Indoctrination

Someone told me that the word, indoctrinate, was too harsh to use for parents teaching their children about religion.
Unsurprisingly, I disagree.

Many Christians don't tell their children, "This is what I believe. I hope you believe it, too."
They tell their small, innocent children, "The bible is the truth. Everything else is a lie, and if you don't believe it too, God will punish you and make you sad all your life. I will cast you out of my house, and when you die after a life of shame, you will burn in hell forever."

What child of four, five, or six years of age has a chance of critical thinking when faced with the loss of happiness, family love and protection, and the parental threat of never ending torture?

This is emotional child abuse of the very worst kind and it should not be accepted in any society that calls itself fair and just.