Children raised by religious fundamentalists—can this be a form of child abuse?

[Theda Baratheon]

Life is abuse.

So die or stop whining about it ;)

...very helpful and insightful comment that really added to this discussion, cheers for that.

[rocksniffer]

Life is abuse.

So die or stop whining about it ;)

:lmao: suddenly a reason to stop sniffing and lift a leg in salute...

[Eponine]

Life is abuse.

So die or stop whining about it ;)

I considered killing myself at age 12 because of this :dunno:

[TerraPrime]

And you're not alone. A lot of gay people who grew up in very conservative religious households have contemplated suicide, some more seriously that others, as a result of the conflict that arose from their sexuality and their faith.

[sj4iy]

There are good fundamentalists and bad and everything in between. But I do wish the requirements for homeschooling were stricter...I hate that people can essentially keep their child completely ignorant without any repercussions. One of my cousins is a fundamentalist...so much so that even her own very-Christian-mother finds it over-the-top. My cousin dropped out of high school, got a GED and worked at a gas station- she can't even spell the most basic words, yet she is adamant that she won't have 'liberal' school districts teaching her children all of those anti-christian things. It really makes me feel for her children, TBH. She and her husband are considered 'working poor' and she's going to keep her children in the same exact lifestyle.

[Matrim Fox Cauthon]

The Puritans in early New England controlled public life, banning behavior that conflicted with their version of religious morality. Church attendance was compulsory, other religions were not tolerated. Punishments were severe to the point of banishment and even execution for religious dissent. In order to vote and have a say in government one had to pass a public religious test. Women, of course, were to have no say whatsoever in public life and were to be submissive to male heads of household in private life.

But, yes, they drank.

That sounds like the rest of Europe around that time in which there were state religions and religions that were suppressed. I had a point to make, but what's your point?

[OnionAhaiReborn]

That sounds like the rest of Europe around that time in which there were state religions and religions that were suppressed. I had a point to make, but what's your point?

That your point was wrong, that the Puritans' negative reputation is well earned, and not some product of unfair revisionism. In your post you contextualized them as "America's religious scapegoat," and in the context of American history they are in fact the most extreme example of overbearing theocratic rule. And even if you want to now instead compare to Europe, that hardly lessens Puritan horribleness, it doesn't somehow make them undeserving of their reputation.

[Jo498]

Hm, the Puritans were basically exiled from Europe because of their religious beliefs. Maybe they deserved it but they were hardly special in their intolerance at the time.

As we all know almost everything was perfectly horrible before liberal late 20th century came along.

[Hereward]

No they weren't. The Puritans generally left England because, having failed to seize control of the Church of England and enforce their fundamentalist views on everyone else, they strongly disapproved of the Church of England's relatively tolerant approach to personal belief and the non-persecution of Catholics.

[Matrim Fox Cauthon]

That your point was wrong, that the Puritans' negative reputation is well earned, and not some product of unfair revisionism. In your post you contextualized them as "America's religious scapegoat," and in the context of American history they are in fact the most extreme example of overbearing theocratic rule. And even if you want to now instead compare to Europe, that hardly lessens Puritan horribleness, it doesn't somehow make them undeserving of their reputation.

I disagree that their reputation is well earned. Their reputation and history is often well misunderstood. There is a lot of historical revisionism regarding the Puritans. As I said, the early 20th century anti-Prohibitionists blamed saw a Puritan "zeitgeist" in the Prohibition movement, and a lot of our popular images of the Puritans come from 19th century fiction such as the Scarlet Letter, Thanksgiving, and unhistoric depictions of the Pilgrims. My point was that "southern churches are Puritans in disguise, and Puritans were as bad as they come" is historically wrong and very much scapegoating the Puritans.