Statutory Spiritualism… [View all]
(thinking out loud here, just for the sake of discussion)
... recently, I found myself ruminating on an intriguing legal concept: Statutory Spiritualism.
The concept was formed from a conflation of Dawkin's meme that children should not be viewed or labeled by the religion of their parents any more than they should be labeled by their parent political views and the idea that children cannot legally consent to some actions that are (universally?) reserved for adults only.
While it is perfectly acceptable, and somewhat routine, for an adult to reject a particular political or religious point of view or to switch to a different version, as they please, children do not have that luxury. They are forced to conform to the wishes and conventions (against their will?) of their adult parents/guardians. How many children change or switch or drop their parent-imposed religion upon reaching adulthood? How many children are directly harmed either emotionally or physically by the religion of their parents?
So why should society not create Statutory Spiritualism laws? Make it a societal requirement that only adults shall be subject to the spirituality of their choice. Is it immoral/unethical to force a child into the religion of their parents? There are many adult only actions/options where it would be immoral/unethical/illegal to force a child to participate in, so why not this?
Extending the idea being that individuals under the age of the majority are incapable (within a legal framework) of providing consent for various "adult" activities, sometimes illegal even with parental/guardian approval, to include the realm of spirituality.
Thoughts/Comments?
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