Hello,

[Withered]

Howdy,
I have been lurking now for a while, reading about how other people get through life as atheists, and how they respond to the pressures they face from the majority.
I have children, three wonderful kids. And my oldest son is old enough to hear about and join Cub Scouts. Which I think is a swell idea, since I think almost all of their ideas and practices are pretty positive. But I quickly realized that there was no avoiding the spiritual aspect of the organization. I could not bring myself to pray during scouting events, and I feared my silence would be noticed. I did not want to lie, since that’s just wrong, and I didn’t want to set an example for my son that was dishonest.
Are there any atheist, or secular organizations for children? I have looked but haven’t seen anything that seems to fit.

[seebs]

I'm not aware of any. Scouts bothered me a lot; I quit it as a kid. (Curiously, the kid I quit it to avoid quit the same week to avoid me. Later, we became friends.) I was uncomfortable with many of the Scouting things. For instance, I am not okay with saying the Pledge of Allegiance, and I don't think kids should be pushed to do that.

You might get a better response in one of the Secular Lifestyle forums.

[Biff the unclean]

I have children, three wonderful kids. And my oldest son is old enough to hear about and join Cub Scouts. Which I think is a swell idea, since I think almost all of their ideas and practices are pretty positive.

I agree with you. When they were young, both my daughter and my son wanted to join the scouts. I thought it was a great idea. When the Scouts recruited in their public school (in Manhattan...no where near the bible belt) they both tried to sign up. The Girl Scouts and the Boy Scouts rejected both of them because they are Atheists.

So don't worry about what you will do after your kid joins. He can't join. Your son isn't good enough to be a Cub Scout, just like my children weren't. They are excluded solely because of their religious beliefs...and it's completely legal for the Scouts to do so (this has gone to court several times). That's one of the values the Scouts teaches.

[xxthe_leewitxx]

You might get a better response in one of the Secular Lifestyle forums.Quite so. Off you go...

the Leewit

[sakrilege]

The Parent's Corner (http://www.infidels.org/families/parents/index.shtml) and look under Links.

[HaysooChreesto!]

I wouldn't worry about it. Some people will indeed freak out that you're an atheist but the vast majority of believers are pretty casual types who won't give it a second thought.

Second, what's the harm in having your kids exposed to what others believe? That IMO is one of the biggest gripes that atheists have when it comes to others-that others aren't tolerant of our heathen-esque [non] beliefs.
At some point you have to explain to your son that people believe in some tripped out sky daddy and that most people who believe in the sky daddy are decent and down to earth people. Just like us, you, me, whatever.

Join the scouts, do what needs to be done, and enjoy the positive aspects of the organization-of which there are many.

I see so many people on this forum who say they make a lot of serious life decisions based on the fact they're an atheist. To that I say... Well I say something that disagrees mightily.
We live in a society of believers. I think that some day, many decades and possibly several centuries from now atheists will be in the majority but for the time being we have to get along and present ourselves simply as people who believe in one less god than the Xtains do.

[Withered]

My son already had a talk about religion. He asked me what people did in church and i told him they prayed.
He asked me what that meant and i told him they talk to a thing they can not see that they beleive is listening to them. He asked me if i did that, and i said no. That has been good enough for him so far.
Thanks for the feedback.
L.

[jayh]

I have children, three wonderful kids. And my oldest son is old enough to hear about and join Cub Scouts. Which I think is a swell idea, since I think almost all of their ideas and practices are pretty positive.

Don't the Boys and Girls clubs accept atheists?

Anyhow, I missed out on scouting when I was a kid for almost the opposite reason, my parents were devout JWs and scouting was just to 'worldly'. The reason was wacky, but I don't really think I missed anything important.

[Never]

I can't say I've looked into Boy Scouts extensively since I have girls, but from what I've read on here and in the news, I'd be uncomfortable having my kids in that organization.


We've mentioned it in previous threads, but I'll say it again here in case you do have some girls - the Girl Scouts do not require that God be said in their oath, it is specified in their book and rules that it is optional.
They also specifically say they do not discriminate on the basis of religion. We have never felt uncomfortable at Girl Scout events. There is the occassional group of girls at camp that decides to sing a loosely related religious grace, but that's their choice, not mandated by the GSA.

Since GS were not a problem, we haven't checked out other organizations.
Good luck.

[Anat]

Second, what's the harm in having your kids exposed to what others believe? That IMO is one of the biggest gripes that atheists have when it comes to others-that others aren't tolerant of our heathen-esque [non] beliefs.
At some point you have to explain to your son that people believe in some tripped out sky daddy and that most people who believe in the sky daddy are decent and down to earth people. Just like us, you, me, whatever.


Don't the BSA have a line about "my duty to God" or something along those lines? It would be dishonest of an atheist to say that. Such dishonesty is bad in itself, but can create extra internal conflict for a child who knows how much truthfulness is valued in scouting.

(And even if he decides to interpret the words allegorically, eventually he is likely to face rejection when he tries to become an Eagle Scout. See: Atheist Scout given a week to declare belief (http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/West/10/31/atheist.scout.ap/))