Families : Parents' Corner : Essays

Essays

Boy Scouts Of America

Raising Freethinking Children

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American Humanist Association's Statement on The Family (1980) (Off Site)
American Humanist Association's Response to the Christian Coalition's "Contract with the American Family" (Off Site)
Atheistic Education by Michael Martin | Article originally published in The American Rationalist
Atheists' Rights and Religious Expression in the Public Schools A Secular Perspective & Guide For Parents and Students By Ellen Johnson, President, American Atheists (2002) (Off Site)
Good and Bad Reasons for Believing by Richard Dawkins (a letter to his daughter, Juliet) (Off Site)
How to Educate an Atheist by Michael Martin (2000)
Living in the Light: Dancing Daze--Creating Celebrations by Anne Stone (Off Site)
Parents at School (Off Site)
Protect My Children from the Ten Commandments By Lewis Vaughn (Off Site) | Why we should not permit the posting of the ten commandments in schools
Raising Atheist Children by Dave Silverman, American Atheists(Off Site)
Raising Children Without Religion by Dave Silverman, American Atheists (Off Site)
Review of Toy Story by Kevin Klapstein (2000) (Off Site)
Secular Family News by Jan Loeb Eisler (Off Site)
Speaking of Family Values by Sandra Feroe (Off Site)
Raising Humanist Children by Terri Mandell (Off Site)
Rebuttal to the "Contract With the American Family" by Bryan Zepp Jamieson | A point-by-point rebuttal of the so-called "Contract with the American Family"
Teaching Kids to Yawn at Counterfeit Wonder By Dale McGowan (2002) (Off Site)
Your Kids and Religion By Robert M. Price, Ph.D. (2002) (Off Site)

Family and Commitment Ceremonies

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Humanist Child Dedication Ceremony by Patricia Burnet (Off Site) | A ceremony for welcoming a new child to the world while reaffirming the worth of the new child's older siblings
Humanist Naming Ceremony (Off Site)
Online Directory of Humanist Celebrants (Off Site)

Education

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Freethought Clubs In High Schools

Alabama's First High School Freethinkers Club Forms by Adam Butler (Off Site) | Adam Butler tells of his fight to start a freethinkers club at his high school in Alabama
Equal Access Strikes Back by Adam Butler (Off Site) | Excerpted from a speech by Adam Butler, given at the Freedom From Religion Foundation convention in Madison, Wisconsin during October 1996. Recounts Butler's fight to start a freethinkers club at his high school.

Prayer In Public Schools

Constututional Amendment on School Prayer (March 11, 2002, ACLU) (Off Site)
Bible Believers Should Oppose School Prayer by Rick Lott (Off Site) | Argues against forced prayer in schools
Case Against Government-Sponsored Prayer (Off Site) | The conservative argument for school prayer is based on flat distortions of the truth and a deaf ear to the Constitution, as this article shows (from Separation of Church and State Home Page)
Case Against School Prayer (Off Site) | A brochure produced by the Freedom From Religion Foundation on why forced prayer in public schools is a bad idea
Index of Separation of Church and State articles on this site
What's Wrong With a Few Harmless Prayers in Courtrooms or Classrooms? By Ronald J. Barrier (1997) (Off Site)

General Education and Religion Issues

One Nation "Under God" (Off Site) | Colection of resources from Americans United for Separation of Church and State
In God We Trust in Public Schools: Talking Points (Off Site)
One Nation "Under God": Questions and Answers (Off Site)
God and The Public Schools (Off Site) | Discusses the role of religion in public schools and argues in favor of keeping public schools religiously neutral
People for the American Way: Education Issues (Off Site) | A collection of articles about the religious right's assault on public schools, including vouchers and tuition tax credit programs
Religion in Schools (Off Site) | Press releases from the ACLU
Religion, Public Schools, and Gray Areas By Wendy Kaminer (2001) (Off Site)
School Board Elections: Countering the Fundamentalists By Frank Prahl (Off Site) | Tips on how to fight local fundamentalists who try to take over school boards
Separation of Guru and State? Influence of the New Age Movement on Public Education by Frank Beckwith (Off Site) | Discusses the growing influence of Eastern and New Age religions in the public schools. Although Beckwith is a Christian, this article will be of interest to nontheistic parents who oppose Eastern and New Age superstitions as well as their Western counterparts.
Should You Pay Taxes to Support Parochial Schools? (Off Site) | Argues against the use of tax dollars for parochial schools

Boy Scouts Of America

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Boy Scouts Of America Practices Discrimination By Annie Laurie Gaylor (1994, 2000) (Off Site) | The Boy Scouts of America has earned a merit badge for hypocrisy by discriminating against atheist children.
How Your Tax Dollars Support the Boy Scouts of America by Larry Taylor (Off Site) | Rebuts the BSA's assertion that it is a private, non-tax-funded organization, and may therefore legally discriminate against atheist children.

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