Whats wrong with religious instruction?

Growing up we went to religious instruction. We went because our parents went, and their parent before them, its a cycle. Having grown up now with children of our own they too go to religious instruction. Receiving communion and confirmation is a rite of passage like having a sweet 16, but in gaining spiritual enlightenment thru education and personal life experiences, we can’t help but feel religious instruction is in some way brain washing. Kids are conditioned to believe the opinions of the church. Some of these opinions are good to believe like, "Thou shall not kill" but ideas like, "One Life", "Purgatory" or "entering into Heaven and Hell" are really opinions. Sure we are conditioned to believe these things are fact because the church says so because its what’s written in the bible and we believe these things because were told to take it on faith. But there are many Gospels that never made it into the bible because MAN decided to pick and choose what WE should learn and not learn.

Also faith like we've said earlier to us anyway is a God given gift we are all born with. 'Religion' is just rules put on that faith. So when you have a deep rutted faith (feeling) about one idea or another about the Divine, Heaven, God ect... who’s to say you’re wrong!? The youth of any 'religion' should be allowed to come to their own understanding and perception of Faith with guidance of other spiritual and faith filled people. Youths should be allowed find their own sense and connection to The Divine without being force fed info that has be determined by MAN to be a correct interpretation

One might ask then why do we still send our own kids to religious instruction?

We think religious instruction lays the ground work for a foundation of faith. It does put children on a good road to find a solid connection of their own with The Divine! That said, it may be beneficial to teach these 'church thoughts' as opinion not as facts.