SOCIETY: Atheist Summer Camp Fun

Oh I do hope so.

I don't know the origin of this illustration, but I love it. It's got nothing to do with the subject except tangentially in that reflects typical right-wing Christian fears which are just under the surface of a piece about the camp in today's Daily Mail Online, a good source of right wing propaganda to either get leftily righteous about or have a good laugh at.

Okay, I'm not going to go into any great detail here. You can google it easily yourself. Suffice to say that it's a summer camp for kids in the typical tradition of summer camps all outdoor fun and communal stuff but with a theme of thinking critically about religion and teaching kids to think critically in general.

I confess that when I first heard about these camps a while ago I felt somewhat ambivalent, uncertain of any need or point. But having read more about it, I think it's a great idea as long as the emphasis is on teaching kids to think rather than indoctrinating them about atheism. My belief is that we should be able to arrive at our destination without compulsion be it as a devout theist of whatever kind or a devout atheist or anywhere else along the axis between belief and unbelief. As long as the emphasis is on thinking critically, which I take to mean, analysing ideas of whatever kind, I think it's a good idea. If you do that you don't need to ram atheism down their throats because they'll come to it naturally when they realise how ludicrous religions are.

Not untypically, The Daily Mail, while not overtly condemning these camps outright, nevertheless makes it clear where it stands. Fears of indoctrinating kids. Um, excuse me, and religious camps don't indoctrinate kids?

Christ, I fucking hate religion. When asked recently if I wanted to go to church, my reply was: Only if I can burn it down.