--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our society, including the non-religious…" description: "\"“Our society, including the non-religious sector, has accepted the preposterous idea that it is normal and right to indoctrinate tiny children in the r..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/964/richard-dawkins-115_children_our-society-including-the-non-religious_2578786.jpg" --- # Our society, including the non-religious sector, has… ![“Our society, including the non-religious sector, has accepted the preposterous idea that it is normal and right to indoctrinate tiny children in the religion of their parents, and to slap religious labels on them - 'Catholic child', 'Protestant child', 'Jewish child', 'Muslim child', etc…” quote by Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/964/richard-dawkins-115_children_our-society-including-the-non-religious_2578786.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/964/richard-dawkins-115_children_our-society-including-the-non-religious_2578786.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/964/richard-dawkins-115_children_our-society-including-the-non-religious_2578786.jpg) > ““Our society, including the non-religious sector, has accepted the preposterous idea that it is normal and right to indoctrinate tiny children in the religion of their parents, and to slap religious labels on them - 'Catholic child', 'Protestant child', 'Jewish child', 'Muslim child', etc. - although no other comparable labels: no conservative children, no liberal children, no Republican children, no Democrat children. Please, please raise your consciousness about this, and raise the roof whenever you hear it happening. A child is not a Christian child, not a Muslim child, but a child of Christian parents or a child of Muslim parents. This later nomenclature, by the way, would be an excellent pieces of consciousness-raising for the children themselves. A Child who it told she is a 'child of Muslim parents' will immediately realize that religion is something for her to choose - or reject - when she becomes old enough to do so.”” [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker argues that labeling children by religion is arbitrary and harmful, advocating for recognizing them as children of parents rather than of a faith, to promote personal choice. **In simple terms:** Religious labels on children limit their freedom to choose beliefs later in life. Key Takeaway Encourage labeling children by parent’s faith, not by religion. Themes religion children identity freedom society Mood concerned hopeful Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - school curricula - parental guidance - public policy debates - interfaith dialogues Key Concepts secularism social labeling personal autonomy Questions to Reflect On - How would you address cultural traditions tied to religion? - What alternatives support both heritage and individual choice? A Different Perspective Some may view religious identity as integral to cultural heritage. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [It is immoral to brand children with religion. 'This is a Catholic child.' 'That is a Muslim child.' I want everyone to flinch when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/it-is-immoral-to-brand-children-with-religion-this-is-a-catholic/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [A child is not a Christian child, not a Muslim child, but a child of Christian parents or a child of Muslim parents. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/a-child-is-not-a-christian-child-not-a-muslim-child-but-a-child-of/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“That is not a Muslim child, but a child of Muslim parents. 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Please, please raise your consciousness about this, and raise the roof whenever you hear it happening. A child is not a Christian child, not a Muslim child, but a child of Christian parents or a child of Muslim parents. This later nomenclature, by the way, would be an excellent pieces of consciousness-raising for the children themselves. 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