When are teens old enough to control their own spiritual lives?

I wouldn't go out and set an age (as obviously a one-size-fits-all approach to this would be futile), but if I must give a number, I'd say 14. That was when I felt the most change in maturity and understanding in the world around me, as in having a future and empathy...etc.

So, at this point, I feel like I am agnostic along with most of my family members, sans a few Buddhists who married into the family. However, I personally believe in reincarnation.

But then again, I wonder if I'm well informed enough to make a good decision regarding this matter. I don't know much about the Christian and I don't think I've ever read the Bible or Koran or any religious text at that, so my answer is tentative... :)

My opinion 18.

I was pretty secure in my non-belief by about 13. But it only took me *that* long, because I'd never really been exposed to any religions. Some Christian teacher/parent brought bibles to school one day, and that kind've opened me up to the ludicrousness of the whole thing. :P

Depends on the individual child some are ready before others. If they come from a family of church goes

then sooner than ones who's family does not attend services regularly .

I have been going to the same church all my life though I did go to others when I lived other places. I have learned more about spirituality in the past 2 years than in my whole life combined.

Children should be taught from day one by their parents or religious training of choice. As they grow up and graduate from high school there is not much a parent can do to influence them so hopefully they have had a huge influence on them all the child's life.

We can only raise them the best we know how then it's up to them to make their own life.

My family is mostly Christian and that goes back for generations. Once past the teen years and around age 30 people seem to become more interested in their spiritual well being.

I am pretty certain that complete thought control is not possible in older children or teenagers. People try it, by "home schooling", isolating children from all other sources of information and a few go as far as not letting children out of their houses. it is rarely a success.

I'm probably about your age and could give you a long story about someone that I know this was tried on by parents who belonged to some odd "Christian" cult. For example, he was not allowed to speak to the little girl next door for she was Roman Catholic. By the time he was 28 or so he could not hold a job. He lasted about three days in one.

I made a stand around the age of 12. After that I chose to be agnostic because I was so irritated, and pissed off that my father was trying to shove Catholicism down my throat that I didn't want much to do with anything spiritual. Sadly, I think a lot of people have endured similar things, and have turned to atheism because of it. When I became an an adult... I searched out my own path. I read a lot, studied, did research, and analyzed my own experiences, and over time realized that I am a Spiritualist. Having my own brand of faith that I created for myself set everything right in my head. Instead of resenting all of that $hit... I embrace God in my own way. I'm a lot happier now.

IMO, any child who expresses they don't want to attend church should be allowed to opt out. To me it's like forcing a child to attend a movie or show they don't want to see - completely trivial.

On the other hand I think they should be old enough to make wise decisions before joining a church besides the one the family attends. It's easy to get mixed up in weird sh!t when it comes to religion.

I stopped being religious at 15. My parents are extreme fundamentalist creationist Christians. They're the kinds who talk about how the LGBT community shows the "downfall of America", that all scientists are posing evolution as a way to attack god, that the earth is only 6000 years old, yada yada yada.

Luckily, I care for truth, and luckily, I had the internet which prevented my parents from truly isolating me from the facts. So it wasn't long that I realized it was utter bull crap.

They tried their best to indoctrinate all of us, but that only made it, for me, more obvious that it wasn't the truth.

13, since that's the first number that ends with "teen."