April 11, 2007
April 9 saw the launch of a new book billed by the publishers as the "first comprehensive title devoted to the unique challenges and opportunities presented by raising children without religion."
Parenting Beyond Belief: On Raising Ethical, Caring Kids Without Religion, brings together a wide range of freethinking authors including celebrities and contributors to Humanist Network News (HNN). There are chapters by biologist Richard Dawkins, entertainers Penn Jillette and Julia Sweeney, psychologists, educators, philosophers, and everyday secular parents. The Institute for Humanist Studies (IHS) executive director, Matt Cherry, contributed a chapter, with his wife Shannon, about raising children to respect self and others, and the challenges for secular families trying to do this in a predominantly religious society. Matt and Shannon stress the importance of pride, a classical virtue that religions have often denigrated and distorted.
IHS board member Bobbie Kirkhart writes about the importance of identifying your family with freethought groups, while "Agnostic Mom" Noell Hyman, adapted her HNN column on "To Easter Bunny or Not to Easter Bunny." Amanda Metskas and August E. Brunsman IV contributed a chapter on Camp Quest, the secular summer camp. Amanda and August are executive directors of Camp Quest and the Secular Student Alliance (SSA) respectively, and both work out of the IHS Humanist Center in Albany, N.Y.
The book is edited by Dale McGowan and published byAmacom Books. At just over 300 pages, Parenting Beyond Belief is priced at $17.99 and is available on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and at book retailers across North America.
Apparently Penn Jillette, of the Penn & Teller duo, is angry with Parenting Beyond Belief Editor Dale MacGowan for editing out the word "Christards" from Penn's chapter in the book.
MacGowan said he considered the word "Cristards" (a combination of the words "Christian" and "retards"), to be an unnecessary slur, which is something he had asked the contributing writers to avoid.
For more details on this flap, see: this forum post on the Parenting Beyond Belief website.
When asked about the likelihood of controversy surrounding the release, McGowan suggested that a certain amount is inevitable.
"If someone has spent a lifetime hearing that religious disbelief is the greatest possible sin, that person is unlikely to accept the idea that ethical, caring kids can be raised without religion. Part of the mission of the book is to put those concerns to rest," McGowan said. "Like people of religious faith, nonbelievers value love, honesty, kindness and generosity, are captivated by wonder and moved by the mysterious, seek consolation in times of loss, and treasure the companionship of others. We want to raise children who are ethical and caring. Our shared dreams for our children show that we are far more alike than unalike."
For information about the book, visit: http://www.parentingbeyondbelief.com
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