The mom of one of my 1st grade students messaged me that her son recently asked her "Why was I dropped here?" She thinks he meant physical birth not anything metaphysical.
I'm 15 and just recently have been exploring my own spirituality, so perhaps I could offer some insight into the subject. First of all, let me say that I view atheism as the belief that there is no God. After all, the prefix a- (meaning without) and the root word theist/theism together mean "without the belief in existence of God." I view agnosticism as the "I don't know" view, kind of a neutral standpoint. If you were to ask an atheist what happens when you die, they'd say "nothing." If you were to ask an agnostic what happens when you die, they'd tell you they don't know. That being said, I believe all children are born agnostic. My parents are Hindu, though not very religious. We celebrate the major Hindu holidays, but we also celebrate Christmas so we're very lax. We don't go to the temple except for on New Years or on a family member's birthday. I remember growing up and having questions and such about death like any other kid does. Because when we're kids, we don't know. We don't believe in God, but we don't disbelieve in God (if that makes sense), because we first have to grasp the concept of God. My parents told me about reincarnation and all that. However, starting when I turned 14, I started questioning everything. Religion. Life. Existence. Spent my first semester of high school in severe depression. Recently I've come to terms with my own spirituality. I've decided I'm agnostic. As a bit of advice if you're thinking about how to handle it with your children, coming from a kid, I'd say if they asked you "What happens when you die, is there a God, etc." then tell them nobody knows, and then share your own personal beliefs/disbelief with them. Also, though slightly off topic, please explain to them to respect everyone's beliefs, especially if they're atheist. I know that normally people say Christians force their beliefs on others, but honestly, as a teenager right now, I see more atheist kids who think they have life all figured out attacking theists, calling them stupid and ignorant. I'd like to reiterate a sentiment another poster shared in this forum a while ago: religion often answers one's questions about "what is the meaning of life?" Their religion is their foundation, the reason why they wake up every morning, the reason they go about their lives. When this foundation is taken away suddenly, life becomes very scary. Let people take away this foundation and question their spirituality and figure it out on their own. Do not become the Jehovah Witnesses of atheism, actively going around telling people "YOUR GOD IS FAKE" because you have no right to take away their foundation, let them do it on their own. I personally "removed my foundation" by myself, and I was very severely depressed for many months while figuring out my spirituality. I would not want anyone to go through that ordeal unless it is of their own doing. I hope this post is coherent because it's 5am and I'm about to pass out.
Obviously you are talking about your own children (do you have any yet) and your own belief system, but how do you suggest that religious parents accomplish this? First, what is old enough? Should religious parents NOT take their children to religious activities? As a non-religious person, how do (would) you answer an 8 year old (for example) asking about God and Jesus and other matters of Christianity? If they asked to go to church with a friend, would you allow it?
Not really. They are agnostic, not necessarily atheist or theist. Considering how wide spread religion across cultures, I think the mind actually lends itself the theism more so than atheism. OP, why are you a "proud" atheist? I don't see why anyone would have pride or shame in that. My kids are being raised to make their own decisions. My beliefs are not for me to press upon them. I am agnostic, and not really confident either way regarding the existence of a God. For me God is the explanation for where there is no explanation. In that light, I am a theist. If God(s) are powerful beings that created us and everything, than I am an atheist.
I am not religious. My eldest son is 6. He has attended church several times with my father and sometimes with my grandmother (as has my youngest who is 3, but less frequently). I don't think church will brain wash him. I went to church when I was his age, and have for a lot of my life. I know that I can't totally keep him from Christianity as most of my family and my wife's identify as Christian. When he asks me questions about God and Jesus, I tell him that some people believe this or that. When asked about things being real, I generally tell him it is impossible to know for sure. I want to express my skepticism, but not push anything as fact.
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You do not have deny the existence of god to be an athiest. The absence of belief qualifies you as an athiest (a - without, theos - god), i.e. there are differing degrees of atheism. Agnostic = without knowledge. A child has neither the knowledge of god, or the belief in one. Hence agnostic atheist.
I feel like this stupid argument comes up on this board every week. You atheists and your denominations are worse than Christians!
Atheists actively do not believe in a God. Theists actively do believe in a God. So, no, Agnostic Atheist would not be an adequate description. Purely agnostic would be a far better description.
Since this thread has become about definitions: I've read that theism means "belief in (a) God" and so then atheism means "non-belief in (a) God". And this first definition is how I used the word for a long time. But... If atheist came from a-theos (ἄθεος) which meant "godless" or "without a god" then that previous definition of atheism is incorrect. God-less is not the same as Belief-in-God-less. So, if this second definition is correct, then an atheist is someone who is "actively" not believing in a god, denying a god's existence; not simply someone who is without a belief in god.
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You're born an atheist. Your religious belief comes purely from indoctrination by your parents, peers, or other authority figures. Additionally, they get at you before you can really do critical thinking which is how it takes root it so many people. That said, kids get most of their morality from their environment; religion is just one piece of it (and morality does not come from religion). The discussion on the semantics of the words "atheist" and "atheism" is an exercise in futility. You either are religious or not. You pray or you don't. You believe in the afterlife or you don't. Honing a single term for a belief system (or lack thereof) is dumb, but only makes for easy classification.
Osteen is a very good speaker and preaches good values. However, he could easily do the same without religion or God whatsoever. Why doesn't he? Because he wouldn't be nearly as popular. Once you tack religious figures onto something, interest spikes within a certain demographic. It turns off folks like you and I, but we are a small minority... and it's like a light for moths for the vast majority.
A dictionary can't be wrong and can't be improved? Look up meanings of words being added, there are more than a few thousand every year. You could argue hard atheism is claim that there is no god, which I totally agree that is a leap of faith, but I have stated in my previous posts I consider myself to be in an agnostic atheist position.
Dictionaries contain official definitions. Over time, they can change, but until then, that is the official definition. Atheism is the belief there is no God. It can range from Absolute to very uncertain.
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities.[1][2] In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities.[3][4][5] Most inclusively, atheism is simply the absence of belief that any deities exist.[4][5][6][7] Atheism is contrasted with theism,[8][9] which in its most general form is the belief that at least one deity exists.[9][10] Taken from wikipedia. Looks like THAT dictionary needs to be corrected.
