Lately I’ve been talking here on the blog about my problems being an atheist dealing with our religious society. And I’ve been hearing something surprising (to me) from other atheist parents: they don’t mind their children being religious.
In fact, columnists from both Salon and Slate recently answered the same letter about this topic. A father whose daughter is being brought up in an evangelical church by her mother wondered how to deal with his daughter’s fear that he’s going to hell. Coincidentally, they both gave him the same advice: go to church with her.
This strikes me as crazy. I can’t imagine Baptists telling their child that they’d be happy to go with them to a meeting of atheists. Heck, I really can’t imagine any Muslim being cool with their child’s interest in Vishnu, Ganesh or Kali. Why are people that are convinced that all religions are wrong so much more open-minded than people that think that one religion is right?
Personally, I’m against my children going to church for the same reason that I worry about autistic kids being given useless treatments: even if they aren’t harmed, they’re wasting time that could be better put to use doing something worthwhile. Every minute that a kid spends learning about the fanciful goings-on of the book of Genesis is a minute they aren’t spending learning about something that actually happened. Every minute they’re singing about how Jesus loves them, they could be playing a game, learning a musical instrument, or reading a book. And every penny they put in the offering plate could be going to a charity that isn’t spreading religion.
I’m not saying that church will hurt them - or even them make them Christian (see exhibit a: me) - just that if I firmly believe that it’s a waste of time, why wouldn’t I discourage them?