I think that’s a very good question, and I think many queer people instinctively answer that question with a resounding no. We know what the negative consequences are of having religion imposed on us.
I don’t think the general public though are so united in their answer. I wrote a story some time ago opposing the religious right of the Amish in the United States not to educate their children to the minimal standards specified by state-level education laws and regulations.
Kids born to Amish families have religion forced on them. More than one third of them leave the Church when they become adults, yet they are severely educationally and vocationally challenged, usually for the rest of their lives.
You’d think people would uniformly oppose using religion like that to severely hurt kids. It should not be a big deal to say that every child in the United States is entitled to a general education no matter what religion the child’s parents practice.
That doesn’t seem to be the case. I got strong pushback from people who insisted to me that Amish people must have the right not only to force their religion on their children but to use that religion to irrevocably harm the children who decide eventually to leave the religion.
