Nonreligious Parents a ‘Niche’ Market? Not By My Count

By Wendy Thomas Russell | March 4, 2013

When I started pitching “Relax, It’s Just God” two years ago, I was told, repeatedly, that it was too niche for major publishers. At the time, I assumed this was true. After all, we live in a religious country. If I wanted to appeal to the masses, there were certainly better ways to go. But since then, I’ve come to strongly disagree with the contention that we of little faith are some hugely specialized market. And, today, I did some number-crunching. Now I’m no statistician, so feel free to check me on this. I started [...] Read more – ‘Nonreligious Parents a ‘Niche’ Market? Not By My Count’.

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Despite Controversy, World Religion Teacher Tells It Like It Is

By Wendy Thomas Russell | February 28, 2013

I may have a new BFF — or, at the very least, a great new source for my book. Jim Morrison (no, not that one) has been teaching World Religion at a high school in Red Wing, Minn., for 17 years. He’s not a pious man himself (to say the least), so his classes are comparative, historical and incredibly eye-opening. His students love him. Christian fundamentalists in the community? Well, they don’t. But they do tolerate him. And that’s something, dammit. Jim recently began his own blog — Teach Not Preach — which I like [...] Read more – ‘Despite Controversy, World Religion Teacher Tells It Like It Is’.

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One Set of ‘Footprints in the Sand’ is Plenty for This Kid

By Wendy Thomas Russell | February 25, 2013

When I was growing up — Missouri, 1980s — half the kids I knew had a framed copy of “Footprints in the Sand” somewhere in their house. Usually hanging in the living room. That poem was as meaningful to these families as Rudyard Kipling’s “If” was to ours. (My mom gave me a poster-sized copy of “If” right before I entered adolescence. I must have read it 500 times.) The point is, although it wasn’t in my own home, “Footprints in the Sand” was a part of my childhood. I have vivid memories of staring [...] Read more – ‘One Set of ‘Footprints in the Sand’ is Plenty for This Kid’.

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Quick! What the Hell is Purim?

By Wendy Thomas Russell | February 22, 2013

I always think of the Bible as sort of dry reading — difficult to understand, weighted down by archaic language and vague descriptions, full of stories that just kind of go on and on. But, of course, that’s not always true. And it’s especially not true in the Book of Esther. Reading more like a Shakespearean play, the 10-chapter Book of Esther tells one hell of an intriguing story. It’s a story of honor, greed, deception, justice, irony, death and triumph. There is a clear beginning, a clear ending and even a climax and denouement. And, [...] Read more – ‘Quick! What the Hell is Purim?’.

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15 Secular Songs to Share With Your Kids

By Wendy Thomas Russell | February 21, 2013

Not long ago, I suggested that nonreligious parents share religious music with their kids. I put together a Christian playlist and, later, a Hanukkah playlist. I also recommended some Cat Stevens songs about Islam, including one I love called “Ramadan Moon.”  Some readers voiced concern about the ways in which religious songs have been used to indoctrinate children. They argued that the potential downsides to sharing such music outweighed the benefits. But I still think that, as long as we do it right, these musical journeys can be excellent ways to develop religious literacy, learn tolerance for other cultures, and give nonreligious children a [...] Read more – ‘15 Secular Songs to Share With Your Kids’.

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God’s (Alleged) Gender Proves Problematic for Some Parents

By Wendy Thomas Russell | February 18, 2013

About a year ago — when my daughter was six — I noticed that she had been sitting in silence for a surprisingly long time. “Are you okay?” I asked. “I’m sad,” she said. “Why are you sad?” I asked. “Because,” she said, “God is a boy and not a girl.” “How do you know?” “I just know,” she said, glumly. “And why does that make you sad?” “Because,” she said. “I’m a girl.” I don’t spend a lot of time complaining about religion. Usually, I just don’t see the point. Religion is so big [...] Read more – ‘God’s (Alleged) Gender Proves Problematic for Some Parents’.

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Inject Some Religious Literacy into Your Valentine’s Day

By Wendy Thomas Russell | February 14, 2013

For the most part, I’m fine with being a nonbeliever. Like Bill Mahr says, “it requires so little of your time.” But every once in a while, I’m struck by how limiting my worldview can be. Take, for instance, the fact that I’ll never be a Whirling Dervish. That’s a real bummer. I’d love to be able to spin like that. And even worse? The chances are almost zero that I’ll ever be sainted. Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Wendy! Don’t be so negative! You are a fantastic person, and you help so many others [...] Read more – ‘Inject Some Religious Literacy into Your Valentine’s Day’.

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10 Simple Ways to Mark Darwin’s Birthday

By Wendy Thomas Russell | February 11, 2013

Evolution, or the process by which living organisms change over time, was not discovered by Charles Darwin. But he certainly gave the theory its street cred. By introducing natural selection — the idea that organisms best suited to survive in their particular circumstances have a greater chance of passing their traits on to the next generation — Darwin gave us a plausible mechanism by which evolution could take place. And that made all the difference. Darwin’s 1859 book On The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection was the most groundbreaking biological theory the world had ever seen. And it remains [...] Read more – ‘10 Simple Ways to Mark Darwin’s Birthday’.

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On ‘Hell’ and ‘Evil’ — and the Uselessness of Both Concepts

By Wendy Thomas Russell | February 7, 2013

There is no stronger theme in story-telling than the struggle between good and evil. And there are few better ways to drive home a point than to invoke hell as a benchmark. Think, for example, of the power behind Huckleberry Finn’s words when he said, “All right, then, I’ll go to hell.” Mark Twain may have been an atheist, but he was a writer first. All things devil-related make exceptional literary, cinematic and poetic devices. But out here in the real world? Oh, hell no. When I was a news reporter, I covered hundreds of court [...] Read more – ‘On ‘Hell’ and ‘Evil’ — and the Uselessness of Both Concepts’.

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A Few Changes Around Here

By Wendy Thomas Russell | February 4, 2013

I am writing this from my sister’s car, so this will be brief. I just wanted to flag everyone to a few changes to the site. Mostly they revolve around improved search capabilities. To the left of the blog, you’ll find posts broken down by category and by religion. Also, on the Blog Library page, you’ll find a full list of posts  broken down by month. Hopefully this will allow you to access past posts more quickly and efficiently. But if anyone runs into issues, or has suggestions for me, please don’t hesitate to speak [...] Read more – ‘A Few Changes Around Here’.

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Relax, It’s Just God

A Blog for Secular Parents
For parents who aren’t religious, the task of talking to children about religion can be daunting. So daunting, in fact, that the entire subject often gets glossed over or ignored completely. Relax, It’s Just God is a blog (and soon a book) intended to help parents break their silence without breaking a sweat.
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