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Atheists Flock to Secular Sunday School
Christian Post ^ | Nov. 26 2007 | Nathan Black

Posted on 11/27/2007 11:53:56 AM PST by Between the Lines

Christian kids are typically sent to Sunday school for lessons on the Bible and morals. For nonbelievers, there's atheist Sunday school.

With an estimated 14 percent of Americans professing to have no religion, according to the Institute for Humanist Studies, some are choosing to send their children to classes that teach ethics without religious belief.

Bri Kneisley sent her 10-year-old son, Damian, to Camp Quest Ohio this past summer after a neighbor had shown him the Bible.

"Damian was quite certain this guy was right and was telling him this amazing truth that I had never shared," said Kneisley, who realized her son needed to learn about secularism, according to Time magazine.

Camp Quest, also dubbed "The Secular Summer Camp," is offered for children of atheists, freethinkers, humanists and other nonbelievers who hold to a "naturalistic, not supernatural world view," the camp website states.

The summer camp, offered across North America and supported by the Institute for Humanist Studies, is designed to teach rational inquiry, critical thinking, scientific method, ethics, free speech, and the separation of religion and government.

Kneisley welcomes the sense of community the camp offers her son.

"He's a child of atheist parents, and he's not the only one in the world," she said, according to Time.

Atheist and humanist programs are expected to pop up in such cities as Phoenix, Albuquerque, N.M., and Portland, Ore., and adult nonbelievers are leaning on such secular Sunday schools to help teach their kids values and how to respond to the Christian majority in the United States.

Outspoken atheist Richard Dawkins argues that teaching faith to children can be dangerous, noting the possibility of extremism.

"The point about teaching children that faith is a virtue is that you're teaching them that you don't have to justify what you do, you can simply shelter behind the statement 'that's my faith and you're not to question that,'" he argued in a debate with Christian apologist John Lennox last month.

A recent study by Ellison Research, however, found that most Americans who attended church as a child say their past worship attendance has had a positive impact on them. The majority, including those who no longer currently attend religious services, said their attendance at church as a child gave them a good moral foundation and that they are glad they attended.

Yet today, nonbelievers want their children to participate in Sunday school the secular way.

"I'm a person that doesn't believe in myths," says Hana, 11, who attends the Humanist Community Center in Palo Alto, Calif., according to Time. "I'd rather stick to the evidence."


TOPICS: Current Events; Religion & Culture; Skeptics/Seekers
KEYWORDS: antisemites; antitheism; atheism; beliefsystems; dawkinsthepreacher; enjoythevoid; evangelicalatheists; freedomfromreligion; religiouseducation; secularhumanism; secularistreligion; summercamp
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1 posted on 11/27/2007 11:53:57 AM PST by Between the Lines
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To: Between the Lines
Atheism IS a religion. It is a belief system about God, holding the position that there isn’t one. It is a far end of the spectrum. As such, the demand that all things God be purged from the public arena is in fact a demand for State sponsorship of their religion. Eventually the court will come to recognize their role in the defacto establishment of this religion and take steps to stop the State support of the religion of Atheism.
2 posted on 11/27/2007 11:59:40 AM PST by NonValueAdded (Fred Dalton Thompson for President)
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To: NonValueAdded
Eventually the court will come to recognize their role in the defacto establishment of this religion and take steps to stop the State support of the religion of Atheism.

I think the 7th circuit has made a ruling along those lines.

3 posted on 11/27/2007 12:03:27 PM PST by GoLightly
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To: Between the Lines

“So why shouldn’t I steal?” asked the boy at athiest Sunday school.

“Because you may be punished if you are caught,” answered the athiest teacher.

“And if I am sure that I won’t be caught?”

“Then you don’t steal because you will hurt someone else.”

“And if I don’t feel bad about that?”


4 posted on 11/27/2007 12:04:24 PM PST by Greg F (Duncan Hunter is a good man.)
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To: Between the Lines

Suffer little children to come unto Me....Luke 18:16


5 posted on 11/27/2007 12:07:06 PM PST by Wage Slave (Good fences make good neighbors. -- Robert Frost)
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To: Between the Lines
"Damian was quite certain this guy was right and was telling him this amazing truth that I had never shared," said Kneisley, who realized her son needed to learn about secularism, according to Time magazine.

On the Last Day she can share this story with Saint Peter about how she did her level best to prevent her own son from saving his soul. This is the feel-good story of the week.

6 posted on 11/27/2007 12:09:02 PM PST by wideawake (Why is it that so many self-proclaimed "Constitutionalists" know so little about the Constitution?)
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To: wideawake

She started by naming him Damian. ;)


7 posted on 11/27/2007 12:10:48 PM PST by Wage Slave (Good fences make good neighbors. -- Robert Frost)
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To: Between the Lines
If atheism weren’t a religion, they wouldn’t be preaching it and forming apologetics courses.
8 posted on 11/27/2007 12:14:15 PM PST by SampleMan (We are a free and industrious people. Socialist nannies do not become us.)
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To: Wage Slave
Suffer little children to come unto Me....Luke 18:16

While growing up, had a plaque with that verse hanging on my bedroom wall & always wondered why God wanted me to suffer.

9 posted on 11/27/2007 12:24:50 PM PST by GoLightly
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To: Between the Lines
Outspoken atheist Richard Dawkins argues that teaching faith to children can be dangerous, noting the possibility of extremism.

Mr. Dawkins seems to have forgotten about extremist Atheism, Communism.
10 posted on 11/27/2007 12:26:52 PM PST by BJClinton (Don't taze me, bro!)
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To: NonValueAdded

Any belief for or against God, is a religion?


11 posted on 11/27/2007 12:28:05 PM PST by stuartcr (Everything happens as God wants it to.....otherwise, things would be different.)
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To: GoLightly

LOL. I wondered the same thing. I won’t tell you how old I was before I finally figured out what it meant. ;)


12 posted on 11/27/2007 12:29:28 PM PST by Wage Slave (Good fences make good neighbors. -- Robert Frost)
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To: Between the Lines
"I'd rather stick to the evidence."

Me too...that's how I ended up being a Christian.

13 posted on 11/27/2007 12:30:33 PM PST by meowmeow (In Loving Memory of Our Dear Viking Kitty (1987-2006))
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To: Between the Lines
Outspoken atheist Richard Dawkins argues that teaching faith to children can be dangerous, noting the possibility of extremism.

Teaching Atheism can be dangerous, as evidenced by the most murderous regimes ever to be on planet Earth. 100 million victims in the 20th century alone of governments that had Atheism as their state religion.

14 posted on 11/27/2007 12:34:01 PM PST by AmericaUnited
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To: BJClinton
Just because those extremists murdered 100 million people in the 20th century because their religion said it was ok, doesn’t make them bad... :)
15 posted on 11/27/2007 12:35:40 PM PST by AmericaUnited
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To: NonValueAdded
Atheism IS a religion. It is a belief system about God, holding the position that there isn’t one. It is a far end of the spectrum. As such, the demand that all things God be purged from the public arena is in fact a demand for State sponsorship of their religion. Eventually the court will come to recognize their role in the defacto establishment of this religion and take steps to stop the State support of the religion of Atheism.

Only if you can convince the court that YOUR definition of religion is correct.

16 posted on 11/27/2007 12:42:13 PM PST by ozidar
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To: Greg F

And how is it any different in the typical evangelical Sunday School? There you shouldn’t steal because God says it is wrong because it hurts other people. Still those who don’t care about hurting others won’t be dissuaded, so Christian Sunday School is no different. Maybe you could threaten divine punishment, but you can’t threaten people with hell for stealing because either they don’t believe in God, are going to hell by default, and don’t care that you think they’re going to hell, or they believe in God, are once-saved-always-saved, and will go to heaven regardless of whether they steal or not. Maybe you could tell them, “If you steal, God will kill your dog.” Then they might avoid stealing because they are afraid of getting caught, once again making Christian Sunday school no different than your example.


17 posted on 11/27/2007 12:46:48 PM PST by ahayes ("Impenetrability! That's what I say!")
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To: AmericaUnited
Teaching Atheism can be dangerous, as evidenced by the most murderous regimes ever to be on planet Earth. 100 million victims in the 20th century alone of governments that had Atheism as their state religion.

Correlation doesn't prove causality. You might as well say that teaching Russian or Chinese was the cause.

18 posted on 11/27/2007 12:48:59 PM PST by ozidar
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To: Wage Slave
I wondered the same thing. I won’t tell you how old I was before I finally figured out what it meant. ;)

Slow learner, like me, eh? Even knowing what it means made it somewhat disturbing, since my mother put it on my bedroom wall instead of my brother's. You know how kids are, they always think one of their siblings is more favored? My mother slipped & confirmed it. Course, I gave her plenty to suffer me for, so can't say that I blame her. LOL

19 posted on 11/27/2007 12:51:34 PM PST by GoLightly
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To: ahayes

As you note . . . “because God says it is wrong” IS what is different. Without God there is no rational basis for altruism.


20 posted on 11/27/2007 12:53:24 PM PST by Greg F (Duncan Hunter is a good man.)
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