Humanists don’t believe that children should be labelled according to the religious or non-religious beliefs of their parents. Children should be free to learn about the world and make up their own minds as they grow and develop.
Humanists do provide naming ceremonies for babies and children. These ceremonies are to welcome the child into the world ‒ not to impose any kind of belief or non-belief on them.
Humanists do not have a tradition of providing anything resembling ‘Sunday School’ for children. There are plenty of opportunities for children to learn about the world around them, at home, at school, and through their own natural inquisitiveness.
There is still a widespread belief that children need to be brought up in a religion to learn basic morals and values. Humanists do not believe this. Humanists believe that morals and values can be taught perfectly well without making children believe in gods, virgin births and so on.
We do support good quality philosophy, ethics, and religious education and we play an active part in ensuring that humanism is included in school curricula.
Children are welcome to attend our events if accompanied by a parent, relative, or guardian.
Further reading
What is Humanism? How do you live without a god? and Other Big Questions for Kids (2016) Michael Rosen and Annemarie Young
What is Right and Wrong? Who Decides? Where Do Values Come From? And Other Big Questions (2018) Michael Rosen and Annemarie Young