Bumpy, I think this can be answered by the Child Evangelism Movement and the highly influential evangelical research, data and marketing firm known as the Barna Group.
Founded in 1937 by Jesse Irvin Overholtzer, The Child Evangelism Movement, focuses on evangelizing (aka indoctrination) children between the ages of 4 and 14 years. George Barna belongs to and champions this child focused movement.
In 2003, George Barna published the results of his research that showed “developmental vulnerability” made children under age nine, the most important population to minister or evangelize to.
According to the Barna Group, “The studies conducted by Barna’s firm concluded that churches experiencing great influence in children’s lives were motivated by the realization that children are of special significance to God. Consequently, those churches employed a long-term, multi-pronged strategy that they tirelessly executed to facilitate the spiritual growth of children.”
Last year, in 2023, George Barna was named a senior fellow with the Family Research Council (FRC) which has been designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Barna now leads the FRC’s new Center for Biblical Worldview along with Owen Strachan, who previously led the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, a group that advocates male headship as ordained by God.
In a nutshell, the Louisiana law mandating the Ten Commandments in every classroom specifically targets children ages 4 to 9 (kindergarten through fourth grade) for evangelical indoctrination.
Unfortunately, politicized “indoctrination strategies” like this permeate today’s evangelical / missionary movement.
Since I’ve already published an article regarding my concerns with these religious organizations’ child focused efforts, I will spare myself some typing, and offer a link.
The Faces of Pedophilia
https://meraffey.medium.com/the-faces-of-pedophilia-97fd92d86752
Please note, I updated that article, to include the June 12, 2024, report by the Washington Post
Abused by the Badge
A Washington Post investigation identified at least 1,800 state and local law enforcement officers who were charged with child sexual abuse crimes from 2005 through 2022.
