Yes, I am raising my children as atheists. *GASP* No, I don’t constantly recite some demonic evolutionary mantra every evening whilst bathing in goats blood praising the Big Bang theory to them in place of a bedtime story. It’s different than that, it’s better than that. I’m raising them without the stigma, the hate, the judgment and high horse that is affiliated with religion.

So, what is involved in raising atheist children? It’s quite simple really. All the standard parenting minus any “god” influence. I believe my children should understand why it is right or wrong to behave a certain way. Not fear divine repercussion for bad behavior and having an unreal payoff for good behavior.

We teach them to explore their emotions. To try to understand why they feel good when they do good things and why they feel bad when they do bad things. I believe this deeper thinking is critical for their development.

Sure we’ve had the “god” talk. Not because I want to force my opinions onto them (this will inevitably happen) but because family has forced their Christian views onto my children and they’ve had questions.

“Some people believe in God and some people don’t. Nonni does and Daddy doesn’t. ” is my typical response. I want them to explore their own beliefs with as little outside influence as possible. This is where I wish people would have more respect. My son’s preschool teacher told him rain is God crying. I showed him one 3 minute video on YouTube on how rain is formed and he got it. Children are brilliant. Just try teaching them first. Using God to explain things is just laziness.

As more and more parents come out as atheists I’m sure there will be tons more posts like this. I look forward to reading others ideas and comments on the subject.