How to tell kids there is no god?
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Anonymous
What?!?! Santa’s not real? WTF? How come I didn’t get the memo? |
Anonymous
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OP, I don't believe in God. My 11 year old son doesn't either. What I have told him from the beginning is that religion and belief in God are very personal things. And therefore many people do it differently. That's for them to decide as long as they don't hurt others somehow.
I also told him his beliefs may change as he ages. Mine did. I went back and forth believing and not believing for decades. And I told him that's OK. That's part of "his" spiritual journey. I also emphasize that every religion has aspects in it that ask their members to be kind to others and to help others. And nonbelievers should do the same. The concepts of right and wrong transcend religious dogma of any kind. |
Anonymous
OP where do you live? Your statistical odds of your child having a similar conversation might be very, very low. |
Anonymous
| I was like your daughter OP. I hated the idea that a religion I didn't choose was assigned to me by accident of birth. Your daughter and you are lucky to have each other. |
Anonymous
Seems redundant. Do you preface your posts with “I believe”? |
Anonymous
VA. I had this conversation here. 10 years ago. |
Anonymous
NP: 3 years ago my at-that-time 3rd grader was told, at lunch, that if he didn’t believe in god, that he was going to be thrown into a volcano full of devils who would eat him. Then, later in the day he was cornered by another kid who had been at the same table who told him he was going to go to hell if he didn’t tell him he believed in god, and then blocked him there physically until my son was able to push past him. Fairfax County. Luckily, he had friends he can talk with, both religious and atheist, about that so he did not feel alone or freaked out. Of course he has us, but it’s good he has others his age to talk with, too. It all started when the conversation turned to church and my son started to talk about Buddhism and how there were many different types of religions and places of worship. |
Anonymous
I had this convo with my kid yesterday. I told him all that matters is that people are kind and treat each other with respect. And also, better not to discuss religion at home. |
Anonymous
| ^ oops I mean at school. |
Anonymous
Lie lie lie. Santa is fun. However if my kid asks me about God I’m going to laugh and say “only stupid people believe that.” |
Anonymous
Sorry that happened to your child! |
Anonymous
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Why would she get bullied?
Just be sure to talk to her about how this is personal. She will encounter lots of kids trying their best to work this out, and they might even try to convince her of other views. She should just be kind. |
Anonymous
Well, my Jewish kid believed in reincarnation for a while. He found it comforting and that worked for me. My obligation is to teach him tools, tell him my beliefs, and inform him about what other people believe. It works out. He might have had some unusual ideas as he worked it all out, but he also watched me live my life as a Jew. That is where he landed, |
Anonymous
Also, Kids naturally grow out of Santa and parents don't coerce them to believe against their will. As for saying that "only stupid people believe" in God. That's not true. Some very smart people believe in God. Some change their beliefs once they are adults and some don't. It's irresponsible and dishonest to say only stupid people believe in God. |
Anonymous
| I have told my child not to discuss God or religion at school. He has a huge mix of religions in his background but I, and he are very clearly atheist. Dad is more agnostic. We have talked about what other's believe, what he thinks, what I think and I'm very open about it. He's gotten in debates at school and I tell him to to argue as kids believe what they are told by parents and its ingrained in them. They have to decide for themselves when they are older. |