About this item
Why am I here? What happens after we die? These are some of the hardest questions a child can ask--and even harder for parents to answer, especially if you've chosen to raise your child without religion. Gathering the perspectives of educators and psychologists, as well as wisdom from everyday parents, "Parenting Beyond Belief" offers insights and advice on a wide range of topics including: Instilling values - Finding meaning and purpose - Navigating holidays - Coping with loss - Finding community without religion...and more The second edition of this secular parenting bestseller brings back reflections from such celebrated freethinkers as Richard Dawkins and Julia Sweeney, and adds new voices including journalist Wendy Thomas Russell, essayist Katherine Ozment, sociologist Phil Zuckerman, and many others.
About the Author
DALE McGOWAN, Ph. D., is a committed atheist, a devoted husband and father, and a recognized expert on raising caring, ethical children without religion. He is the author of , a collection of essays by and for loving, thoughtful nonreligious parents hailed by as "a compelling read," and , the first comprehensive resource addressing the unique challenges secular parents face. He teaches workshops to nonreligious parents throughout the United States and Canada and was named a Harvard Humanist of the Year. Dale also founded the nonprofit Foundation Beyond Belief, a charitable organization dedicated to encouraging and demonstrating acts of humanist generosity. At age 28, Dale married his true love, Becca, a Southern Baptist. They had a traditional religious wedding in a beautiful, historic Lutheran church in San Francisco, with two ministers - a Methodist friend of the family and the bride's Baptist uncle - plus an Episcopal organist. "No one would have guessed there was an atheist in the room," Dale reflects, "much less that he was the one in tux and tails. " Twenty-three years and three kids later, their marriage is, happily, still going strong. Yet, as Dale knew from the experiences of others, including close friends, many mixed-belief marriages are marked by frequent conflict and pain, and some end in divorce, caused directly by the couple's differences in worldview. Why do some secular/religious marriages succeed and others fail? Dale's fascination with that question and search for answers culminated in the book, Before finding his calling as a writer, Dale McGowan enjoyed a 15-year career as a professor of music and conductor. He holds degrees in physical anthropology and music theory from the University of California, as well as a doctorate in music composition and theory from the University of Minnesota. In addition to his books on secular parenting and mixed-belief families, he is the author of , and two works of satirical fiction, and . He makes his home near Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife Becca, a second grade teacher, and their three kids.
