“We want kids to know what critical thinking is, and how to use it,” says Menon, whose day job is with the federal government. “And there’s an ethics component. We want kids to know that they should do the right thing” even if they don’t believe in heaven.
Which some might. Camp Quest offers daily lectures on world religions from an informational perspective. Also, lectures about famous freethinkers such as iconic physicist Richard Feynman and “Harry Potter” star Daniel Radcliffe.
Other atheist camp activities include atheist swimming, atheist nature hikes and atheist stargazing.
One of the more popular elective sessions on a recent afternoon is called Socrates Cafe, in which a counselor leads a group of campers in a series of philosophical questions. The question today is, “What is knowledge?”
“Knowledge is common sense,” suggests one of the counselors in training.
“What if your cultural values were cannibalism?” a camper named Valerie responds. “Wouldn’t that be your common sense then?”
Soon the discussion goes broad, as philosophical discussions tend to do. Does knowledge relate to intelligence? To instinct? Is there any relationship between knowledge, and good and evil?
“No man considers himself evil,” says Jacob Maxfield, who is 12. Even Hitler probably didn’t think he was evil, Jacob continues, though he definitely made very, very bad choices.
“I’m an atheist, personally,” Jacob says later. “But I don’t get angry at other people for believing in God. I respect them. But sometimes I rub them the wrong way.”
So, what has been his favorite part of camp so far? The Socrates Cafe? The deep discussions of ethics?
“Well,” he considers carefully. Meeting other people like him has been really great. “But when I got here, someone asked me if I fence. Then I got a foam sword” and he and the other camper ran around the woods, between the cabins and through the fresh air, happily bopping each other. “That,” he says, “was fun.”
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