A little over a year ago I interviewed British philosopher and author Julian Baggini , who wrote a fantastic book for kids called Really, Really, Big Questions about God, Faith and Religion (2011, Kingfisher). While I found it at my public library, it’s not one you’re likely to run across in major book stores. While very well-received in Britain, the book has flown largely under the radar here in the United States. And that’s too bad for us — because it’s a great starting point for kids ready to explore religious issues.

Each section of the book seeks to answer a question that could easily come from a child. The questions include: What is religion? Can we criticize religion? Should we fear God? Why do people worship? What if there is no God? Does religion cause wars? Do I have a soul? and What should I believe?

Great questions, right?

The answers are equally compelling, mostly because Baggini — himself an atheist — writes from a perspective that is, as he puts it, “basically, genuinely open-minded.” The book differs from faith-based books of its ilk in two main ways. First, Baggini constantly urges children to make up their own minds about how to answer these questions and what to believe. And, second, he makes clear those who don’t believe in any religious notions live perfectly happy, fulfilling lives.

It’s that second point that makes this book so special — and so important. It’s also the reason that the British have embraced it more than Americans; the British are far more secularized as a nation than we are.

Really, Really Big Questions about God, Faith and Religion is part of a series and, therefore, was not conceived by Baggini, who has no children himself. Still, the straightforward tone and broad knowledge he brings to the project is perfect for kids.

One of the more interesting aspects of our conversations centered on the notion of interfaith dialogue. Although the idea that people of varying religious backgrounds can come together and cooperate with each other is a lovely and refreshing and progressive in many ways, “interfaith” repeatedly fails atheists and agnostics. Sometimes there is an illusion that we secularists are involved in these dialogues, but we’re not. Not really.

“Multi-faith isn’t really open-minded,” Baggini says, “because the (central focus) is that we should be religious in some way.”

Make no mistake: Baggini’s book is not exclusively for nonreligious kids. It’s appropriate for all kids and all families. There is no bias against faith, just as there is no bias against non-faith. The book takes an approach of true compassion for all. And that, Baggini says, is because there is still so much mystery in the universe. Why paint a picture of “truth” when some truths cannot be known.

“Some of us are going to turn out to be wrong,” he says, “and some of us are going to turn out to be right.”

In the meantime, let’s be nice to each other.

While some parents stumble through those first conversations about religion, it’s the basic questions — Who is God? What is religion? — that may require the most attention. Baggini theorizes that Culture Wars could be tamped down considerably if people would simply stop defining certain concepts so narrowly. The term religion, for example, means so many different things to different people, he says. “Part of the reason atheist-vs.-religious debates aren’t very fruitful is because there is too narrow of a view about what religion is.”

In making it clear that these terms are wishy-washy at best, then we leave plenty of ideas open to interpretation by the children who are exploring them for the first time.

“You’re too young to settle on the view that you’ll have when you’re an adult,” Baggini says, “but that’s no reason not to start thinking about this.”

Baggini is the author of many books on philosophy, including The Pig that Wants to be Eaten: 100 Experiments for the Armchair Philosopher (2006) and is co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Philosophers’ Magazine. His new book, just out, is called The Shrink & The Sage: A Guide to Modern Dilemmas. You can follow him on Twitter at @microphilosophy.