and one which bears further inspection - it seems that, directly relative to the level of maturity and intelligence of the adults in the equation, there appears to be a corresponding willingness to accept different political views from their children. The less mature the adults, the more likely an attitude of "I vote XYZ, therefore you shall too, or I will beat you to pulp/death".

Once we reach the level where parents not only accept, but encourage independent political thought, we seem to be knocking on the door of 'extending the privilege' to include religious beliefs.

It's more a continuum of behaviours linked to a continuum of maturity levels (emotional as well as intellectual) and intellectual ability/potential than a sharply-defined predictor, but it seems to hold true for all that.

The (perceived) problem with religious independence of children, is that most parents (up to a certain level of intelligence and maturity) seem to view their own religion as an inextricably interwoven part of their culture, their values, their self-worth, and their achievements - and when they view it this way, the apparent contradictory beliefs of a child that they personally 'coached' into their own belief-system (and who now appear to be rejecting same) strike at the very heart of their own view of themselves and their perception of their own self-worth. The closer the physical relationship between the adult and the child, the more 'traitorous' such perceived insurrection is perceived to be, and the more drastic the reaction.

The only way to deal with this is for the individuals involved to be educated as to what the real meaning of religious belief is (not the dogma and man-made rules that many mistake for belief), so as to allow mature and responsible acceptance of differing belief-systems in close relatives, or even strangers, without resorting to violence in word and/or deed.

And the greatest difficulty is educating people who refuse to be educated, who believe they already know all the answers, and who view any discussion on same to be subversive attempts to undermine their own position. Just the sort of people, in fact, who kill the supporters of other political parties for having the barefaced cheek to NOT agree with their own political views... Or who refuse to recognise Pagan organisations on supposedly all-inclusive religious organisations such as the NILC, NRLF, and MRM...