Reply to As an Atheist, what do you tell your little kids?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I guess I’m more agnostic than true atheist since I’m holding out that 1% hope there is something more.

But what I’ve told my kids is that religion is how people explained the world around them before we had science, and where you were born affects which religion you were taught.

We’ve also spent a lot of time talking about the creation of the universe 300B years ago, how crazy it is that matter turned into conscious life, the statistical improbability that the earth was made to support life and that they were born as them, etc.

You can still look at the science and appreciate the “miracle” of it all. And my kids know that I don’t have any more answers to the unknowns than they do. 1 kid is practical and even questioned Santa from a young age. He’s had a pretty skeptical outlook on God from early on. Whereas my younger kid is much more creative/spiritual and open to the unknown existing. He will talk about maybe God is like X or like Y.

I support both of them in coming up with their own thoughts on the matter. I think indoctrinating them that there is no God is just as harmful as shoving religion down their throats. What they believe is up to them.[/quote]

I don’t think raising your own children in your family’s faith tradition is “shoving religion down their throats.” Children are part of a family, and most families have traditions and beliefs. Parents have the responsibility to raise their children in the manner they believe is a responsible and appropriate.

If a parent does or doesn’t have faith or religious beliefs or traditions, raising children without faith or religious traditions is how their family works, for lack of a better term.

When the children are adults, parents should accept whatever their child and their child’s own family (spouse and kids) decides they want to believe, or accept that their adult child and their adult child’s family is undecided about such matters, or does not have any religious or faith beliefs or traditions.

No one should tell other people how to raise their children. Parents do not have to stop practicing their religion once they become parents, that’s absurd. Parents don’t have to stop being atheist or agnostic once they become parents, but that’s absurd.

People need to stop believing they have any say or authority in the lives of other people’s children. They have zero input into the decisions parents make for their own kids. 
[/quote]

I agree with much of what you say, but not all.  Personally, I think it's crazy to encourage anyone to be religious in a world in which more and more can be explained by science.

Also, I think we do have say and authority over other people's children right now, in that beating your children can and should send you to jail.  I think and hope the time will come when it's not considered OK to fill children's mind full of silly superstitious stuff like, for instance, that if they are good,God will redeem them and send them to everlasting life in heaven .[/quote]

Beating other people is against the law. Police officers can arrest people who are suspected of breaking the law. The accused gets competent legal representation and must be afforded a fair trial. If they are convicted of child abuse, they can be sentenced by the judge based on state sentencing guidelines.

That is not the same as random strangers having responsibility/authority over children. The school nurse has to contact parents to administer otc pain relief medication to children; that’s how little authority even a school professional who works with children has over children.

You don’t sound open minded at all about the Christian faith, yet judge people who aren’t open minded about atheism or other religions as hypocritical bigots. You are just as close minded and bigoted as they are.

You also are incorrect about Christianity; God doesn’t “send people to heaven if they are good.” That’s probably something someone indoctrinated you into believing, something that is false.

Pot, meet kettle.[/quote]

Beating people gets you arrested because we have decided as a society that is is harmful to human well being.    There are people, (me included), who
believe that indoctrinating children into a Bronze Age belief system, for which there is zero evidence and that has caused immeasurable harm over the centuries, is something that is also harmful to well being.

I am not saying that it should be illegal, and it really couldn't be regulated anyway.  But I do believe it is ultimately harmful in many many ways, and I hope at some point we have both accepted that it is harmful, and outgrown the usefulness of religion.

[/quote]

Have you seen stats about religious beliefs and service attendance in younger people?

I think we are definitely headed in a direction away from religion. There’s still a very vocal group clawing to keep religion relevant in public places, mostly in places like Texas and Florida that don’t have the best education systems (I grew up in one of those states).

Once the religious boomers die off they’ll lose even more control.[/quote]

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