Caliann wrote: > Hhhmmm, now this is a thought. Steve did not take offense, > but it got his attention. He mentioned that Atheism has > often been seen by outsiders as "rebelling" against religious > parents...and that he could at least say he wasn't rebelling. > > > > Then I mentioned that I have NEVER used the term to describe > someone's beliefs as " You must be rebelling against your > parents", as I believe early conditioning has MUCH more of an > effect on one's adult beliefs than the brief "rebelling" phase. > > This is a concept I'd like to follow. Could Atheism be just > as much a "taught" belief in childhood as religion? > > Imagine a world where "religions" ( yes, in plural) was a > class taught in grade school...and Atheism was taught along > with it. A completely academic study of the belief systems. The most devout atheists I know were taught by their parents to be atheists. I was going to make this comment earlier, but the single scariest truth I have learned as a parent is that if you tell your child something often enough and consistently enough, they will believe it at a level that will be difficult to overcome later in life. Note that this is also a source of great hope. Casey