ANSWERS: 54
  • Of course.
  • What a silly question. Obvious answer- YES
  • What would stop them from being good parents?
  • Can fundamentalists be good parents? I think the scales are in favor of the atheists!
  • Seriously? The answer is yes. Duh da da.
  • Yes, they can, and many are.
  • yes it is how you treat others and your values that make a good parent. +6
  • why not?
  • my dads a marxist and i turned out ok i think.
  • what a ridiculous question! my mum and most of my friends mothers are atheist ive got good grades, no addictions, im not mentally unstable and i have a good social life. what did you really expect from this question tho?
  • Of course. why do you even wonder about it ?
  • If they are nice parents, then yes they can.
  • Better than so-called religious types, at least, they won't be hypocrites
  • I'm glad my parents are atheist, I can count on them to not be hypocrites and liars. Plus, who would tell me not to have imaginary friends after the age of 3, not religious parents.
  • of course they can. just because God isn't in the equation doesn't mean they can't be good at parenting. When my child is born & old enough to understand, I'll let him make the choice if he wants to be religious or not.
  • Of course, why not?
  • Moral and ethical values, a clear sense of right and wrong, and a great sense of responsibility do not fall under the domain of religious belief. If any accurate statistical inquiry could be made, no evidence would be found indicating that atheists are more irresponsible or commit more crimes without the belief in heaven and hell, punishment and reward
  • no were saving all our good stuff for hell
  • Yes and they can raise independent thinkers as well! Something religious parents, by definition, seem to struggle with.
  • What an odd question to ask. Why would you think that atheist parents could not be good parents? I have seen what some religious parents have done to their children and it makes my heart hurt but I don't go around thinking that all religious parents are bad parents. There are good parents and bad parents and a whole range of parents in between from all walks of life be it religious, non religious, race, colour, old, or young.
  • Yes they can and are. Let's hope the state recognizes that too. There is a case regarding just this question in I believe New Hampshire. A man and a woman who had previously adopted and raised one child who is now an adult. They decided to adopt again and were raising a little girl. When they went to finalize the adoption the judge refused to allow it despite glowing recommendations of the agency, schools, doctors, friends of the couple and their now adult child. The reason? The mother was I believe agnostic and the father an atheist. The judge felt that them not believing in God would deprive the child of a right to worship God. It is very possible that this little girl will be taken from the only parents she has ever known. Amazing eh? I guess you have to have a religion and more than that a judge approved Christian faith in order to be a parent according to the state. I bet the founders are spinning in their graves.
  • ...why couldnt they be.
  • Parents can't be good parents. Look at all the idiots on here and their parenting advice.
  • Do you think somehow they would be better if they believed in invisible beings that live in clouds?
  • Our kids came out pretty good, ( my wife and I,), so I guess the answer is yes.
  • Who's standards are we going by?If by man's then yes they can,but by God's,then no.Would God think,one can be good parents if they teach their children,He doesn't exsist?Causing them to reject Christ and get thrown into hell.You have to ask by who's standards.
  • From natures standpoint, then yes they can. In nature the parent's role is to teach the offspring what they need in order to survive to adulthood, then produce more offspring. From A Christian standpoint, they still can, because atheists are not under the same rules as Christians. Christians are told by God to raise their children in the ways and teachings of the Lord. So the bad parent would have to be the one who claims Jesus as their savior and does not teach that to their children.
  • No of course not. How could someone who uses common sense and rejects bullshit be a good parent??
  • you don't have to be religious to have good morals it's just expected that if you are religious you really ought to have good morals . yes atheists can be good parents just as religious people aren't necessarily good parents all the time
  • I have no religious beliefs but raised three children who are productive members of society with good values. One is very religious, one is not particularily so and one is agnostic.They believe in helping others, being tolerant of others,and have taught their children the same values.
  • I am friends with an Atheist couple and they are wonderful parents. Being a Christian (lapsed Baptist) I feel it's important for a child to at least be exposed to God and His teachings, but an Atheist does not feel this way so the absence of this aspect of child rearing really does not apply to them.
  • of course. why should the belief in a mystical being determine you be a good parent. they choose to not have their kids brainwashed like i was. i was a catholic until i seen through the sham
  • I should think that raising kids to be rational would be better than raising them to hold beliefs that really are pretty silly. But, love and nurturing don't have much to do with religion. There will be good and bad parenting on both sides. +5
  • They believe you can make up your own moral standards. That's been proven to be bad for society. Everybody with their own version of right and wrong, customized to fit what they want to do anyway.
  • Of course. What do theists teach their children that benefit them more in the world than atheists?
  • seriously, I think religious parents are the worst thing to put a kid through, forcing an 8 year old to sit through a sermon they cant understand and getting them caught up in appearences at youth is abuse
  • Of course they can,as you do not have to believe in God to bring up a child to be a goood human being with good moral standards
  • of course. religion has nothing to do with parenting. morals and consistency are the marks of a good parent.
  • Really, the only people who can be good parents are those who allow children to develop and grow and think for themselves and not cram a belief system down their throats and insist that the adhere without questioning. So I think most atheists would qualify.
  • Yes of course atheists can be just as good parents as religious ones. Religion has nothing to do with a persons morality (as we've seen time and again). Morality and a sense of right from wrong is learn't from the ACTIONS of the parents not the believe. There have been so many cases of abusive parents being strictly religious (and of course not) that I don't believe it has anything to do with it whatsoever. For example i've never cheated on my husband in any way (and he me as far as I know) and i've always set a very moral example for my children, whereas when I was in school we all knew that the catholic headmistress had been having an affair with another teacher for years. I would say I set a better role model for my children than she did for hers regardless of whether or not she went to church.
  • I sure hope so, for my future kids' sakes.
  • anyone can be a good parent regardless of their religious beliefs...its how you enstill the good in them that counts
  • Out of all my friends, the ones who seem to enjoy life the most and have the most positive outlook and mental health all had atheist parents. The only exception to this in my experience is if my friend's atheist parents were drug or alcohol abusers. I have one Jewish friend who is successful. Out of all my friend's with Christian parents, only a handful are truly happy people and they are the ones who have chosen to leave the faith. All of my other friends with religious parents have many problems. I look forward to raising some kids of my own. I have a very positive outlook on their future and look forward to watching them grow up with a true freedom of mind, knowing they have the birthright to do whatever they want with their lives within the laws of nature and common sense.
  • Yes because their children will have a grasp on Reality.
  • Yes, and they are less likely to indoctrinate their children into beliefs before the children aquire the skill of discernment.
  • Since they define what is "good", of course they can. At least according to them.
  • Can parents be good atheists?
  • Perhaps, but they seem to be more likely to favor killing them prior to birth if they happen to come at an inconvenient time.
  • Only my personal opinion but I suspect they're better parents as they're likely to be less judgemental.
  • Very good question! There are many on this planet who do not acknowledge existence of a 'creator'. Yes, I believe they can raise their children to have a good code of ethics; honesty, etc. I have a college professor friend whose husband recently passed away. She had previously denied the existence of God based on the fact she is a scientist, and believed in evolution more than religion. After her husband passed away she took a 180. She said finding a new male friend was a blessing from God. Can any of us mortals be sure? There are both believers and non-believers. Then, there are those of us who believe but refuse to join any organized religion. It is indeed a difficult question to answer.
  • Can Catholics be good parents? How about Hindus? Mormons? How about Wiccans?
  • What is a good parent??? That is a proper question. How can you determine what is a good and what is a bad parent.

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