squashed:

robot-heart-politics:

Religion has yet to be allowed as an excuse for parents abusing, neglecting or otherwise failing to promote the well-being of their child. I don’t think we should start doing so now.

Contrarily, it always been used as a justification for treating children differently for years. Wisconsin v. Yoder said the Amish do not have to send their children to school past eighth grade. I don’t know of any challenges to allowing children to stay home on religious holidays. Many states have religious exemptions to mandatory immunization programs. Many states have explicit religious exemptions to their medical abuse laws. The question is how comfortable we are having the majority trample a minority’s freedom of conscience because we think we know what’s best for their children.

Who defines what is in the best interest of the child? Most of the time it should definitely be their parents and not society or the government. (I’m not talking about parents having the “right” to deny necessary life-saving medical care for their child.) Obviously this does not include any abuse, but as a parent you shouldn’t feel pressured into doing something you don’t think is best for your child or your family just because it is what mainstream society is doing.