Religion As Punishment

[Recusant]

A fellow mentioned the other day that when he was a youngster he was made to attend church services as a form of punishment. It raises some questions.

On its face, is religion a form of punishment? Does society impose it on its members to oppress them? It's one way of looking at it, and a fairly reasonable one at that.

If it is punishment, are there at least some religious leaders that are aware of what they're doing? Or is it more common for the leaders to think that they're actually improving the lives of their flocks?

I think these are interesting questions. But they aren't the only ones. There are also the particulars of the inspiration for this thread.

Is it foolish to assume that at least one parent also attended these services? It would seem that the parents didn't think much of church themselves if they used it as punishment. Or was it that our fellow atheist found the services so distasteful that attending them felt like torture? While the parents thought "It'll do him good" the opposite was the result.

I can agree on the dreariness of church services. Most priests and reverends aren't particularly compelling speakers, though they often don't realize that themselves. As well, coming up with pertinent and persuasive homilies at least once a week requires an agile mind. Sad to say, agile minds aren't thick on the ground, even among those who find a religious calling. Chances are, you'll get the standard ritual performance of the service, reading from the Bible (o joy!) and a tiresome monologue from a dullard. Week after week. Yes, it could be called tortuous.

On the other hand assuming a parent also attended the services, they were subjecting themselves to the same torture. Perhaps they didn't view it in the same light. Assuming the youngster informed them of the effect of the services, they thought it would be "character building"?

There were siblings who were not compelled to attend church. If their behavior was good enough to avoid church, they must have been exceptional children. 

[Ecurb Noselrub]

I grew up in Southern Baptist churches. I hated church services, which is a probably a sentiment that is shared by many people, if they are honest. On the other hand, I loved the hymns we sang. If Christianity can be said to have contributed anything relevant to culture, it would probably be its music, and maybe its art. I can sing all the verses of many hymns today at almost 74 years of age.

Part of it seems like punishment. Another part of it seems sublime. Go figure.