A Camp for Atheists is a Chance for Engagement

If I had grown up going to the Christian summer camps Lexington describes in this week's Economist column, I think I would start an atheist summer camp too. Atheists, evidently, find comfort that a camp promoting skepticism is joining a market saturated by, among other things, religion.

About the atheist summer camp, Lexington writes: "They are not pushy or preachy, but scepticism flavours nearly everything they do. Lunch comes with a five-minute talk about a famous freethinker. Campers are told that invisible unicorns inhabit the forest, and offered a prize if they can prove that the unicorns do not exist. The older kids learn something about the difficulty of proving a negative. The younger ones grow giggly at the prospect of stepping in invisible unicorn poop."

How should we as Christians react to this? According to Lexington, "the kind of people who send their kids to Bible camp are appalled. Answers in Genesis, a Christian fundamentalist group, berates Camp Quest for drumming a “hopeless” world view into young minds."

I'm not so sure this camp, as Lexington describes it, is any more hopeless than the worldview of their atheist parents, or for that matter, the barrage of media children receive every day. I think, instead, this could help us better approach our atheist friends. Like Christians, and like almost any other subset of people in the U.S., atheists feel alienated. Lexington devotes a good portion of the column to the "lonely 1 in 12," and describes how less likely they would obtain elected office as compared to almost any other unpopular minority. Yet, they do not have networks through churches or other associations that almost any other group would have. Atheists need community, as do all of us. Consider this paragraph, for a moment:

"Many atheists opt to remain in the closet, except perhaps with their closest friends. It is the path of least resistance. Deny the existence of God and you may be challenging your neighbours’ most deeply held beliefs. That could get you ostracised, so why risk it? Yet living in the closet has costs. Christians have their beliefs constantly reinforced by neighbours who proudly and openly share them. Atheists often wrestle with their consciences alone, even though they are perhaps 8% of the population. Christopher Hitchens, the author of an antireligious polemic in 2007, observed that half the people who came to his book-promoting speeches had thought they were the only atheists in town."

Two weeks ago, my pastor preached on hospitality, and that hospitality towards those who provide us with no advantage, including the alienated, is a mark of a mature Christian. Since then, I have wonderd where we are with hospitality. Has Christian hospitality gotten to the point that atheists must wrestle with their consciences alone? Do we really need to ostracize anyone who challenges our most deeply held beliefs? The victims of the so-called culture wars are not necessarily the children who are exposed to pagan or atheistic ideas - that is unavoidable in this world. The victims are those who grow up in an environment where friendship with those of different beliefs is discouraged and conversations between believers and non-believers are squelched. If atheists feel unwelcome in American society, however secular we are becoming, then who can blame them for wanting their own camps and social institutions. We need to see this as a new opportunity for engagement.

There are a couple things to find encouraging about a summer camp for the children of Atheists. First, it is a reminder that everyone is seeking community. God made us for it, and commanded us to love each other. The camp will not last forever, and if we can provide, or at least be part of, community in a way that is genuinely loving and welcoming, there is a good foundation for further, potentially life changing conversation. Second, the seeds of skepticism can be used in our favor. If this camp truly encourages children to "weigh the evidence" and "explore ethical questions," then the foundations can be made for belief. Coming from ministry in Germany, a country where for obvious historical reasons skepticism is held in relatively high regard, I learned that a true skeptic will eventually be skeptical of other skeptics. Moreover, we could almost say that the history of Christianity is rich in skepticism. Jesus taught his followers to be skeptical of the ways of the world, and He ushered in a new Kingdom where the meek were blessed and enemies were loved. They were skeptical of imperialism, revolution and showy religiosity. We protestants can look to Martin Luther, who was skeptical of the structures of the Catholic church. Skepticism cannot be the end-all some may want it to be, but it can be the beginning of changed lives.

We need not always be "appalled," surprised or intimidated by the actions of unbelievers. We need to lovingly engage atheists (and anyone else) at the community level, encourage any honest search for truth, speak the truth ourselves and pray that they will find it.