Behavioral Mimickry In Atheists

This has got to be one of the greatest articles of 2019.

As a therapist, I’m often asked to explain why depression and anxiety are so common among children and adolescents. One of the most important explanations—and perhaps the most neglected—is declining interest in religion. This cultural shift already has proved disastrous for millions of vulnerable young people.

A 2018 study in the American Journal of Epidemiology examined how being raised in a family with religious or spiritual beliefs affects mental health...

Children or teens who reported attending a religious service at least once per week scored higher on psychological well-being measurements and had lower risks of mental illness...

I am often asked by parents, “How do I talk to my child about death if I don’t believe in God or heaven?” My answer is always the same: “Lie.” The idea that you simply die and turn to dust may work for some adults, but it doesn’t help children. Belief in heaven helps them grapple with this tremendous and incomprehensible loss.

Is that fantastic or what? Erica Karr, the chick what wrote the article, is sharing an evolutionary advantage with fellow atheists. Temporarily and partially mimic the inferior, benighted believers to help your children get through their early years until they can become completely governed by rational thought.

And why not? Angler Fish do it and look how it turned out for them!

The article shows you how to eliminate one of the primary disadvantages of atheism - the lack of meaning that comes from knowing you're nothing more than a bag of molecules - and postpone that until a time when that lack of meaning can be turned into something fun like the ability to indulge every conceivable fetish without guilt. Did you think you were going to rationalize dressing up in satin evening gowns and twerking in front of second graders in the library any other way?

Goodbye childhood existential despair, hello unrestrained orgasms! It's a win-win!

Now sadly, the atheists commenting on that WSJ article don't get it at all.

Future project reminder: Figure out a way to help atheists figure out what their worldview actually means.

First, they whine about lying to their kids and yap about how hurt the tykes will be when they discover the "truth." Like what's the problem there? Once they're old enough to accept your rational view of the world, they will thank you for your Darwinian approach to their intellectual stability.

Second, they indulge in the old "morals and meaning don't come from God" blather. What a waste of time. Once you accept that you're nothing more than an animal an you look around to see animals eating each other alive without remorse, you'll get over the whole morals and meaning thing. And if you don't, as religion is rightfully eliminated from society, you'll eventually meet someone who has gotten over it.

At that point, you'll be dinner for the Angler Fish. And then it won't matter any more, will it?