While parents have a say in their children’s choices up to a certain extent, there are some things that, at a certain age, children should be able to form their own beliefs about. One of these things is religion. Just as it would be wrong for parents to not allow their child to practice religion, it’s wrong to force those beliefs onto them.

Studies have shown that children begin to form their own beliefs as early as five and even more so at the beginning of their teenage years. They begin to form different views on various topics as they gain more experiences in life. As this happens, this may cause a child to choose not to follow the religion they were brought up in, or even start practicing a whole new religion.

While there are parents who wouldn’t mind their child having different beliefs than them, there are situations where the parent believes their child has to follow the same thing as them, or that they get to decide their child’s views and beliefs. Having to choose between their parents’ love and their own personal beliefs can cause unnecessary and harmful stress, possible struggles later on in life, and in severe cases, religious trauma. Not only that, but parents forcing religion onto their children may cause the child to resent religion in their family. This disconnection can possibly harm the relationship between them and their parent(s).

Not allowing a child to make their own choice on whether or not to follow a certain religion renders them unable to form their own views regarding this topic. As an important part of forming beliefs is experimenting with different things. Parents forcing religion upon their children does more harm than good, considering that even if a parent makes their child attend religious practices or events, that doesn’t automatically mean that they’ll believe in it. In the end, it boils down to parents wanting to have control over their children.

Instead of forcing their own personal religion, parents should be open to the possibility of their child not believing the exact same things as them. They could try having an unbiased discussion with their child about why they do or do not believe in religion, and could try to be open to their child experimenting with different views.