Many people believe that parents should not teach nor demand religious observance of their faith from their children. Some even go as far to call it a crime. The idea presumes that all religions are false. The proponents of such outlook try to superimpose their atheism on children. It presumes that a religion should be choice just for adults without any "preconditioning" from the parents. Implying from the atheist viewpoint that less adults would chose religion over the "no religion". It might be true, but It would rather for simple reason of such adult being blatantly ignorant of religion and being "preconditioned" by living as an agnostic/atheist. Such choice would be certainly less informed, than other way around (leaving religion as an adult). Putting aside how smug this demand for enforcing parents to raise their children as agnostic seems it is also practically impossible to do so for the parents.
It is natural for parents to teach and raise the children according to their own best beliefs and abilities. Not only they do it naturally. They ought to do it. It is their moral duty to do so. Parent ought to give everything deemed necessary for life. Not just shelter, food, but also immaterial goods which include the religious/irreligious convictions of the parents.
When I was discussing this with a friend. He told me it is like if parents would choose a college program for you. I think it is a bad parallel. The better parallel is the language. All parents, unless they are separated from children, teach their children to speak. It is inevitable. Kids are not learning just by explicit lessons, but by example in other words by what they see their parents to do or not to do. The religious convictions or lack of them permeate the life of family. Children as members of the family participate in the life of the family. If this life includes a religious traditions and practices it would be strange for children not to participate together with the parents to the best of their abilities.
One would might argue that if the parents hold a false religion the children are handicapped. Yes, that is true and however unfortunate and unnerving that may be we are not born on equal plain field. It is not just in this one particular area. When a man is born he has no say in what sex, ethnicity, religion/culture, health is born. More over he has no say whether his parents will be poor or rich, loving or abusive. However it is not about what cards you get at the start, but what cards you have at the end.
