I've been watching 'Australia's Strictest Parents' for a few weeks now (even though none of the parents featured are Australian. Weird, that) and I have noticed one thing that angers me - in the majority of shows, the kids are taken to church and expected to attend, even if they are non religious. For those of you who don't know what the show is about, its basically two bratty kids who get sent to live with another set of parents for a week. Those new 'parents' could be in America, Spain, or in the episode tonight, New Zealand. The new parents deal with their problems and try to send them home as better people. The families for the last few weeks have been deeply religious, and the past two episodes, the kids have been non religious and have not wanted to attend church. In the current episode, the kids were given a choice - either go to church or starve. They ended up starving. One kid is very much non religious and I felt like her beliefs were not being respected. So my question is - is it acceptable to force someone else's kids to attend church? Say you were looking after a friends children, and that friend was an atheist. Knowing that, would you go against their beliefs by dragging their children to church with you?
Of course it is not Ok to force someone ELSE'S kid to attend church. The only exception being if one is a foster parent or adopts. Basically if you assume responsibility for a kid then yes you also have some control over spiritual or religious matters. Just as you can make them go to school or cut the grass you can make them attend church with you. I hardly think it is a relevant issue however. You are using a reality TV show as an example and such shows are scripted for a reason, mainly to generate interest and get ratings. I see no one even trying to force other parents kids to attend church.
I agree that reality shows are scripted. But that doesn't mean my hypothetical couldn't happen - if you were babysitting a friends children, and the next day was a Sunday, which was a day you attended church, would you leave the kids at home, or take them to church with you - even if they protested?
Regarding the TV show specifically, those kind of shows are manufactured and semi-scripted anyway and the kids (and their parents) have consented to the other families acting in loco parentis (effectively if not legally) for the duration. I think it's a poor example for any wider question. As a general rule, I'm not convinced children should be forced to (or forced not to) attend religious services once they reach an age of reasonable independence (probably around early teens). That said, it is ultimately up to their parents until they reach the age of majority. That said, I don't think there is anything wrong with a non-religious person attending a church service (or a religious person attending a service of another faith). There shouldn't be an expectation around making specifically religious acts but the learning experience can only be a positive thing for all concerned.
I sure wouldn't leave them in my house--maybe in a good dog-run they couldn't climb out of, but with plenty of water and biscuits.
People should not force other people's children to go to church. On the other hand, ethical or not, the parents who signed up for this show signed over this right to some other idiots. So the strict parents are forcing church attendance with permission from the other parents by contract.
That kind of question should be addressed with the children's parents beforehand. If the children are old/mature enough to be left alone then their wishes can be taken account of too. Ultimately though, I don't think it's the end of the world if a child simply attends a one-off mainstream church service.
Its a TV show where parents send their kids off to be parented by someone else. It would silly to expect the children to follow every rule of the new parents except for going to church.
Well, I think if you have the parents' permission, it's fine. IMHO, part of the premise of the show is that the parents give permission for the other parents to do as they see fit. Do I think it's a good thing? Probably not, but it makes for interesting TV.
Well, I would talk to the parents ahead of time. If the parents said no, my wife and I would take turns going to Mass. I have taken care of friends' children on weekends and have taken them to Mass with us. No problem, but we talked about it ahead of time, and the kids didn't object either.
If you sign up for some stupid reality show? Yes, I think it is perfectly acceptable as you are consenting to being subject to someone else's methods.
I think in practice they're probably assigning legal responsibility to the production team, not the other parents.
In such case, I would let my friend know that I go to Church Sundays, and if I am needed to watch the kid, I will take him/her with me to church. Of course I could always try for Saturday evening. But I would let the parent know first. And if they reject to me taking their kid to church, I would try and work around it with them...Point is, if they say no, then I would respect that. Its their child, not mine.