Forced religion is cruelty to children
If I were to force my children into sexual prostitution there would be an outrage and I would be crucified. But no one bats an eyelid when I force my children into religious prostitution. Sexual slavery is a no-no. Religious slavery is okay.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
The UK has just passed a law that makes forced marriages a crime. I thought that this law was targeted at Muslims and Hindus until the report said that even Christians are subjected to forced marriages. That certainly came as a surprise although I suspect that forced marriages involving non-Muslims or non-Hindus are probably in the very small minority.
I suppose it is good that the days when parents can force their children into marriages or decide who they can and cannot marry are a thing of the past and parents who continue this practice can be sent to jail. The question would be how many children would dare defy their parents, law or no law, and report their parents who force them into marriage?
I mean, how many children would want to see their parents end up in jail or would they rather meekly obey their parents to save them from a jail term?
To me, the issue of marriage is not as crucial as another issue, religion. Forced marriages are the result of religious and cultural upbringing anyway. Forced marriages, even amongst the non-Muslims and non-Hindus, is because of religious and cultural norms amongst the conservatives or orthodox.
While the UK bans forced marriages it does not ban or make illegal forced religion. And that is more damaging than forced marriages because while forced marriages affect maybe less than 1% of the population, forced religion affects most likely 90% of the population.
Children, from a very early age when they are still incapable of thinking or deciding for themselves, are forced into religion. They are forced to go to the temple, church or mosque and are indoctrinated and brainwashed into believing all sorts of nonsense.
The religious bigots and extremists that exist today all over the world (and is causing so much problems in almost every country) is the fault of their parents who forced them into religion at an age when they were still too young to know any better.
If the UK can see fit to ban forced marriages why can’t it also see fit to ban forced religion? Children should not be forced into any religion. If they cannot drive, or own a gun, or get married, or drink until they are a certain age (because they are too young), then why force them into a religion when they have not even started school yet?
Let the children decide once they have grown up whether they believe in God and if they do then which religion they would like to adopt to practice this belief in God. If from pre-school you indoctrinate or brainwash them, then certainly they would believe what they have been programmed to believe. Even monkeys, dogs, cats, and whatnot can be programmed so what more children?
Indoctrination or brainwashing is considered a war crime if done on prisoners-of-war. But when done on children it is not a crime. And forcing children into marriage is a crime but forcing children into religion is not.
If I were to force my children into sexual prostitution there would be an outrage and I would be crucified. But no one bats an eyelid when I force my children into religious prostitution. Sexual slavery is a no-no. Religious slavery is okay.
What a strange world indeed we live in.
