Crazy Rituals I Will Never Understand

In my Cultures of the South class we watched a documentary on a religious group in the Appalachian Mountains that practices snake handling as a religious ceremony. Every service is based on the handling of poisonous snakes. They will not use non-poisonous snakes. They refer to a passage in Mark that says "they shall take up serpents." They are a very conservative group. They don't wear makeup,cut their hair or seek any type of medical attention. I am a religious person and I understand that everyone worships in their own way, but seriously poisonous snakes. I was cringing just watching. They dance around with snakes in their hands. Many people have died from bites. One of the men in the documentary had been bitten 68 times. I just can not understand how people can do this. It is crazy. They are setting themselves up for serious injury and even death. To make it worse if they are bitten, they do not seek any medical treatment. They just wait it out and hope they survive. Many of the families had lost at least one or two people from snake bites. The kids were also exposed to this. I think that is what agitates me the most. It's one thing if you want to play with poisonous snakes, but to put little helpless babies in this environment it ridiculous. I can't not imagine how I would feel if my child died from something that could have been prevented. Can you say child endangerment? As I understand it, child services has intervened in some cases, but it is hard to do anything without infringing on people's religious freedom. Seriously though, where is the line. A child has no idea what they are doing. Should they be forced into a dangerous environment? I mean to each their own, but don't take you children down with you. I guess I just will never understand some things.