Parenting Beyond Belief Quotes

“...my hope is that whatever it is you decide to believe about whatever subject, you have thought through carefully each of those beliefs and at least tried to make sure that they are your beliefs and not those of your parents. It matters less to me what your specific beliefs are than that you have carefully arrived at your beliefs through reason and evidence and thoughtful reflection.”
― Michael Shermer, Parenting Beyond Belief: On Raising Ethical, Caring Kids Without Religion

“That churchgoers do the lion's share of the charitable work in our communities is simply untrue. They get credit for it because they do a better job of tying the good works they do to their creed. But according to a 1998 study, 82% of volunteerism by churchgoers falls under the rubric of "church maintenance" activities -- volunteerism entirely within, and for the benefit of, the church building and immediate church community. As a result of this siphoning of volunteer energy into the care and feeding of churches themselves, most of the volunteering that happens out in the larger community -- from AIDS hospices to food shelves to international aid workers to those feeding the hungry and housing the homeless and caring for the elderly -- comes from the category of "unchurched" volunteers.”
― Dale McGowan, Parenting Beyond Belief: On Raising Ethical, Caring Kids Without Religion

“Where there is no critical thinking, there is no progress. If the children are our future, then critical thinking must be their guide.”
― Dale McGowan, Parenting Beyond Belief: On Raising Ethical, Caring Kids Without Religion

“I eventually learned to correct behaviors by having my children recognize and name the problem themselves. Replace “Don’t pull the dog’s ears” with “Why is pulling the dog’s ears a bad idea?” Very young kids can grapple with that, and you’ve required them to reason, not just to obey. Good practice.”
― Dale McGowan, Parenting Beyond Belief: On Raising Ethical, Caring Kids Without Religion

“Siddhartha Gautama—the historical Buddha—has been called the earliest significant nontheist. As happens in every major spiritual movement, Buddha’s followers quickly heaped layers of superstition on top of what had been perfectly naturalistic teachings. But many modern expressions of Buddhism are utterly nontheistic. If, upon learning a bit about Buddhist philosophy you find it attractive, look into your local Buddhist communities. You’ll find many ways to be Buddhist without gods.”
― Dale McGowan, Parenting Beyond Belief: On Raising Ethical, Caring Kids Without Religion

“death does not. Once death exists, I will not. Why should I fear something I will never experience?”
― Dale McGowan, Parenting Beyond Belief: On Raising Ethical, Caring Kids Without Religion

“We must give ourselves a good hard mental swat every time we feel inclined to mock, sneer, or roll our eyes at those whose beliefs differ from our own. You”
― Dale McGowan, Parenting Beyond Belief: On Raising Ethical, Caring Kids Without Religion

“It is important to remember that regardless of expertise, credential, or experience, none of us is infallible. We can all be wrong and so should not be placed above honest question or challenge.”
― Dale McGowan, Parenting Beyond Belief: On Raising Ethical, Caring Kids Without Religion

“(1) Always question authority; (2) when in doubt, see rule 1.”
― Dale McGowan, Parenting Beyond Belief: On Raising Ethical, Caring Kids Without Religion

“you need a license to drive, have a dog, or even to fish—but they’ll let anyone be a father.”
― Dale McGowan, Parenting Beyond Belief: On Raising Ethical, Caring Kids Without Religion

“The main goal of education should always be to learn how to learn, to become an independent thinker.”
― Dale McGowan, Parenting Beyond Belief: On Raising Ethical, Caring Kids Without Religion

“evangelism of children nonetheless seeks to cut off the process of independent thought before it begins. It’s this aspect of religious indoctrination that is most unacceptable—the idea that doubt is bad, that unquestioning acceptance is good, that there is only one possible right answer, and that someone else has already figured out what that answer is.”
― Dale McGowan, Parenting Beyond Belief: On Raising Ethical, Caring Kids Without Religion

“What we truly want is the satisfaction of seeing our children become mature, self-reliant human beings, at any age, thinking for themselves, free and happy. Parents who want anything else are obsessed with control and not free and happy themselves.”
― Dale McGowan, Parenting Beyond Belief: On Raising Ethical, Caring Kids Without Religion

“My convictions, positive and negative, on all the matters of which you speak, are of long and slow growth and are firmly rooted. But the great blow which fell upon me seemed to stir them to their foundation, and had I lived a couple of centuries earlier I could have fancied a devil scoffing at me and them and asking me what profit it was to have stripped myself of the hopes and consolations of the mass of mankind? To which my only reply was and is Oh devil! Truth is better than much profit. I have searched over the grounds of my belief, and if wife and child and name and fame were all to be lost to me one after the other as the penalty, still I will not lie.”
― Dale McGowan, Parenting Beyond Belief: On Raising Ethical, Caring Kids Without Religion

“Karma, Dharma, pudding and pie, gimme a break before I die: grant me wisdom, will and wit, purity, probity, pluck and grit. Trustworthy, loyal, helpful, kind, gimme great abs and a steel-trap mind, and forgive, Ye Gods, some humble advice—these little blessings would suffice to beget an earthly paradise: make the bad people good—and the good people nice; and before our world goes over the brink, teach the believers how to think.”
― Dale McGowan, Parenting Beyond Belief: On Raising Ethical, Caring Kids Without Religion

“Never be a hypocrite in language or action. Core values are those your children will come to see as the true morality. And with them, and your guidance, your children will respect you, and you will respect yourself.”
― Dale McGowan, Parenting Beyond Belief: On Raising Ethical, Caring Kids Without Religion

“idea that doubt is bad, that unquestioning acceptance is good, that there is only one possible right answer,”
― Dale McGowan, Parenting Beyond Belief: On Raising Ethical, Caring Kids Without Religion

“Intellectual and ethical maturity can be measured in part by a person’s willingness to engage in constant reflection on what he or she holds to be true and good.”
― Dale McGowan, Parenting Beyond Belief: On Raising Ethical, Caring Kids Without Religion

“Our job as secular parents is not to work toward a religion-free world, but to help our kids learn to happily and peacefully co-exist with religion.”
― Dale McGowan, Parenting Beyond Belief: On Raising Ethical, Caring Kids Without Religion

“Because so large a portion of our fellow human beings articulate their own meaning, purpose, and values through their religions, it is essential that our children know as much as possible about those religions.”
― Dale McGowan, Parenting Beyond Belief: On Raising Ethical, Caring Kids Without Religion

“Along with the usual secular values (such as appropriate tolerance/intolerance, morality, critical thinking, appreciation for reason and science), don’t forget to impart social graces, playfulness, and humor. Those go far in our short existences.”
― Dale McGowan, Parenting Beyond Belief: On Raising Ethical, Caring Kids Without Religion

“Where there is no critical thinking, there is no progress.”
― Dale McGowan, Parenting Beyond Belief: On Raising Ethical, Caring Kids Without Religion

“What is of the utmost importance is exposing children to critical thinking as opposed to mindless indoctrination.”
― Dale McGowan, Parenting Beyond Belief: On Raising Ethical, Caring Kids Without Religion