1. Faith no more as World Youth Day fans flames of disbelief

Comment #189855 by SeekingTruth9 on June 7, 2008 at 11:26 am

I have been involved with an interfaith youth group that specifically includes atheists and agnostics. There is no attempt to reach common agreement on beliefs, that's impossible, and not the point. The youth work together where their values overlap, i.e. environmental sustainability, poverty alleviation, human service, etc... The youth get to know each other "as people" not as labels. These activities show that these values are "human" values. The participants learn respect for each other and eliminate some of their prejudices. There often is a significant bias in our culture against atheists/agnostics, and young people learn that they are also good, moral people and form friendships across faith (and no faith) lines.
When I read this article which indicated contempt was growing, it reminded me of the importance of this work. We don't have to agree on belief/no belief and we can still find respect and friendship.