Comment

Comment by James Marso on September 14, 2011 at 1:41pm

I was pleased to read about how the US Court of Appeals ordered a local teacher in my area to remove two large banners in his classroom that made religious references.  Stuff like this does not belong in public schools - this is a win for the separation of church and state.

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44511227/ns/local_news-san_diego_ca/

 

Comment by Secular Forces 2013 on September 13, 2011 at 4:02pm

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/13/health/views/13klass.html

Comment by Alice on September 13, 2011 at 6:43am

Brenda - I am so with you on this - all around me - I have friends who I respect and believe to be very intelligent - and yet they hold onto this supernatural thinking.........  humans!  It's cause and effect - they haven't yet had the cause to think rationally - and will the causal web of all things get to them or not?  Thinking of evolution - rationality isn't nessisarily the thing that we all need to breed.... if you know what I mean - causal factors aren't going to get us all there...  perhaps ever

Comment by Phil on September 12, 2011 at 11:05pm

I think for most people, religion has more to do with feelings than analysis. Most people have religion drilled into them from such a young age that it becomes part of their emotional foundation. Losing the certainty that belief in god seems to provide is a very frightening prospect. It means there's no higher power steering the ship, and in times of distress that can feel overwhelming. Hence, even some remarkably bright people can still cling to faith out of emotional need.

 

I still haven't figured out what makes some people have an easier time listening to their doubts. I don't consider myself particularly tough, so I don't think it was some impressive degree of courage that made me give up religion. I think maybe I just didn't get enough of a sense of peace from religion, so I wasn't so vested in sticking with it at all costs.

Comment by Brenda on September 12, 2011 at 10:35pm

I don't get it. I'm just average; hard working but not terribly bright. It amazes me that people who are way smarter than me, scientists even, are theist. People I really respect and admire cannot accept evidence of evolution or dinosaurs because of their faith. I just don't get it.

Comment by atheistscot on August 23, 2011 at 4:18am

Thanks for the welcome, Melody.

I wasn't raised as an atheist by my family. It seems I was born an atheist, or became one very early in life. I was curious to see how my son's beliefs would develop growing up with two atheist parents. I have tried to keep the issue low key and not tell him what to believe or not believe. I want him to grow into a young man with a rational, enquiring mind who reads widely and makes his own decisions about his beliefs. I agree with Richard Dawkins' view that it's incorrect to refer to a young child as a Christian/Muslim/Hindu child - he or she is the child of Christian/Muslim/Hindu parents.

My son attends our local school. They have visits from the local Church of Scotland minister, an annual nativity play, easter services, etc. They are also taught about other faiths. He would occasionally come home and repeat bible stories he'd heard at school, but as he talked about the characters and storylines in The Simpsons with the same seriousness, I wasn't too worried. It became apparent that he saw them for what they were - stories.

Of course, over the years he has been soaking up the sceptical, religion-free atmosphere at home, even just overhearing his father and I talking. He tells me now, at the age of ten, quite emphatically, that he is an atheist and doesn't believe there is a god or any sort of afterlife. 

Comment by Ava Wilson on August 22, 2011 at 7:32pm

I have a two year old. She's not old enough to understand any of this, but I have a feeling she will grow up as secular-minded as I did.

Comment by Melody Mitchell on August 22, 2011 at 7:51am

Welcome aboard, Donna!

Comment by atheistscot on August 22, 2011 at 4:04am

Hi, my name is Donna, I'm new to Atheist Nexus and this is the first group I've joined. I'm the mother of a ten year old boy and have been married for 17 years to a fellow atheist.

Comment by Annie Thomas on July 7, 2011 at 5:30pm

No, my apologies.  I just reread what I wrote and it sounded more confrontational in black and white than it did in my head. I just meant maybe you had a good anecdote to share. 

 

I too find it exciting that some of our kids are in a climate where it is safe to be who they are.  I just worry about a potential witch hunt on my daughter some day... hopefully she is in a progressive enough school that it will never be an issue.

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