It is very unfair to raise a child in a particular religion. Children should have the right to understand different religions. Every religion has its own set of guidelines and beliefs. We don't choose our career without exploring all options. Similarly, children should be taught different kinds of options. The family has an influence, but they cannot decide for the child. Children can participate in religious activities, but they should be encouraged to practice different religious practices till they have sound knowledge of all religion-related choices. Children should learn about atheism as well because it is a religious choice. Religion dictates how to live your life. Children should decide how to live their lives and not their parents. By high school, you have a well-rounded education. This gives you the ability to make informed decisions best suited to who you are. Growing up with specific guidelines from religious scriptures are very difficult to change later in life. Teaching values and moral beliefs are very different than asking you to believe in a particular God or religion blindly.

TL;DR - Educating kids about different religions is always good, but being required to question your religion can mess with people's lifestyles. Some people's religious beliefs are part of their identity and this may come into conflict with giving kids the option to change religions. I agree with the idea of giving children more autonomy in their life choices, but religion might be too complicated to choose from at an early age. Although kids are pretty knowledgeable by high school, this doesn't mean they can make life-changing decisions that can change their system of beliefs. People are disposed to certain beliefs at an early age, and sometimes these beliefs are influenced by religion. Religion is not like a job or profession, it can be a spiritual commitment, or system of beliefs, or sometimes the only framework available to determine right and wrong. It depends on what type of attitudes your household has and their relationship with religion. Some households aren't religious so changing religions may not be a problem, but it can be problematic with other households that use religion as part of their identity. For example, I was raised Catholic but never really went to church frequently. My parents were pretty liberal, they just wanted me to believe in God and didn't mind if I changed my religion. I wouldn't have had a hard time converting into another Christian religion, but my parents probably would've worried if I converted into something radically different. I wasn't raised very religious, but even my parents would've been concerned because of their pre-existing beliefs. It's just difficult to start a neutral spot with religion since not everyone is raised with an open-minded and secular notion of religion. Imagine someone that is raised to believe that they are following the one true religion and that reality revolves around god's will. How are we going to explain to this person that they may want to consider choosing a different set of beliefs without contradicting in their own belief that they are following the one true religion? This can easily go existential to someone's lifestyle. Being more informed about different religions and understanding their practices can help inform people about different styles of living but engaging in practices can cause problems with parents, not only of the hyper-religious type but can you imagine being an atheist parent trying to teach your kid about belief systems? there's nothing wrong with doing this but many atheists had bad experiences with religions of their childhood. They probably would rather not have their kids engage with certain religious groups. I know I sound overly critical but I would like for kids to be more educated about different religions but its a difficult subject to resolve since everyone's experience with religion is different depending on how you're raised and where you come from. I like the idea, but the application may be cause problems.

I believe that after about 13 yr's or so, a child should be allowed to choose their religion. I have lived this myself; the family i grew up in are a product of parents that believed this. We were sent to "Sunday school" ( a christian church) until we were 13 and then our father said we were old enough to decide for ourselves. None of us went back to that particular church after we were given the choice. But as we grew older some of us became atheists, some of us have become Christians (of various denominations), myself I am "new age", while another person has chosen to become a muslim. I think my father's philosophy that a child at around 13 and slightly above, has the sense to know what they want to believe, gave us all an opportunity to make up our own minds as to what religion we wanted to be a part of or if we no longer wanted to be a part of religion. We were sent to a christian church but i don't think it matters which church the growing mind of a child is sent to. The important factor is that the child is introduced to certain ideas, values and propositions, concerning the nature of reality. Most of the various societies laws and values are based on some form of religion, even if the government of that country/society is no longer wedded to the religion that originally spawned it's values. So introducing a child to a religion instills in that child, fundamental values, questions and perspectives. Values/perspectives/questions, like: what is right and wrong? What is the individuals responsibilites in being a good community member? What is the meaning of life? How did life first come about and what is the purpose of life? Religion attempts to address these questions and so is good first steps to awaken the mind of a child, as the child becomes a responsible adult. But give the child the choice of continuing or stopping, when the child can begin to think for themselves and before they become so indoctrinated into a religion, that they follow blindly.