Do children understand religion?

[fhbnfghnbfgbsnbg]

In the video featured in this post, the narrator laments how the "main character" should introduce the little girl playing in the street (God knows why she's playing in the street, anyway) to Jesus.
Problem: Would the little girl comprehend him? If she was very, very young would she comprehend what he was telling her about the afterlife and "accept Jesus"? If she didn't understand, would she still go to hell?
This brings me to my topic of discussion, i.e. my title. Do children really understand religion? Do kids really get what Sunday School and the like are telling them, or is it just brainwashing?

When I was young, the total of 4 or 5 times I attended sunday school I don't think I got the message, seeing as I don't remember what they taught me nor did it impact me in anyway.
I do recall, however, that they gave out free stuff.  

[Daffodil the Destroyer]

I can't watch the video right now, but when I was a kid I went to Sunday School every week. I understood the stories we were learning, but it didn't even cross my mind to question it until I grew up... but it wasn't like brainwashing at all.

Kids are totally capable of understanding religion, provided they're interested in learning.

 

[D i v i n i t y]

I went to Church every sunday from age 5 ish until around... 14?
I started really doubting when I was 13 though and only went to Church because I was forced by parents. I actually believe that I was a deist that regularly went to Church and didn't even know what "deism" meant. Staring at age 16, I started becoming religious again because of my new friends when I moved to a new school. My school has a lot of very religious people and I have many very religious friends.

When I was young, I understood the stories of the Bible but only believed them because an adult was telling me about them. I could no more critically evaluate my beliefs any more than I could solve an algebraic equation :S
When I got older, I started questioning though smile
So, yeah.. I do believe little kids are mostly getting brainwashed.  

[Athena_Ritashe]

I could only get a rudimentary grasp of it when I was quite little, I started to understand the whole "he died for your sins" thing at about eight or nine. I remember having trouble counting to ten when I was three or four, how could I understand the basic doctrine of Christianity?

I really don't think they teach children this stuff because they understand it but so that they are indoctrinated, and cannot shake the brainwashing off once they are old enough to start questioning it.  

[[-Erik-]]

No, they don't.

Their minds are still too small to understand such matters.

I belive they simply say they belive in religion beacuse their parents are telling them to do so. I mean, children look at their parents as the biggest heroes, and why would your heroes lie to you?

At least that's what I think, since children tend to so gulible.

 

[migoto-kami]

I went to Sunday School until I was about 18. But I became an atheist around 8. Even though I attended every Sunday I always thought the stories our teacher told us were a little silly. I never fully understood religion until I was 14. I even think that the decision I made was a little rushed.

But I digress...

No. They can not comprehend such ideas.

 

[Daffodil the Destroyer]

Most parents don't think of it as brainwashing or approach the subject in a brainwashing manner. The parents think that the Bible and such are true, so they teach it to their children just like they would teach them about history.

If anyone's aiming to brainwash kids, or to give them ideas early on so that they're harder to shake later, it's the higher-ups in the churches (dominionists particularly - groom them young so they become just as fanatical as Muslim suicide bombers... Jesus Camp, anyone?)

 

[Henneth Annun]

Been meaning to post here for a few days now.... xp

No, I don't think they get it at all. They're not even capable of doing so.

Teaching them a religon as the only path and as the absolute truth pretty much amounts to brainwashing even though the parents don't think of it as such.

Kids just latch on to what their parents and respected figures tell them, it's in their nature.

I think they're taught early so that they learn not to question things, because once you start to do that, you'll realize that it doesn't make as much sense as you once thought.  

[Dathu]

Everyone said what I was gonna say, so I'm just gonna pick my nose for gold and donate it to my local church, because I like to support my religious community. surprised  

[Henneth Annun]

I thought of a new ploy to get cuttlefish for my aquarium.

I think I shall somehow take advantage of the religious community and use them to donate cuttlefish to me. ninja  

[In Search of a Dream]

Dathu

Everyone said what I was gonna say, so I'm just gonna pick my nose for gold and donate it to my local church, because I like to support my religious community. surprised

Same. Although I'm keeping the gold.  

[fhbnfghnbfgbsnbg]

XWraith_LordX

Been meaning to post here for a few days now.... xp

No, I don't think they get it at all. They're not even capable of doing so.

Teaching them a religon as the only path and as the absolute truth pretty much amounts to brainwashing even though the parents don't think of it as such.

Kids just latch on to what their parents and respected figures tell them, it's in their nature.

I think they're taught early so that they learn not to question things, because once you start to do that, you'll realize that it doesn't make as much sense as you once thought.

I don't know about that last part.
Though I've had limited church expierence, no one I've ever met has given any implication of trying to "brainwash" me.
Even when I was one of the only atheists at a week-long church camp.
It just seems... idealized to declare that they're trying to brainwash. Romanticizing it.
I'd just say they're trying to "save" rather than deliberately march a child off to church with the intent of ramming the message of Jesus into their head so that they'll have another minion in the future.
They believe that Jesus has saved them. They want the child to be saved as well.
This brings the concept of "them" as an entity. Much like "Everyone".  

[Henneth Annun]

KuroFur

XWraith_LordX

Been meaning to post here for a few days now.... xp

No, I don't think they get it at all. They're not even capable of doing so.

Teaching them a religon as the only path and as the absolute truth pretty much amounts to brainwashing even though the parents don't think of it as such.

Kids just latch on to what their parents and respected figures tell them, it's in their nature.

I think they're taught early so that they learn not to question things, because once you start to do that, you'll realize that it doesn't make as much sense as you once thought.

I don't know about that last part.
Though I've had limited church expierence, no one I've ever met has given any implication of trying to "brainwash" me.
Even when I was one of the only atheists at a week-long church camp.
It just seems... idealized to declare that they're trying to brainwash. Romanticizing it.
I'd just say they're trying to "save" rather than deliberately march a child off to church with the intent of ramming the message of Jesus into their head so that they'll have another minion in the future.
They believe that Jesus has saved them. They want the child to be saved as well.
This brings the concept of "them" as an entity. Much like "Everyone".

Well no I didn't mean they do it on purpose and think of it as brainwashing, they certainly don't set out with that intention while cackling evily in their basements, but sometimes it just sort of amounts to having some of the effects as brainwashing.  

[fhbnfghnbfgbsnbg]

XWraith_LordX

KuroFur

XWraith_LordX

Been meaning to post here for a few days now.... xp

No, I don't think they get it at all. They're not even capable of doing so.

Teaching them a religon as the only path and as the absolute truth pretty much amounts to brainwashing even though the parents don't think of it as such.

Kids just latch on to what their parents and respected figures tell them, it's in their nature.

I think they're taught early so that they learn not to question things, because once you start to do that, you'll realize that it doesn't make as much sense as you once thought.

I don't know about that last part.
Though I've had limited church expierence, no one I've ever met has given any implication of trying to "brainwash" me.
Even when I was one of the only atheists at a week-long church camp.
It just seems... idealized to declare that they're trying to brainwash. Romanticizing it.
I'd just say they're trying to "save" rather than deliberately march a child off to church with the intent of ramming the message of Jesus into their head so that they'll have another minion in the future.
They believe that Jesus has saved them. They want the child to be saved as well.
This brings the concept of "them" as an entity. Much like "Everyone".

Well no I didn't mean they do it on purpose and think of it as brainwashing, they certainly don't set out with that intention while cackling evily in their basements, but sometimes it just sort of amounts to having some of the effects as brainwashing.

All right, that works.
Just saying we all (myself included) have a tendencey to paint these people as the purest evil, when your average Christian isn't usually out to take over the world.  

[Athena_Ritashe]

KuroFur

XWraith_LordX

KuroFur

XWraith_LordX

Been meaning to post here for a few days now.... xp

No, I don't think they get it at all. They're not even capable of doing so.

Teaching them a religon as the only path and as the absolute truth pretty much amounts to brainwashing even though the parents don't think of it as such.

Kids just latch on to what their parents and respected figures tell them, it's in their nature.

I think they're taught early so that they learn not to question things, because once you start to do that, you'll realize that it doesn't make as much sense as you once thought.

I don't know about that last part.
Though I've had limited church expierence, no one I've ever met has given any implication of trying to "brainwash" me.
Even when I was one of the only atheists at a week-long church camp.
It just seems... idealized to declare that they're trying to brainwash. Romanticizing it.
I'd just say they're trying to "save" rather than deliberately march a child off to church with the intent of ramming the message of Jesus into their head so that they'll have another minion in the future.
They believe that Jesus has saved them. They want the child to be saved as well.
This brings the concept of "them" as an entity. Much like "Everyone".

Well no I didn't mean they do it on purpose and think of it as brainwashing, they certainly don't set out with that intention while cackling evily in their basements, but sometimes it just sort of amounts to having some of the effects as brainwashing.

All right, that works.
Just saying we all (myself included) have a tendencey to paint these people as the purest evil, when your average Christian isn't usually out to take over the world.

Of course the parents believe what they are teaching their children and see it not as indoctrination, but telling them the truth. I think even when children are young they do understand it, at a very rudimentary level and once they grow older they understand it more fully. They are far more likely to simply accept it as the truth instead of questioning it since it is reinforced by their parents, church and the general community at large. It is not common for children to not accept what they are taught, though some do not accept the stories. Only when they are older will they see the inconsistencies of the bible, and then some will have a very difficult time losing faith because it is so ingrained in their psyche.