Religious Education as Sex Abuse

I've previously noted the degree to which the concept of religion as a set of truth claims has fallen into disfavor among cultural elites in our society. There is a column in today's Christian Science Monitor by Ghassan Rubeiz that takes this one step further, basically arguing that children should not be educated in a religious tradition that views its claims as objectively true (as opposed to simply being valid for those who choose to treat them as valid for their own lives). Many of Rubeiz's recommendations to parents, such as the importance of exposing children to the beliefs and practices of other faith communities, are certainly laudable. But there is a more sinister undercurrent to his argument, a sort of monistic "I'm OK, you're OK" worldview that verges on the non-negotiable, in Rubeiz's view, when it comes to the spiritual shaping of a child. He complains that too often children "are not taught about other religions or at least about the validity of other religions," and that when children are brought up in a faith tradition, "they take it as a prescriptive formula, a community membership, a set of facts and a pass to salvation." He urges parents to teach their children that all religions are "different paths to the same Source," and concludes with the (haunting, in my view) prediction that "NGOs and governments may one day adopt the theme of religious pluralism for children and advocate for it globally" because "[c]hildren deserve to be protected from abuse of fanatic religious socialization just as much as they deserve to be protected from sexual abuse or child labor."

I have no problem with parents who choose to raise their children with the belief that all religions are equally valid and essentially interchangeable. But I have a significant problem with the suggestion that raising a child with the belief that a particular religion is objectively true (which may logically entail that certain claims of other religions are false), is equated with exposing the child to sexual abuse. And unfortunately, I don't think this column represents the fringe view on this issue. It underscores my previously expressed view that religious voices may need to focus more on carving out spheres of community and individual autonomy for themselves, rather than seeking to impose their vision of the common good on a society-wide basis. It is becoming increasingly clear that modern liberalism's idea of the common good will not always be recognizable to those who view religion as more than a preferred lifestyle, nor will it necessarily be accommodating. The question becomes not whether society will reflect an anthropologically authentic vision of the common good, but whether society will even tolerate the pursuit of such a vision.

Rob