Summer Camp for agnostic and atheist children

[lilwriter85]

Very interesting. I can imagine the various comments fundies would make about this.

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle ... story.html

[O Latin]

I know the article may not accurately reflect what the camp itself is like, but the way it was written it seemed to be promoting a very "us vs. them" mentality. The one kid was quoted saying he doesn't have any "freethinker" friends at home and then the article mentions that a lot of his friends pray before dinner. Um, just because somebody prays before dinner doesn't automatically mean they are incapable of free thinking. I don't doubt that this boy probably feels like the odd man out and worries about being ridiculed for his beliefs (or lack thereof), but I don't think teaching atheist kids that they are so much better than their religious friends is the answer. To me that just seems like fighting fire with fire. Again, I realize that such a short article probably can't capture what this camp is all about, but that's the vibe I picked up from it.

I did like the rule the one kid came up with about not fighting magical bears (or whatever it was) without a helmet. That was funny.

[valsa]

The one kid was quoted saying he doesn't have any "freethinker" friends at home and then the article mentions that a lot of his friends pray before dinner. Um, just because somebody prays before dinner doesn't automatically mean they are incapable of free thinking. I don't doubt that this boy probably feels like the odd man out and worries about being ridiculed for his beliefs (or lack thereof), but I don't think teaching atheist kids that they are so much better than their religious friends is the answer.

I think you're making quite a bit of a leap here. The article mentions the kid saying he doesn't have any freethinking friends at home. Then it uses the example of his friends praying before meals and him having to bow his head along with them to highlight what he says about being afraid to tell his friends he's not religious, because they might not want to be friends with him anymore. The article never even implied that "praying before meals= close minded". Frankly, even most mainstream Christian churches preach that you're going to burn in hell if you aren't Christian, so I don't think it's unusual to view most Christian/religious people as close-minded. And it’s certainly not teaching atheist kids that they’re better than their religious peers.

[Guest Anonymous]

Daniel Radcliffe is an "iconic freethinker"? Seriously?

How is this different from camps that have no spiritual focus whatsoever? I think ethics, democracy etc aren't subjects that can't fit in other camp settings, but is it hard to find camps that aren't of a particular religion/sect?

[valsa]

How is this different from camps that have no spiritual focus whatsoever? I think ethics, democracy etc aren't subjects that can't fit in other camp settings, but is it hard to find camps that aren't of a particular religion/sect?

I think the problem (at least from what I've seen checking out summer camps) is that not all camps with a religious element advertise their religious component (hell, some summer camps are basically a fucked up "witnessing opportunity" involving unsuspecting kids) This is a camp guaranteed not to have a religious element, which can be comforting.

[FloraDoraDolly]

Why can't kids just go to summer camps where they roast marshmallows and hike in the woods? Why does someone always have to be messing with their little minds?

[FaustianSlip]

I went to Girl Scout day camp when I was a kid, which was completely secular. Then I went to a camp run by the Episcopal Church as a teenager, and I loved it, despite the fact that I had major doubts about Christianity and had more or less thrown my lot in with Judaism at that point. It was really just like any other camp, aside from having a church service on Saturday night (kids' parents came to pick them up on Sunday). There was no witnessing, no cramming religion into every activity... it was standard summer camp fare, really. Of course, this is the Episcopalians we're talking about, who aren't exactly known for their heavy-handed proselytizing in the first place. I know there were a lot of kids who attended this camp who weren't Episcopalian or even Christian, and it wasn't a big deal at all.

That said, I can completely believe that people get sucked into weird, week- or month-long evangelism scenarios just because they signed their kid up for what sounded like an average, run-of-the-mill camp. As far as atheist/agnostic camp goes, hey, whatever floats your boat. I would consider sending my kid to a camp like that, with an emphasis on self-government and such, except I agree that the article did make it sound like it could be a little hostile to kids who do believe in a higher power or follow an organized religion but are interested in branching out and/or want a more secular camp experience, so I guess it's Jewish summer camp for any kids I wind up having. Or space camp. Do they even still have that?

[lilah]

You know you can have really eye opening, mind opening experiences without it having to be an atheist camp. i went to this amazing camp for aspiring writers/playwrites/poets/songwriters for two years and it was just about the best couple of weeks of my teenage life. Just about everyone at the camp was so creative, good natured, fun and accepting. There were geeeks, hippies, bohemians, goths punks and preppies hanging out together, atheists, pagans, Christians and Jews happily coexisting, and there were a lot of out LBGT kids. I remember at one point eating lunch with a bunch of campers who were bemoaning their lack of luck in dating and swapping bad date war stories and slowly realizing I was probably the only straight kid at the table.

So I guess what I am saying is that you don't have to send your kids to an atheist camp just so they don't feel alone, you can find that at camp that caters to interests.

[valsa]

So I guess what I am saying is that you don't have to send your kids to an atheist camp just so they don't feel alone, you can find that at camp that caters to interests.

The same is true for religious summer camps, but no one seems to have a problem with those.

[keeperrox]

Why can't kids just go to summer camps where they roast marshmallows and hike in the woods? Why does someone always have to be messing with their little minds?

+1

[bekkah]

I loved Concordia Language camps. I was really interested in languages as a kid and it was so fun to go. I went to French and Spanish. It really did teach me about different cultures. I learned a love for the world that otherwise I wouldn't have had. I went for weekends and for a one week camp. My parents scrimped and saved for me to go to the one week camp. It allowed me to meet a lot of different people. Kids need to exposed to differing view points. I do see benefit for kids to go to an atheist camp because then they don't feel alone in the world. They meet people who share a similar belief but at the same time they see differences.

[TaylorMaid]

I think that article (or at least the headline) is quite misleading. The camp isn't an "answer" to bible summer programs. CampQuest isn't different from "camps that have no spiritual focus whatsoever" except that rather than having a focus on music or acting, the focus is on critical thought and freethinking. This might not seem like a big deal to some people, but there are a large number of freethinking parents who are unable to find truly secular camps for their children to attend.

[Witsec1]

It's interesting how the "OMG, indoctrination!" thing always rears its head with CampQuest, and not with Vacation Bible School or similar.

My daughter has gone to a Quaker summer camp since 4th grade, though we're not Quaker.

OMG, having typed that I know have all the camp songs she brought back running through my head, including one she made up called "Quaker Boys and Girls", to the tune of Katy Perry's California Gurls

[nutella addict]

I don't think the camp itself is a bad idea, but I do think the article seemed to try to emphasize an idea of a lack of non-religious camps. I grew up in the mid-Atlantic and went to a Christian camp ONCE, and aside from a non-denominational church service, I don't remember anything else being overtly Christian, except that we all brought Bibles with us which nobody ended up reading. Every summer after that it was secular: sports camps through specific sports programs, day and resident camps through the YMCA and Girl Scouts. And no, the YMCA does not still preach God, it preaches a set of values like "kindness" and "respect". We had "chapel" at the YMCA camp which was a quiet, completely-devoid-of-specific-religious-references moment on Sunday morning, which kept the religious parents happy without even discussing beliefs, so that it didn't offend anyone. There was usually a talk about being kind to each other and respecting each other and having a good time at camp, and that was all. Our devotions were just good stories or thoughts or ways to get to know each other, nothing religious. I guess what I'm trying to say is, the camp doesn't sound like a bad camp, but I dislike the way it was framed in the article as being the only place safe for an atheist kid to go to. There are SO MANY secular camps, and I'd rather my kids spend time with people of all beliefs. But, to be fair, some Christian camps are probably framed as the only place for a Christian kid to go to.

[DamnPrecious]

I know the article may not accurately reflect what the camp itself is like, but the way it was written it seemed to be promoting a very "us vs. them" mentality. The one kid was quoted saying he doesn't have any "freethinker" friends at home and then the article mentions that a lot of his friends pray before dinner. Um, just because somebody prays before dinner doesn't automatically mean they are incapable of free thinking. I don't doubt that this boy probably feels like the odd man out and worries about being ridiculed for his beliefs (or lack thereof), but I don't think teaching atheist kids that they are so much better than their religious friends is the answer. To me that just seems like fighting fire with fire. Again, I realize that such a short article probably can't capture what this camp is all about, but that's the vibe I picked up from it.

I did like the rule the one kid came up with about not fighting magical bears (or whatever it was) without a helmet. That was funny.

Agreed.