Question: When Do You Get to Choose Your Faith?

When should a child be able to make their own religious decisions? At what age does individual conscience outweigh parental guidance? A UK judge has decided that a 10-year-old should be able to make that choice, despite objections from one parent.

“The schoolgirl’s divorced parents were “at war” over her desire to be baptised at the church her father, himself a convert, now attends. But at the end of an unusual case a judge has ruled that she is mature enough to choose her religion, and alongside his judgment wrote a personal letter to the girl explaining his decision.”

Since the judge cannot order someone to convert, or not convert, he simply refused to place any legal impediment from it happening. You can read more about the case, here.

So, what do you think? How old should a child be before it gets to make his or her own decisions about religion? Would you let your Pagan child convert to a non-Pagan faith? When are they old enough to make their own decisions? Let me know in the comments.