The Kids and Atheism

I was brought up (after I was about 14 years of age) with Catholicism:  Ghosts (holy and otherwise), freaky bloody hearts, angels, eating the "true" body of Christ, and the lot.  Happily, I was fourteen or so when my actions made my dad take the family to church.  Because I was fourteen, I was old enough to have some skepticism, while really quite wanting to and trying to believe.

My kids were not brought up with that.
The bonus for them:  they never had to battle the brainwashing.

For my kids, being an atheist doesn't mean much more than hearing mythologies from around the world, cocking an eye, and saying "Okaaaaaaaay...interestiiiing..."

The kids and I end up talking about belief systems pretty often, as it turns out.  One can hardly hear the news, move through the world, and be present without being bombarded with religious messages from all sides.  (I mean, why else would we have to talk about it so much?)  Happily, my kids don't have to battle the internal religious guilt or with the many levels of frustration with the believers of the world spreading their particular brand of "truth" and "love."  Will the kids, one day, experience anger from the many ways religion has caused pain, hate, and injustice in this world throughout history?  We shall see.

One thing that The Doctor and Bonobo do notice, is the manipulative nature of many religious messages, and the logical fallacies inherent in the system.  Yay Critical Thinking.

Down here in Australia the kids have had wonderful experiences with putting their atheism out there and having friends and groups be very cool about it.  In our circles back home we get the same acceptance and respect.  But outside of those circles back home...not so much.

Back home, The Doctor reports, she often feels as though she wishes we could be "in the closet" about our atheism because "if we are 'out of the closet' people judge us.  If we were "in the closet" then more people might get to know us and accept us before they judge us for our atheism."

How about you, Dear Friends and Readers?  

What messages do you get from your kids about being in the closet, 

being open in atheism, or about religion in general?

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If you enjoyed this post you might also read:
On Being an Atheist Parent
Or try this one: 
Ninja Freak
Or try this post:

Are You a Courageous Believer?

Or you might read:

Going Back into the Atheist Closet