It doesn't matter a fig to me whether you agree about very young children's inability to reason, in the science of psychology it's accepted that the ability to reason is, on average, acquired by most children at around seven years of age.
I agree it is accepted that the ability to reason is, on average, acquired around 7 years of age.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brain-waves/201708/how-children-s-brains-learn-reasonBy the way, using the phrase "I agree" is just a normal part of discourse on this forum. It doesn't matter a fig to me whether it matters a fig to you whether I agree about very young children's inability to reason
The various religion based organisations are well aware of this vulnerability of very young children and make a pretty obvious point of grabbing them at this age to enable themselves to get in first mindful of obtaining as many new recruits as they can and of course this like anything else to do with psychology it works on percentages, ie, not every potential recruiting attempt is that obviously successful.
My impression as a Muslim whose children go to a school that has assemblies of a Christian nature, is that parents seem to get in first - in terms of religion/ non-religion, social values, culture etc
The children thinking for themselves after the more vulnerable age over seven years, on average, must be coloured by these attempts to indoctrinate them at the earlier age.
Presumably everyone's thinking is coloured by their early experiences of "indoctrination" in all kinds of areas, not just religion. That just seems to be how social creatures, such as humans, develop in societies.
I very much doubt the phrase people believe this or that is used very often when teaching about religion to the young, so it might be best if any religious teachings other than where it would be so obviously daft to leave it out of a history lesson were left until after all children have reached the age of seven? Then no organisation could justifiably be accused of attempting to indoctrinate any one.
If teaching under sevens to think for themselves can be considered to be indoctrination, well I could easily live with that.
When we teach children morals, we don't tend to use the phrase "people believe this or that" - I don't see the problem with "indoctrinating" children in this way about cultural or social values or religion - children tend to figure out the concept of beliefs and opinions and individualism as they get older.
Whatever you think about differing religions being divisive or not I think it blindingly obvious that it would help to make the world a far better place for all of us if religion was flung out of any schooling and all of our children went to secular schools where we could all grow up together make lifetime friends ect rather than the shabby alternative option of selective schooling.
I would have to disagree. I am all for selective schooling though I am not that bothered about whether the schools are secular or religious. I want a choice of who my children mix with and I would prefer if they mixed with children who have broadly similar aspirations and values to the values I am teaching my children, so if that means schools excluding children who don't fit their criteria, I am fine with that.
Your description of lifelong friendships formed in secular schools sounds naive - are you suggesting that children at secular schools don't bully each other?
