Confirmation and cancellation

Little boy just turned 15, and just did his confirmation. He chose the secular civil confirmation rather than the Christian one. I'm quite happy about that. Apparently, I've done a decent job raising the kids in a atheist and humanist kind of spirit.

The preparation for the civil confirmation includes a course provided by a humanist organization. The course emphasizes ethics and critical thinking. Very good. Critical thinking is what all kids should learn. Don't accept old dogmatic truths.

I think the term coming-of -age ceremony is better than civil confirmation. Unlike the Christian confirmation, there is nothing being conformed. It's rather a kind of cancellation, rejecting all the religious nonsense associated with baptism.

(Picture taken last summer, on a farm with the ruins of an old monastery from the 13th century. The farm has a micro-brewery which makes very good beer. On the wall inside the farm house I read this quote by Martin Luther:  "It's better to think of church in the ale-house (bierstube) than to think of the ale-house in church.")

A-Z Challenge 19: Secularism

Secularism is the principle of keeping government and legislation separate from religion. I a secular system, political decisions are more or less independent religious belief. Those who want can be free from religious rule.

Most western democracies are in practice secular. In secular systems freedom of speech, including the right to make blasphemic statements and religious freedom are important principles.

Only secular systems give religious freedom. With religious rule all religions except one (the one that rules) are repressed, more or less. That’s an interesting paradox, I think.