The Children Who Were Beaten By Religious Leaders For Being Left Handed

The Devil sits on your left shoulder. The Right is the Hand of God.

I recently spent time with a woman from the United Kingdom who is a vocal human rights advocate. As I was listening to her deliver her talking points, mostly in defense of women, LGBT people and immigrants, she touched on a topic that specifically piqued my attention- something I had been entirely oblivious too, but actually existed until the late 70's.

We’ll call her Mary. Mary was enrolled in a Methodist school at the age of 3. It was a pre-school, prior to entry to kindergarten where teachers would mold the young children to behave in a fashion that was appropriate to their religious doctrine.

Part of the standard discipline during those formative years meant reprimanding children for being left handed. That punishment including beating the left hands of children with objects such as canes, sticks, even slamming books onto their fingers in order to “train” them to use their right hand, not only write with, but conduct any activity with, including throw a ball, play an instrument, raise their hand to respond to a question, use a food utensil or even shake hands. To use your left hand was considered a cardinal sin. An indication of a tainted soul.