As two atheists, we raised our daughter without religion or attending a church. "How can you be a moral person and be an atheist?" Christians ask. Being a good person is a daily, moment-by-moment decision.

We taught our daughter:

1. Social skills- conversational skills, good manners, confidence, kindness, honesty, humor and fair play. To value diversity and respect others, regardless of skin color, religion, national origin, disabilities or sexual orientation.
2. Self-responsibility.
3. To value education, art and music.
4. A healthy lifestyle including exercise and eating healthy food.
5. Music- piano and violin lessons.
6. Athletics- tennis, gymnastics, karate, swiming, hiking, basketball, downhill skiing, weightlifting, stretching and more. One sport at at time, although tennis and swimming lessons were continued. When Claire was four, she began horse-riding lessons to build confidence.

Although she tried different sports, tennis was her passion. Like her dad, Claire was a varsity doubles tennis player during all four years of high school.
7. Volunteering to help others in need.
8. Love of the outdoors.
9. The importance of protecting the environment.
10. Love of reading.

When my son was 10 years old, I had read a children's bible, and I asked him what he believed and what he didn't believe. He picked up on 2 things that were impossible:

The Universe, Earth, Man, and all animals were not created the same week.
No Star of Bethlehem could ever lead wise men to a single house.

He's been an atheist ever since.
He's a very bright boy, he had me boxed into a logical corner on Santa Claus when he was only 6 so I had to come clean on that one.

I don't have kids, but I'm for sure raising an atheist dog.

A child is not going to believe in a god or be a theist unless that poison is crammed into their brain.

Atheist or in language no deity is the normal state.

I was once talking to a Christian friend about my grandson being atheist, and he said, "Ya'll don't teach them that do you?" I pointed out that he's a Christian because his parents taught him that. He had no choice but to concede my point!

I raised several, and I told them to expand their minds and to make sure to decide for themselves.

I raised my children to make their own decisions. All three chose to be an atheist.

I wasn't hard core about it but my girl needed defense against the indoctrinated brats in school so there was indeed some guidance... I never wanted her to feel like "god" was picking on her so felt I'd no choice but to step in and let her know that the other kids were raised being told that crap and didn't know any better. That just because someone believes in god doesn't mean they're a good person.

I raised my twins to question everything, they believe in fact over fiction

Mine grew up with rational explanations for natural events and no indoctrination.

My kids decided for themselves. My only guidance was don't be assholes.

If I were a parent, I would raise them to choose to believe whatever they want. I would teach them about all the religions.

I don't like telling anyone how to raise their kids but if someone were to ask me I would say:

>If you teach a child no faith, they default to the majority. If you teach them one faith you indoctrinate them, if you teach them many faiths you innoculate them.

No, I raised them how to think and told them my beliefs and they happen to be none believers

I raised my daughters without religion and knowing that I was an atheist. Still, I let them make their own choices. Both are agnostics today.

Before our sons were born my husband and I decided that we would not raise our children with any religion. We taught them to question everyone and everything, because we wanted them to make a decision as to whether or not they believed. One is now an atheist and the other is an agnostic.

I did rise mine as freethinkers so they can decide for themselves what they want to believe. They are adults now and haven't pick anything yet, they are doing ok as plain freethinkers

No. I raise my daughter to think for herself.

So long as you don’t indoctronate children, their default position is atheism, whether they know it or not. It wouldn’t be their identity, but their beliefs would align. The only sense in which one should “raise them” to be atheists is just to teach them to question things. If they ask you what you believe, tell them in a way that acknowledges that other people believe other things. As long as you love them no matter what, I wouldn’t stress about it.

If I had children, I would definitely be raising them as atheists.
Keeping an "open mind" has nothing to do with religion.

I gave my daughter a new option as I met her at age 14. She'd grown up with all kinds of religion force upon her and none of those family members stepped in to foster her when she needed placement. I spoke openly about my Catholic upbringing, searching, joining a cult at 19, and getting myself out 2.5 years later after I broke up with Jesus for good. She is very inquisitive re: astral projection and energy, but no gods to speak of.

I did-my kids are 35 and 22, both are not religious.

I let my sons make their own minds up. I was an unbeliever. their mother believed in the idea of some vague deity and felt there should be an afterlife. the school system promoted (in my day it was enforced) catholicism. raising kids as atheists is another form of indoctrination. as parents we were helped by location, living in northern Ireland where religion had caused so much pain and division. my sons are 30+ now and i'm not really sure what their presise beliefs/opinions are. that's their business not mine.

I raised my daughter as a Unitarian Universalist, without any dogma. She got a relatively impartial exposure to different beliefs. Unfortunately, her father didn't respect that and had her baptized in his (fundamentalist) Presbyterian church. She's grown and plans to raise her daughter as I raised her.

My kids' dad's family is very religious. (I haven't really believed since I was a small child and saw my grandfather crying in church, but I grew up with the expectation that church is part of child-rearing.) So, my kids went to church with their nana, and she's given them bibles, study guides, devotionals, DVDs, religious plaques and Christian music CDs for every occasion (though my son has somehow escaped ever receiving any of these, to his utter relief and his sisters' eternal frustration.) But my kids tend toward my way of thinking, which is that there's no proof of a God or gods, the bible is nonsense, and religion makes people nuts. I didn't have to "raise them atheist" because it's their natural state, and my atheism and acceptance of whatever they chose made it easier for them to be themselves - agnostic/atheist.