Getting baptized is a very special moment in many people’s lives. Some are baptized as babies, while others make the choice to experience this rite of passage later on in life. But for those of us who don’t identify with some form of Christianity, this ritual can be skipped. Unless a relative forces you to go through with it unbeknownst to your parents…

Below, you’ll find a story that one teen shared on Reddit detailing how she got revenge on her aunt who attempted to pressure her and her brother into adopting the same religious beliefs, as well as an interview with Dr. Jerry Coyne. 

Everyone has the right to choose their own religion

Image credits: drachukandrii (not the actual photo)

But after one woman decided to baptize her young nephew without permission, his older sister decided to get revenge

Image credits: Katherine Hanlon (not the actual photo)

Image credits: macniak(not the actual photo)

Image credits: Vibing_Jellybean

While it’s common for people to be passionate about their religious beliefs, it’s important to understand that not everyone will hold the same views

Image credits: Rodolfo Clix (not the actual photo)

According to Visual Capitalist, nearly 84% of the planet’s population identifies with a religious group, with the most prominent religions being Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism and Folk Religions. And while many individuals grow up practicing the same religion as their parents, it’s important for everyone to have the chance to choose whatever religion, or lack thereof, that they identify with. To gain more insight on this topic, we reached out to Dr. Jerry Coyne, Emeritus Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Chicago.

Dr. Coyne was kind enough to have a chat with us about some of the issues that can arise when adults feel the need to indoctrinate children into their own religions. “First, it almost always makes the child adopt the religion of the parents, so they don’t get to choose their faith—or lack of faith,” he told Bored Panda. “That could be done only after exposure to the tenets of many faiths and by attaining an age that allows a mature choice. 

“More importantly, it indoctrinates the child into accepting religious superstition, as well as thinking that faith alone is a good reason to accept truths about the world—truths that actually can be found only through empirical observation,” Dr. Coyne went on to explain. “Finally, it deludes children into thinking that their faith is the correct faith, when in reality we have no idea whether any faith is correct, or even if there is a god to worship.”

“In reality, we have no idea whether any faith is correct, or even if there is a god to worship”

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Image credits: Pixabay (not the actual photo)

And while there is nothing inherently wrong with being religious, as it can bring a sense of peace to many people and many religions focus on being charitable, introducing one narrow view of religion too early might actually backfire. One study of nearly 1,200 children between the ages of 5 and 12 found that religious beliefs can actually negatively influence a child’s altruism. Within the study, children were asked to choose stickers and then informed that there were not enough for everyone in the school to have some, to see if they would share. They were also shown videos of children pushing and bumping one another to see what their reactions would be. 

“The findings ‘robustly demonstrate that children from households identifying as either of the two major world religions (Christianity and Islam) were less altruistic than children from non-religious households’,” Harriet Sherwood wrote in a piece for The Guardian examining the study. “Older children, usually those with a longer exposure to religion, ‘exhibit[ed] the greatest negative relations’. The study also found that ‘religiosity affects children’s punitive tendencies’. Children from religious households ‘frequently appear to be more judgmental of others’ actions’.”

The study found the non-religious children to be the least judgmental, and interestingly, the report noted that religious parents were more likely than others to consider their children to be ‘more empathetic and more sensitive to the plight of others’. So what is the appropriate way to introduce religious ideology to children without pressuring them into one specific set of beliefs?

In fact, children who are indoctrinated into one specific ideology often end up abandoning those beliefs as they get older

Image credits: StiahailoAnastasiia (not the actual photo)

“The only way I know is to refrain from imposing ANY pressure on a child to accept the religion of their parents until after they’re exposed to the variety of the world’s faiths—perhaps in a comparative religion course in schools,” Dr. Coyne told Bored Panda. “I realize how hard this is for some parents to do—and not all schools offer such courses—but some children have been brought up this way.” It can be wise for parents to raise their children in this way, even if they hope that one day they will find religion, because plenty of people who are raised in religious households don’t hold onto those beliefs forever. In fact, 62% of religiously unaffiliated Americans who were raised in religion abandon the beliefs of their parents before they even turn 18.

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Dr. Coyne urges moms and dads to allow their children to form their own beliefs over time, rather than pressuring them to follow a specific path from childhood. “Let the child grow up and make their own choice of what to believe, or to believe nothing at all about gods,” he says. “Although Richard Dawkins has characterized [religious indoctrination] as ‘child abuse’, I wouldn’t go quite that far. But it is indoctrination and propagandizing that is simply wrong.” If you’d like to learn more about Dr. Coyne and check out his books, be sure to visit his website Why Evolution Is True right here.

We would love to hear your thoughts on this topic in the comments below, pandas. How do you feel about the actions of this aunt? Do you think she got what she deserved? Feel free to share down below, and then if you’re interested in reading another Bored Panda article discussing why some people from religious families decided to become atheist, you can find that story right here.     

The teen later provided additional information on the situation, answering a few readers’ questions

Many people were amused by the story, applauding the teen in the comments and sharing suggestions of ways she could further poke fun at her aunt

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