over it but this debate isn't about the welfare of families it is about whether it is right or not for children to be forced into religion. I am saying that the idea of what religion is should be taught in school however it should not be taught in a way which is forcing superstitious teachings into an innocent child's head. When the child is older it can then make an educated, thought-out and rational decision on what ideas to follow instead of losing this chance at an extremely early age. Thank you, I look forward to your response.