Originally Posted by Richard Dawkins

Sir

The duplicity of Lois Rogers' title, "Dawkins Sets up Kids' Camp to Groom Atheists" (Sunday Times, June 28th), is exceeded only by its Jesuitical opening line, "Give Richard Dawkins a child for a week's summer camp and he will try to give you an atheist for life." I had nothing to do with the setting up of Camp Quest, and it is not, in any sense whatever, inspired by me, or influenced by me. The British version, run by Samantha Stein with no help from me, follows the admirable American model founded some years ago by Edwin and Helen Kagin, of Kentucky.

Lois Rogers asked me for a quotation, and she thanked me warmly for the following: "Camp Quest encourages children to think for themselves, sceptically and rationally. There is no indoctrination, just encouragement to be open-minded, while having fun." Isn't that about as far from Jesuitical grooming as you could imagine? One of my dominant motivations, passionately expressed in The God Delusion, is an abhorrence of childhood indoctrination, of atheism just as much as of religion. It is in this spirit that the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science has made very modest contributions to Camp Quest. Lois Rogers' traducing of both Camp Quest and me is, alas, par for the course for religiously motivated journalists. Fortunately, I am not the litigious type, but an apology would be nice.

Richard Dawkins
Oxford

Originally Posted by speters17 (Post 34825614)

kids should be able to choose for themselves - dont send them to god camp, dont send them to atheist camp. simple.

Originally Posted by papa smurf (Post 34825633)

gosh that almost sounds like your saying that parents don't actually own there kids and should butt out of religious matters until the children are old enough to decide for themselves ;)

Originally Posted by CHiLL (Post 34825641)

Though forcing children into a certain belief isn't exactly the right thing to do either.

Originally Posted by papa smurf (Post 34825645)

what belief ?

Originally Posted by papa smurf (Post 34825633)

gosh that almost sounds like your saying that parents don't actually own there kids and should butt out of religious matters until the children are old enough to decide for themselves ;)

Originally Posted by speters17 (Post 34825784)

it upsets me to see these kids who have been dragged to god camp, being indoctrinated into thinking that all atheists and people of other religions are the devil and ought to be tortured and killed.

Originally Posted by Russ B (Post 34825785)

So which God camps have you been to that promote those ideas?

Originally Posted by Gary L (Post 34825794)

Does Sunday school count? ;) :)

Originally Posted by speters17 (Post 34825784)

thats what my parents did with me. seems to have worked - i made my own decision, and everything was fine. it upsets me to see these kids who have been dragged to god camp, being indoctrinated into thinking that all atheists and people of other religions are the devil and ought to be tortured and killed. yes, the parents have a right to care for their children in a way that they see fit (obviously to a point) but they have to respect that the child is their own person.

Originally Posted by Russ B (Post 34825785)

Riiiiiight.

So which God camps have you been to that promote those ideas?

Originally Posted by Gary L (Post 34825794)

Does Sunday school count? ;) :)