“Mom, is Santa Claus real?” No, it’s just a fun thing to pretend. “Good.”
Soon: “Mom, magic isn’t real, right?” Right. “Just checking.”
Later: “Mom, what’s a god?” Something like an imaginary friend who hogs all the good stuff and bosses you around, then gets mad whenever you do something they don’t like. “Why would anyone make-believe that?!”
Best question ever! But of course I feel that way; I’m an atheist.
I had a religious upbringing, but what I actually believed growing-up was that everyone in town got together on Sundays for a big game of pretend. We listened to fairy tales and sang songs about magical things, just like in Disney movies. Church was fun until someone broke me the bad news: In a community of true-believers, I was the only one pretending.
My son will obviously never have quite the same experience with religion that I had growing up, but atheists are still in the minority. Truly secular parenting resources are scanty compared to the faith-based alternative, so whenever I come across something supportive of science-based living, I am delighted. Especially when that support takes the form of a music video I can add to an online playlist for my son to sing along with whenever he’s not in the mood for magical things.
For skeptics and others with a good sense of humor about faith, I give you the Irrational Nonsense Blues, by Ross Exton:
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