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this post was submitted on 06 Jul 2023
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Being raised as an atheist makes life so much simpler. Never had to spend time with those parts of YouTube, life was simple and clear.
I was also raised atheists but I found myself being entertained by the bashing of ridiculous claims of fundamentalists. Things like thunderf00ts "Why people laugh at creationists" or anything by Darkmatter2525 were just poking harmless fun. As time progressed, some of these YouTubers started making more podcasty stuff where they would rant and rave about the evil effects of religion on daily life and I was still on board.
When they all switched to bashing feminism I left pretty quickly because I had a good friend who was an outspoken feminist and I realized that the videos portrayed feminism all wrong. Who knows where I would be if it wasnt for her.
Off-topic but if you don't mind me asking, how did you parents answer big questions like on the origins of the universe? Did they tell you religious people were wrong? (my religious parents go out of their way to differentiate us from 'them' so I'm curious.)
Just explain the big bang. I mean, not as if anything else is true. As for the "meaning" of life, my parents were quite blunt. And I'm also blunt to my kids: "there is no meaning. Life is what you make off it. Be excellent to each other and enjoy the ride"
Some don't have an answer or don't care. Some parents show all the religious answers to disillusion the uniqueness and originality of major religions' answers. Many children don't ask or care. Many children are perfectly fine with documentaries about the Big Bang, seeing the complexity involved.
I asked, my parents didn't know and cared little to find out, I found documentaries and audiobooks made for children. It took a long time for me to understand that the boring religious stories they subtly taught in school were seeking to at least partially replace the scientific narratives.
This so much. The average kid doesn't give a flying fuck about the meaning of life. They're too busy enjoying it. It's only parents that insist on saddling their kids with that existential dread baggage.
We were/are always just honest with our kids. No, we don't think there's a god/goddess/whatever. When we/grandma/grandpa/whoever dies, they're just gone. Nobody knows where the universe/world comes from. As far as anyone knows it's several billion years old. Explain the big bang as best as we know it. Etc.
There's no 'right' way for so many things when it comes to kids. Ours know that many people believe in a god. We don't. That's ok.
Amen!
Having been raised in a religious family myself, I never had to spend time with those parts either for the same reasons. Perhaps this only happens to people who are brought up without a clear policy regarding beliefs?