Contamination

I was watching a video, a few days ago that showed babies exploring and being curious, while Neil DeGrasse Tyson was speaking about how that natural instinct of ours to learn and explore; to be curious is quite often squelched by parents and adults at large.
It is called "The Most Human Activity". Watch it here.
This got me thinking.
Parents aren't purposely squelching this natural desire to explore. They are, at least in some cases, I believe, trying to keep the children safe.
However,there is a level of parental participation that falls down a terrible rabbit hole. Indoctrination.
It seems to me that basically forcing the children in our lives to believe things that we believe is falling short of what it means to be a parent. Still millions of parents across the world are purposely forcing their own beliefs on their kids.
Now, some of you will say that I'm overreacting. You will say that it is the prerogative for a parent to decide what to teach their kids. I agree. What I'm saying is it's fine to introduce your beliefs to your kids. What I'm not saying is it's not fine to make your kids feel as though they have no choice to decide for themselves if what you believe is right for them.
The downfall of the Christian Dogma is its mandatory participation. Of course, initially, it's singing Christian songs about Jesus and so on. But very slowly, as the child grows, it becomes inevitable that they make the connection that if they don't believe, or can't, they are sinners and won't go to heaven.
Imagine that!
For years, I strongly doubted and disbelieved. I was terrified to tell my mother, or my church family. I would have alienated myself and caused huge amounts of pain for everyone. All of this, because of indoctrination.
Now, many Christians will say that a child cannot get a good dose of morality without the Christian upbringing. Christians routinely exclude other moralities. None of them are good enough. They adhere to the "train up your child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it" mentality.
And this is not a bad mentality -- it's logical, albeit, not very religious. It can be applied to any child, anywhere.
But this is meant as an internal and not external statement. It refers to spiritual growth, not mental or behavioral growth.
Oddly enough, however, it really makes no difference, either way.
For example, my brother's son was baptised and we were made his godparents. Meaning, that if anything ever happens to my brother, we take over the role of parent. All of this happened in the church that they do not regularly (or ever) attend, and while we were getting ready, my other nephew had to wear this fancy outfit that had a sort of bib on it with the cross in white satin.
He asked his mother why there was a "plus sign" on the bib.
We laughed but this has always served as an example to me. Here was a kid, who, unlike his father or myself, had not been indoctrinated with all of the nonsense they pour into kids. No guilt, no sin, nothing.
He just is a kid. It's wonderful.
On the other hand, children who cannot escape the gravity of the beliefs of their parents, often wind up being so forcefully indoctrinated, that they cannot even begin to think outside of the faith.
The point here is, that it's fine to discuss your faith with your kids and even to extol its virtues. But it isn't something that should be thrust upon them at any cost. Let them decide.
I promise that it will be better for them in the long run, when they call up something they struggle with, and you don't force them at the gunpoint of hell to follow it.
We need to stop contaminating our kids.