Godless Marriage, Families, Children: Atheist Families Don't Need Religion, God

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Godless Marriage, Families, Children: Atheist Families Don't Need Religion, God

By Austin Cline, About.com

 

 

Religion, Atheism, Family Values: Are Religion & God Needed for Family Values?:

 

America'sChristian Right invests a lot of effort arguing for a connectionbetween family values and their religion, but what basic family valuesrequire their religion or belief in their god? Godless families existbecause values like love, respect, and sacrifice don't depend upontheism. You don't even have to be a theist to oppose abortion orsupport sexual abstinence until marriage. None of the positive familyvalues necessary for raising healthy children are undermined by beinggodless. Religion, Atheism, Family Values¹

Atheism & Divorce: Divorce Rates for Atheists are Among the Lowest in America:

 

ConservativeChristians of all types, evangelical as well as Catholic, tend to linktheir conservative brand of their religion with proper moral behavior.By far the most popular context is marriage: they claim that a good,solid marriage is only possible when people acknowledge conservativeChristianity's claims about the nature of marriage and gender roles. Sowhy is it that Christian marriages, and especially conservativeChristian marriages, end in divorce more often than atheist marriages? Atheism & Divorce²

Atheists and Weddings: Questions, Conflicts, Advice:

 

Atheistsare human too, and so of course atheists are just as likely as anyoneelse to participate in many of the common social experiences which marka society. One of them is, of course, weddings - both their own and theweddings of friends and relatives. Unfortunately, wedding ceremoniesare commonly religious in nature - what is an irreligious atheist todo? Atheists and Weddings³

Godless Marriage in America:

 

Formany in modern American, religion and theism are central features notjust in their lives as individuals, but also in their relationshipswith other people — and this is especially true with their mostintimate relationships, such as marriage. It's common for people toregard their religion as a binding force in their marriage, somethingwithout which marriage wouldn't be possible. Just because marriage is areligious rite for some, though, doesn't mean it is necessary to allmarriages. Godless Marriage in America⁴

Atheists and Marriage: Questions, Problems, Conflicts:

 

Marriageis a very important and intimate relationship - but can marriagesbetween atheists and theists work? What problems face atheists whenmarried to religious spouses? How about when your in-laws are devoutlyreligious as well? What happens when your spouse grows more religiousover time, or you more atheistic? Atheists and Marriage⁵

Atheism and Family: Questions about Atheism and Atheists:

 

Allsorts of difficult situations can arise which can make relationsbetween atheist and theist family members very difficult. If you findyourself in such situations, you have to proceed carefully because awrong move can damage your relationship with your family for years, ifnot decades. There is probably no one 'best' way to act, in particularbecause each situation is as different as each family; nevertheless,below are some common problems and some possible responses. Atheism and Family⁶

Do Children Need Religion? Are Religious Beliefs Necessary for Children?:

 

Religionand gods play an important role in how many parents raise theirchildren. Even parents who aren't very ardent in their faith and don'tgo to religious worship services very often seem to believe thatreligion is a vital component in any upbringing. This is not justified,however. A child can be raised without religion and without gods andnot be any worse off for it, though. In fact, a godless upbringing hasadvantages because if avoids so many of the dangers that accompanyreligion. Do Children Need Religion?⁷

Raising Godless Children: What Should Atheist Parents Do for their Children?:

 

Christiansraise their children as Christians, Jews raise their children as Jews,and Muslims raise their children as Muslims, so doesn't it make sensethat atheists raise their children as atheists? That might seem to bethe case, but it doesn't make much sense after all. Children arealready born as atheists, so if you don't tell them that they shouldbelieve those things, then you are simply maintaining the status quo.There are, however, many things which they should be taught to maintaina skeptical, critical, and scholarly attitude towards religion,religious beliefs, and theism. Raising Godless Children⁸

Godless Children vs. Religious Families: How Can Atheist Parents Balance Them?:

 

Ofall of the problems that atheists might experience with their families,those involving their own children are perhaps among the most emotionaland difficult to resolve. Many people honestly believe that childrenrequire religion and God in order to be raised morally and properly -if atheist parents don't offer that, they will feel compelled tointervene and replace what they believe the parents are failingprovide. Atheist parents, though, should do what they think is best fortheir kids. Godless Children vs. Religious Families⁹This About.com page has been optimized for print. To view this page in its original form, please visit: http://atheism.about.com/od/atheismquestions/p/GodlessFamily.htm

 

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Links in this article:

1. http://atheism.about.com/od/atheistfamiliesmarriage/a/FamilyValues.htm
2. http://atheism.about.com/od/atheistfamiliesmarriage/a/AtheistsDivorce.htm
3. http://atheism.about.com/od/atheistsweddings/a/weddings_index.htm
4. http://atheism.about.com/od/aboutatheism/p/GodlessMarriage.htm
5. http://atheism.about.com/od/atheistsandmarriage/a/marriage_index.htm
6. http://atheism.about.com/od/atheistsfamily/a/family_index.htm
7. http://atheism.about.com/od/atheistschildren/a/KidsReligion.htm
8. http://atheism.about.com/od/atheistschildren/p/RaisingKids.htm
9. http://atheism.about.com/od/adviceforatheists/p/AtheistParents.htm