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I agree with that article. Hence my pen theory. lol
Those who aren't born with it I'm afraid will have a harder time learning it than those who came equipped with it. Those who are born with it might learn to hide it but it's there.
Morals are a good tool in our survival kit. I don't think they are drilled into us via biblical lessons on morality or any other kind of road map. I just think we like thinking they are but most of us are born with them intact.
I think though many of us may be born with a rudimentary feeling of fair play, life has a way of destroying that and by the time we have jobs in major corporations it is situation ethics that rules, whatever furthers me along is justified. And these mental climates are probably with childhood values having been taught, week after week.
Part of the reason, I think, for the Scandinavian sense of fair play is because of a society that will protect you if you fall. The threat of absolute ruin is not there the way it is in capitalistic societies.
Then again, if the masses turn the other cheek, then the sharks stand a better chance of monetary success, no?
if you truly have a open mind you let the child learn of different faiths and make their own mind up or you are just indoctrinating the child your self
if you truly have a open mind you let the child learn of different faiths and make their own mind up or you are just indoctrinating the child your self
It's nice to have an "open mind." However, I'm not particularly interested in having my children believe, after a certain age, that God is real anymore than they should continue to believe that Santa Claus, Mickey Mouse or Luke Skywalker are real.
I won't discourage them from believing if they wish to do so. But I certainly won't encourage them.
This must have been discussed before, but I can't find it.
We grow up and live with all sorts of people. It is a good thing, I think, to expose a child to different cultures starting from a young age.
Do Atheists and Agnostics prepare their children for the religious ideas that they may be exposed to in school? Do the Unitarian Universalists have a Sunday School in which they teach kids about all religions, encouraging them to explore these religions?
I suppose the Atheists have the Ethical Culture Society that they can bring their children to for moral teachings.
Do these people spare their children the myths of Santa Claus, the Easter bunny, the Tooth Fairy? If so, do they tell their children to keep this a secret from their little friends?
Yes, I teach my children about all religions, from animisim to nordic gods to voodoo to wicca to christianity. I don't pretend any of them have any actual basis, but talk about the needs of people that those myths fulfill. They still believe in the Easter Bunny, etc, but when they find out, I'll tell them not to spoil it for anyone else.
As for morals: the fact that very few christians stone adulterers as the bible instructs them shows that morals are innate, not the pronvince of religion. And the fact that some people do stone adulterers as the bible instructs shows the corrupting influence of religion.
if you truly have a open mind you let the child learn of different faiths and make their own mind up or you are just indoctrinating the child your self
But I'd be incredibly unconvincing pretending to make an offering to the god of the printer. We all know it's an inanimate object, why would I lie to my kids for no benefit? The easter bunny has a benefit (chocolate), and I won't continue the lie into adulthood.
I subscribe to the "teach kids how to think, not what to think" philosophy. We tell our 5-year old that many people think god is a real "person" who does stuff. But we try to encourage thinking through whether that makes sense or not. For instance, he went to a Montessori school for daycare when he was 4, and they would thank god before meals. So one time he did it at a restaurant and instead of saying there is no god, we discussed it...
So god gave us this food, huh? Did he bring it to our table? No, a waiter did.
Did god cook the food? No, a chef in the kitchen did.
Did god bring the food to the restaurant? No, a truck driver did.
Did god grow the food at the farm? No, a farmer did.
Hmm, so how did god give us this food?
It's obviously difficult when they're young and haven't yet developed critical thinking skills, but I think discussing rationally helps even at young ages. We talk about some of the religious stories (from different religions) and try to decide if they could be real or not (and tie them to our real-world experiences, e.g. "Could you walk on water?" "Could someone split the moon in half?"). Our intent is to have him read the religious texts/stories by himself (and discuss as a family) once he's old enough and decide for himself, using the critical and logical thinking skills we'll have taught him. I don't want him to reject god/organized religion because we told him so -- I want him to arrive at that conclusion by using his reason.
Do you tell your children that other parents lie to their children and that, in relation to their little friends, your children should take part in perpetuating that lie?
Has anyone had the experience of your child telling the truth to neighborhood kids and their parents becoming very angry at YOU for telling your children the truth?
I do not tell my children that religious beliefs are lies. I have taught them that faith traditions are a way that people of various cultures explore the universal truths of human experience.
In our family, we do discuss the tenets of the major world religions and how they are celebrated in various cultures. Some our most memorable conversations have been about sacrifice (Easter); forgiveness & repentence (Yom Kippur); interconnectedness (Diwali); and self-denial & charity (Ramadan & Lent)
As for the practices of other people, I discourage them from engaging in conflict about faith traditions and to understand that those traditions serve an important purpose in the lives of others. As they've grown older, it's become easier for them to see the underlying themes of faith and to find common ground with others, meaning there haven't been any show-downs over whether or not a person named Jesus rose from the dead.
Last edited by randomparent; 11-19-2012 at 01:09 PM..
I'm a Jewish Atheist and strongly relate to my ethno-cultural background, and for that, I can thank my parents who sent me to Hebrew School; I was later Bar Mitzvahed and confirmed. These days, I'm not much into the ritualistic aspect of Judaism, but when I do have a family, I would like my children to feel Jewish as people, giving them the requisite Sunday School education and participation in low-key rituals (High Holidays services, Shabbat dinners, Sukkot, Purim, etc.), putting key emphasis on the cultural, as opposed to the theological aspects. A lot of Reform (and even some Conservative) synagogues do a great job of this. It's no accident that Jews are the most likely to be end up Atheist of people raised in any religious group--even more so than Unitarians.
As for the whole "God," part, that's a decision I want my children to come to on their own, just as I eventually concluded, without any poking and prodding, that there is no such thing as a higher power. Discussions about spirituality, which will inevitably be brought up, will be tailored to age level, initially centering on what theythink, and as they get older, gradually revealing my own thoughts and beliefs on the subject.
I suppose there is a "risk" a child will end up religious with such a regimen, but as long as they don't end up dogmatic, close-minded, and self-righteous, I don't care what they specifically believe. Reasonable people can agree to disagree, and I don't think there's anything inherently unreasonable about the modestly to moderately religious.
Do Atheists and Agnostics prepare their children for the religious ideas that they may be exposed to in school?
As usual I have to point out that these people are grouped by little more than one thing they do not believe in. As such asking a generalised question "Do atheists...." will usually not get you much of a coherent answer. The answers are likely to be as individual as the atheists themselves and you will be hard pushed to find a box to put a significant group of them in, let alone the whole group or even the majority.
I can speak for myself though... even if not the rest. I have studied at length the fallacies and delusions that humans can be drawn in by. I also have my opinions on which of those fallacies are more commonly used to assert the existence of a god. So when children of my own, my siblings or so on come in contact with me I usually formulate games which fool them using those things and then show them how and why they were fooled.
In other words I teach them and prepare them for the fallacies that are most often used to spread the Religion Meme Virus. I help to inoculate them in this fashion.
On top of that many atheists, myself included, try to teach ABOUT religions without teaching any one of them to be true. To teach the histories, good, bad and atrocious of each, and the differences between them. Realising the stark disparity in claims between religions... or even within them given there is over 33000 branches and sects in Christianity alone... is often a good inoculation against religion and has even in the words of many atheists been the realisation that cured them of the infection.
This must have been discussed before, but I can't find it.
We grow up and live with all sorts of people. It is a good thing, I think, to expose a child to different cultures starting from a young age.
Do Atheists and Agnostics prepare their children for the religious ideas that they may be exposed to in school.
If so, do they tell their children to keep this a secret from their little friends?
I tell my kids what I believe and I tell them they must find their own way.
Respect is a 2-way street so if my kids choose to not believe they must respect believers as long as that respect is returned.
My kids do not belive and are more into the scientific approach as I am....but who knows that may change...but it is not very likely.
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