Religious-right strategists target children aged four to fourteen for indoctrination
Evidence
The largest and most strategic group of people in the world, he observed, are children between the ages of four and fourteen, the stage of life at which most people form their religious identities. “Every major movement in history has grasped the need to target the next generation in order to advance its agenda and secure its legacy into the future,” wrote Dr. Wess Stafford, president of the youth-focused ministry Compassion International, in the introduction to the book. “Political movements (like Nazism and Communism) trained legions of children with the goal of carrying their agenda beyond the lifetimes of their founders. World religions have done the same with the systematic indoctrination of their young—even the Taliban places great emphasis on recruiting children.” — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers, 989
Categorization
- DEFINE: Defines the ‘4/14 Window’ concept that now organizes the CEF’s global child-conversion work.
- XREF: connects to: Religious right childrearing doctrine frames infants as rebels needing force — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers: Inside the…, 642; Children adopt beliefs backed by adults’ credible displays of devotion.; Child Evangelism Fellowship deliberately exploits child psychological vulnerability to recruit converts — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers: Inside the…, 988 (+4 more)
Broader Connections
- Child Evangelism Fellowship deliberately exploits child psychological vulnerability to recruit converts
#exemplifies(0.95) — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers, 988 - Children adopt beliefs backed by adults’ credible displays of devotion.
#expands(0.85) - Religious liberty does not extend to imposing non-consensual harm on children
#responds-to(0.75) — , The Rod and the Child, 7789 - Identity crisis makes adolescents susceptible to totalistic ideological groups
#expands(0.75) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 4120 - US law limits parental religious authority where children would be harmed
#responds-to(0.75) — , The Rod and the Child, 10844