Can parents in your country force children to participate in religious practices

[Neil]

I would imagine so.  Parents can force children to go all sorts of places they might not want to go.  The dentist, the grocery store, church.  Anything else would be madness.

I know this will make you sad, but civilized societies make children slaves to their parents' wills, unless there's some pretty good reasons otherwise.  "Mommy and daddy made me go someplace boring for an hour on Sunday" isn't a very good reason.

Well, parents who are religious show already they are too insane to be able to provide proper guardianship for their children.

And parents who are gay will inevitably rape their children.  Now we're having fun!

[Neil]

I predict it will go the same route as physical punishments against children - 30-40 years ago it was perfectly acceptable in the West to span children, now it is a crime in a growing number of countries in Europe.

And look how well that worked out.

[DontSayBanana]

Go to church? Yes. Parents are responsible for supervision of their children, so they can enforce children going with them to church. Enforce active participation in religious rites? Probably not. On the last board, we had a thread about the "Mormon gulag."

[dps]

Yes, as long as they're minors, children legally can be forced by their parents to do pretty much anything that doesn't involve any criminal activity.  You can even have your minor children doing things to help in your family-owned business that it wouldn't otherwise be legal to hire children of the same age to do.

Of course, when you get to older teens, there is a difference between what they parents are legally able to do and what many parents are actually able to do, but unless you're going to change the age of adulthood, the parents should be able to legally determine where their children are going to go, whether it's to church, to a sporting event, or to visit great-aunt Amy.

[Martinus]

Yes, as long as they're minors, children legally can be forced by their parents to do pretty much anything that doesn't involve any criminal activity.  You can even have your minor children doing things to help in your family-owned business that it wouldn't otherwise be legal to hire children of the same age to do.

Of course, when you get to older teens, there is a difference between what they parents are legally able to do and what many parents are actually able to do, but unless you're going to change the age of adulthood, the parents should be able to legally determine where their children are going to go, whether it's to church, to a sporting event, or to visit great-aunt Amy.

I assume the age of adulthood in the US is 18, right? Can parents force their 17 y.o daughter to have an abortion against her will? Or get a sex change operation? Or force her to marry someone against her will? There is a number of things that parents cannot force their children to do, even though it is not a criminal activity in itself. I understand that according to your "parents should be able" idiocy, parents should be allowed to do any of these things I mentioned.

[DontSayBanana]

I assume the age of adulthood in the US is 18, right? Can parents force their 17 y.o daughter to have an abortion against her will? Or get a sex change operation? Or force her to marry someone against her will? There is a number of things that parents cannot force their children to do, even though it is not a criminal activity in itself. I understand that according to your "parents should be able" idiocy, parents should be allowed to do any of these things I mentioned.

In the case of an abortion, technically yes. However, you won't find a mainstream doctor who'd be willing to perform the abortion under those circumstances. In the case of a sex change, that could potentially be endangerment of a minor, as well as physical abuse. Also, forced marriage would constitute abuse, and could carry charges of child abandonment, kidnapping, and depending on the parents' cause for enforcing a marriage, potentially even racketeering charges.

Children may not have the individual freedoms of adults, but they are protected by numerous laws regarding parental responsibility and responsible custodianship.

[grumbler]

Yes, as long as they're minors, children legally can be forced by their parents to do pretty much anything that doesn't involve any criminal activity.

This is a bit too broad.  The actions the juveniles are "forced" to do must be plausibly in their own interest.  I think a parent forcing a child to get a facial tattoo, for instance,would be considered abuse even if the tattoo is for "religious reasons."  Ditto for such real-world examples as clitorectomies.

[Ed Anger]

I'll force them to eat their vegetables, and GOD DAMN MARTINUS for trying to stop that. You godless communist.

[grumbler]

I assume the age of adulthood in the US is 18, right? Can parents force their 17 y.o daughter to have an abortion against her will? Or get a sex change operation? Or force her to marry someone against her will? There is a number of things that parents cannot force their children to do, even though it is not a criminal activity in itself. I understand that according to your "parents should be able" idiocy, parents should be allowed to do any of these things I mentioned.

Sex change operations can be forced when it is n the child's best interests (there have been some examples of things along these lines), but I agree that there are things parents cannot do, even if they are technically legal in and of themselves.

[DontSayBanana]

I'll force them to eat their vegetables, and GOD DAMN MARTINUS for trying to stop that. You godless communist.

Sorry, dude. Grumbler already neutered your ANGER on that one.

[dps]

Yes, as long as they're minors, children legally can be forced by their parents to do pretty much anything that doesn't involve any criminal activity.

This is a bit too broad.  The actions the juveniles are "forced" to do must be plausibly in their own interest.  I think a parent forcing a child to get a facial tattoo, for instance,would be considered abuse even if the tattoo is for "religious reasons."  Ditto for such real-world examples as clitorectomies.

Sure, but "pretty much anything" isn't the same "absloutely anything".

[Valmy]

Well, parents who are religious show already they are too insane to be able to provide proper guardianship for their children.

Since you already consider any religion that is not insane to not be a religion I guess I concede your point.

'All religions hate gays.'

'This one doesn't.'

'Yeah but that is not a real religion.'

Anything that does not fit Marty's insane and hateful bigotry of the religious is ignored.

[grumbler]

Well, parents who are religious show already they are too insane to be able to provide proper guardianship for their children.

Since you already consider any religion that is not insane to not be a religion I guess I concede your point.

'All religions hate gays.'

'This one doesn't.'

'Yeah but that is not a real religion.'

Anything that does not fit Marty's insane and hateful bigotry of the religious is ignored.

Please do not feed the troll. 

[Razgovory]

If Marty wasn't gay what would he post about?

[HVC]

If Marty wasn't gay what would he post about?

How evil gays are for interfering in the sanctity of straightness, most likely.