Raising Freethinkers

Leveling the 'empathy gradient' has always been one of my biggest parenting challenges. In the last few years, it has felt more and more urgent.

A growing game genre replaces mayhem with thinking and empathy.

It's the first question mixed-belief couples hear. The answer is simple.

I’m not a social person myself, not a belonger. I’m an introvert and mostly happy that way. But there have been times when 'citizen of the world' didn't cut it. That's when I needed a crew.

Privilege is a concept with tremendous potential to move us forward. But when the word becomes an epithet, it loses its transformative power.

It's hard to live in a universe that doesn't care. So we give it a face.

In the shadow of a terrible loss, Thomas Henry Huxley wrote a moving testament to intellectual integrity.

Bedtime is an opportunity to share who you are, what you care about, and what you want your kids to know about the world.

The science you will never know can kill you, and it can save your life.

Our kids' generation sees religious disbelief as, you know...normal. Let's catch up.

When teaching your kids about religion, cast a (very) wide net.

Once my daughter decided what she believed, there was another question waiting.

Our conversation about moral development is all wrong. Let's fix that.

The Santa myth is the greatest gift a rational worldview ever had.

The playful fib can serve a serious purpose in raising critical thinkers.

Don't teach kids to obey without thinking. They just might.

They were two of our earliest parenting decisions, and we blew it both times.

59% of nonreligious Americans who are married have a religious partner. How it goes depends on a few crucial details.

It's a fair question. Fortunately there's a very good answer.

A simple exchange in a middle school cafeteria touched on a famous study in conformity.