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 […]
secular 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 inLeaving Religion
Not so much better angels: Celebrating with the ghosts of Christmas past
Reading Time: 3 minutes Despite Catholicism lurking in the background, Christmas was a magical time when I was a kid. Jesus was watching but from a respectful distance. Even when my old aunties came to visit, he kept quiet. Well mostly. He apparently insisted we give him thanks for our meals and upper-middle-class lifestyle in sunny 1980s Southern California. […]
Posted inParenting & Family
Are religious hospitals inappropriate for secular kids?
Reading Time: 3 minutes I have been very fortunate that my son hasn’t had to make too many trips to the emergency room— a fact that an ER physician pointed out while he was stitching up my son’s eyebrow after a tumble on some bleachers. He was around ten years old, and we had been exercising at a local […]