Being an atheist parent is challenging because I don't want to indoctrinate my children into any particular belief system. I just want them to be freethinkers and make up their minds for themselves. Of course, theists will accuse me of brainwashing my children in the same way as they openly admit brainwashing their children into their preferred flavour of religion. However, there is a big difference between telling them to question what they are asked to believe and telling them what to believe.
This quandary came to mind this morning as I overheard my 8 year old daughter explain to my 6 year old son that our family "is not Christian" (which is true) and "has no religion" (which is equally true). I was quick to jump into the conversation and explain to them both that my wife and I don't tell them what to believe and that they should decide for themselves what to believe.
The truth of the matter is that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. My kids are quite likely to grow up being skeptical of religious faith while the children of theists are more than likely to grow up believing the religious claims of their parents. The difference, I believe, is that fewer children of atheists will shed their skepticism and adopt a religious faith than theist children will drop the religions of their parents. Atheism (or, more accurately, the application of skepticism to religious faith) is not a religion which one can be converted from. There are no atheist apostates. That is not to suggest that atheists never adopt religious beliefs. However, if I was a betting man (and I am), it will be far more difficult to lure one of my kids into the LDS Church [or choose any other religious faith you like and insert it here] than it will be for one of those poor young sods going door-to-door to realize that the Book of Mormon is a myth.
Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network
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