tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357415193462649988.post7880213774157191172..comments2023-11-22T21:30:35.388-06:00Comments on My Own Mind blog / Homeschool Atheist Momma: Aussie Atheism, a Question from LindsayKarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03309932952235453461noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357415193462649988.post-17166735994356592142013-12-27T02:25:38.141-06:002013-12-27T02:25:38.141-06:00I truly appreciate your comments because I have be...I truly appreciate your comments because I have been accused by some as falsely reporting the environment in the US as compare to Australia. <br />Moving out of our country has been such a HUGE eye opener. Things that you see as "normal" and "how things are" that are truly cultural are so interesting to discover.<br /><br />We, too, now have some wonderful friends who may or may not have strong religious beliefs; we don't know. And we still love our friends tremendously and they love us. <br /><br />Yes, I will very much miss this.<br />If you read back in my blog aways I have told some stories where the kids were hit HARD with anti-atheist rhetoric as well as times when they were out and out DISSED by both adults and kids for being freethinkers. <br />We will all miss this country for it's PEOPLE .Karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03309932952235453461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357415193462649988.post-35002077758721533432013-12-27T00:40:04.047-06:002013-12-27T00:40:04.047-06:00That was a very interesting question. I've be...That was a very interesting question. I've been to the US twice, back in the 90s, and any culture shock I experienced was certainly centred around religion. I stayed with friends and their families and without having been asked about my beliefs, I was expected to accompany them to church and participate in their activities, asked to say grace etc. Now out of respect for my hosts (parents of my friends) I was happy to go along to church (I like the experience of new things) but they were horrified I hadn't brought along 'good clothes for church' so I didn't end up going. But yeah, there was a massive difference to how things 'are', where religion/Christianity is concerned, to how it is here in Australia.<br /><br />My homeschool friends here are a big mix. I've actually met two families who I assumed were secular, but later realised they were quite religious. Not once had they brought up their faith, and not once had my atheist friends brought up theirs because really, nobody minds! Personally, I've been to events hosted by Christian families (in one family the father is a minister) but faith never came in to it. I've never had the experience of being made to feel like I am a lesser person somehow, or in need of salvation, at a homeschool meet but I have heard of some friends attending activities advertised in home ed networks, only to rock up and find there was a very strong Christian theme present and the non-Christians felt very uncomfortable (one friend had gone to an event where the women there took it upon themselves to try and convert or 'save' her, understandably she never went back!). I've found stories like that here are incredibly rare, but when I look at a lot of American homeschool blogs or check out secular forums, I see just how pressured some secular home ed families in the US must feel, because they seem to only have Christian networks around them.<br /><br />Our country's leadership right now is depressing :( Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357415193462649988.post-68098176993390613252013-12-20T18:24:06.295-06:002013-12-20T18:24:06.295-06:00There are plenty of bigots in Australia, but there...There are plenty of bigots in Australia, but there are also MANY more who won't accept bigotry. Most Australians have a very wide/mixed circle of friends. Yes, we have our cults and fundamentalists too, but the Australian character is one of being a maveric: we don't like to 'fit in' and be defined by one classification. Even the bigots don't realise how diverse their personal circles can be! Remember the Tupperware party you came to at my place? 20 ladies with not one single common background who had fun and didn't think twice about comparing their experiences and viewpoints, safe in the knowledge that their views will not be ridiculed. We had 20 different cultures, 20 different religions (or not!), 20 different family structures, 20 different education levels, etc. The ONE thing we all had in common is our ethics. All the ladies you met have children, and put their children's needs first followed by their partner's. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357415193462649988.post-80449581622278055362013-12-20T09:51:24.218-06:002013-12-20T09:51:24.218-06:00Oops. Perhaps, you're not aware Karen? Unfo...Oops. Perhaps, you're not aware Karen? Unfortunately our country is now governed by religious zealots who recently started saying toddlers of single mothers should be taken from them and given too Christian families. As well as a few other issues. Our politicians are mostly Christians/ Catholics etc too.Cath McGrathnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357415193462649988.post-40506685783751669472013-12-20T08:11:01.798-06:002013-12-20T08:11:01.798-06:00Lindsay ~ I, too, wish you love, hope, and dreams-...Lindsay ~ I, too, wish you love, hope, and dreams-coming-true as you build your family. <3<br />Karen ~ Love this, my friend. I have dreams of Australia dancing in my head...<br />I am appalled on an almost daily basis by the constant assumption here in the US that everyone is Christian and believes all the same things; and if you're not or you don't, then there must be something wrong with you and you need to be "saved". Saved from what... Individuality? Freethinking? This is a big reason why we homeschool--so that our children can develop their belief system without having teachers and peers grill/condemn them about what they believe and why.Bridgethttp://beaningoflife.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com