For as long as religion has dominated culture, opting out of religion, saying “I don’t believe it,” has been seen as abnormal to the point of unthinkable. Tolerance has usually meant accepting the rights of others to worship a different god, or to worship god in a different way. Many paths to god, that sort […]
parenting
Posted inRaising Freethinkers
The Devil You Know: Religious literacy done right
Shortly after the release of Parenting Beyond Belief, I mentioned in a secular parenting discussion forum that I think religious literacy is an important thing for our kids (and ourselves) to have. Many agreed, as did most of the contributors to the book. But I received a message from one parent who asked, Why should I fill my […]
Posted inRaising Freethinkers
From God fight to Georgia Tech
“I kind of got into a God fight in the cafeteria today,” said Delaney, six. “What’s a ‘God fight’?” “Well I asked Courtney if she could come over on Sunday, and she said, ‘No, my family will be in church of course.’ And I said oh, what church do you go to? And she said […]
Posted inRaising Freethinkers
Of ant-squishing, and crystal meth, and Jesus
A few years ago I had an interview with a radio station in California. The topic was raising ethical kids. The guests were a minister at a private junior high school, and me, the author of books on nonreligious parenting. I can usually do these interviews in my sleep. But in this case, I was […]
Posted inCulture
On Margaret Mead and healed thigh bones: Not all compelling stories are true
Reading Time: 7 minutes I’ve loved Margaret Mead ever since first reading her classic Coming of Age in Samoa: A Psychological Study of Primitive Youth for Western Civilization. I read it more than 50 years ago as a clueless college sophomore. There was something seductive about this diminutive, headstrong, homely, strikingly honest young woman, intrepid enough to will herself […]
Posted inParenting & Family
Spare the rod—and spare me the rest
Reading Time: 8 minutes Even as countries from South Korea to Colombia to Pakistan join the international and scientific consensus condemning corporal punishment, several school districts and state legislatures in the US have begun advocating the return (or continuation) of the deeply-discredited practice.
It’s time to revisit the overwhelming evidence against corporal punishment—and the roots of its persistent appeal.
Posted inRaising Freethinkers
The problem with unthinking obedience
Examining the most common words in a parenting book can offer insights into the book’s values. Included in the 100 most common words in ‘What the Bible Says About Parenting’ are OBEDIENCE, OBEY, SIN, DUTY, EVIL, FEAR, AUTHORITY, DISCIPLINE, COMMAND, COMMANDMENT, SUBMIT, and LAW—many of them variations on the theme of obedience. Not one of […]
Posted inRaising Freethinkers
‘What if your child becomes religious?’
‘What if your child becomes religious?’ is almost as meaningless a question as ‘What if your child becomes political?’
Posted inParenting & Family
Mormon dad blasted for saying gay daughter won’t be tolerated at home
Reading Time: 3 minutes If you’re trying to prove to the world that you’re a loving parent, you might want to avoid bragging about how you’d forbid your child from living with you in the future if he or she commits some unforgivable “sin.” That’s what Mormon parent, blogger, and podcaster Matthew Watkins did on Friday (before locking his […]
Posted inRaising Freethinkers
Different out loud
When my daughter Erin was in eighth grade, she came home with a story I’ve never forgotten. “I was at a lunch table,” she said. “One girl asked another one where she went to church. She said ‘We don’t go to church,’ and the first girl’s eyes got all big, and this other guy leaned […]