Atheists- raising kids

[gamblore99]

How do you raise a kid atheist? As a kid, a big motivator for being a good person was my belief in god. It seems really weird to teach your kid something opposite you believe. Incongruencies between what you say and do will show, and will undermine your kids belief in you. Teaching your kid that there is no god seems like it would be very problematic for a kid. Discuss

I'm atheist by the way.

[NT!]

LOL so are you suggesting that you think an atheist would raise a child to believe in God because that's the only way to get them to behave?

[kerowo]

He obviously never heard of Hot Wheel tracks.

[Autocratic]

I was raised by two atheists/agnostics, and determining right from wrong was never really a problem. God is just an authority figure to a child, and there are plenty of existant authority figures to compensate.

[blinden84]

I was raised christian, mostly presbyterian but also some methodist. I went to church regularly and then around the age of 14 discovered on my own that I was Atheist. I'm glad that I was shown different possibilities, and that my family didn't shun me when I chose to stop attending church and went a different path.

I think it would be good for children to be exposed to church, perhaps through your family or the other parent? I still have a strong moral set, but not because of my fear of god. Other then that I would just discus with them the possibilities of other belifes and that they are to make up their own mind, and not follow what you do just because you do it, but that would have to come later in life.

[kidcolin]

I wasn't really raised anything one way or the other.. i.e, never went to church or catechism or anything like that, but my parents never preached a "there's no god" thing either. But they still instilled a sense of strong values and morality in me. You don't really need a belief (or non-belief) system for that.

Just raise your kids with an understanding or right and wrong, good and bad.

[Jbrochu]

Thankfully, parents still have Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy to use as motivators.

[Los Feliz Slim]

I am more of an agnostic than an atheist and have a two year-old daughter. I plan on going with the "This is what some people think, this is what other people think, this is what I think, what do YOU think?" approach to questions about god, etc.

Both of my parents, as far as I know, don't really believe in god and are actively anti-organized religion, and I was pretty well-behaved. Belief in a higher power was never a motivating factor in my behavior, and I don't expect it to be necessary for my daughter. In a way, I think people use "God said so" as a way to avoid explaining complicated issues like morality and ethics.

[SNOWBALL]

I'm trying to fig out a secular way to teach my kids to hate gays/arabs. Any suggestions?

[[Phill]]

Knowing what is right and wrong (and hopefully following that path) has little or nothing to do with believing in a higher power.

Not believing in God does not make me more likely to break the law. It is likely the opposite is true. Religion and morality are linked, but its not a prerequsite to think there is someone on high judging you to do the right thing.