President of Camp Quest on NPR

From Friendly Atheist:

Amanda Metskas, the president of Camp Quest (the summer camp for children of atheist parents), was on NPR today.

The interview came across really well, and Amanda was able to respond to a lot of the misconceptions people may have of the camp.

Check it out here!

This is the camp Jeannette is at this week. Amanda does a good job of explaining the reason for the camps, and helps to dispel some myths. The camps aren't an Anti-Jesus Camp, where militant atheists are created. There is a strong focus on materialism, not buying lots of stuff, but the theory that the only thing that can truly be said to exist is matter, and that all phenomena are the result of material interaction. The children are encouraged to be skeptical of claims made without evidence. However, religion isn't removed from Camp Quest. Because many of these children come from families where there is no religion practiced, they may know very little about spiritual beliefs, like why people pray, or why certain groups practice certain rituals. To help with this, guests speak about various faiths.

One of the games which is played at camp, is called "Two invisible unicorns." The goal for the children is to prove these two invisible unicorns, which are at Camp Quest, do not exist. You can't sense them in any way, but the leader is sure they are there, he or she has faith that they are there. The kids present their proofs trying to dispel the invisible unicorn theory, with a chance to win a $100 bill.