A recent Washington Post article looked at parents participating in a seminar for humanist parenting and saw a trend: communities of atheists and agnostics getting together to share values and inculcate those in their children, just as religious people do. Among those quoted in the article were some Boston-based parents and the humanist chaplain at Harvard, Greg Epstein, who has made a bit of a name for himself by suggesting that folks who eschew religion and a belief in a deity should nevertheless band together to do what religions have always done: build communities and sing songs. It goes on to cite data about church attendance over the average person's lifespan, during which (for most people) enforced churchgoing in childhood is replaced by church avoidance in one's years of single adulthood, followed by a return to the pew when kids start being born. For atheists, there are few places to provide that kind of family-based community. And when seeking like-minded other parents with whom to share the difficult years of childrearing, folks without a church can feel isolated -- in a very religious community, they may even be condemned for their beliefs.
From the article:
A recent study found that many Americans associate atheists with
negative traits, including criminal behavior and rampant materialism.
People often ask, "How do you expect to raise your children to be good
people without religion?" said Dale McGowan, the seminar leader and
author of "Parenting Beyond Belief." He suggested a retort like, "How
do you expect to raise your children to be moral people without
allowing them to think for themselves?"
As a lifelong atheist, I have a feeling I'm meant to read this with some combination of affirmation, relief and excitement, perhaps with my datebook at the ready so that I can attend the next seminar. And yet, I can't help feeling this is a movement (if it is a movement at all) to satisfy those still mourning the loss of whatever religion they were raised in. For people like me, who grew up in a milieu of acceptance (very liberal Judaism, or ethical culture, or Unitarian Universalism, where I spent all my Sunday-school years), a kind of pretend religion without mention of "god" sounds like vegetarians sitting around exchanging recipes for Tofurkey. Why not embrace your own ideas, have the courage of your convictions? As for me, I am a non-religious person who has never believed in a superntural being and I don't consider it a missing piece that needs filling with fake church. And besides, lots of us have our own secular houses of worship, whether it be Fenway Park, the public library, or a national forest.
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