Summer Camps for Atheists' Children

I've been away for a few months. Well not actually away, but away from blogging since the beginning of April. I've been spending all my free time trying to get a new internet business up and running. I've always been a fan of antiques and collectibles, and I have a particularly soft spot for pottery and porcelain. In any case I decided to take the plunge and open a business selling these items online. It's a lot of work, as any new business can be. And of course, the way the economy is now, I feel like I opened a store selling refrigerators at the start of the next ice age. As a result, this blog has been neglected for a while. Hopefully that will change, although I still won't be able to post with the frequency I'd like.

So, for this first post since March I'd like to touch briefly on an article I saw in this morning's Trenton Times. I tried to post a link to it so you could read it yourself, however the article is strangely absent from the online version of the paper. I did find the article from a different source, so the link goes there if you're interested. Click on the title above.

Apparently there is a summer camp in California that caters to children from atheist families. Camp quest, which started in 1996 in Ohio and is now offered in Minnesota, Michigan, Tennessee and Ontario has been in existence in California for the past 4 years. The California branch opened with 14 campers and after 4 years boasts and attendance of 49. The camp apparently does little in the way of advertising, but word spreads through various atheist chat sites.

The campers participate in many of the traditional summer camp experiences, but exercises in critical thinking are included. Many of the campers are not atheists..but they're not really sure what they believe. Many of the discussions reflect these attitudes, and the the camp welcomes, and indeed encourages this kind of "thinking for yourself".

I found it interesting but not surprising that I was unaware of the existence of these camps. It's quite encouraging to know that many of today's kids finally have a place they can discuss issues of belief without the negative scrutiny that can go with it. Maybe there really is some hope for the future after all.