Atheists are adoptive parents, too! Why agencies must stop discriminating
As non-believers, my husband and I feared the worst. We were lucky -- but we shouldn't have needed to be
Tuesday, Apr 8, 2014 08:00 AM EDT
Veronica Chenik Gilmore, AlterNet
“You are so blessed!”
“You’re an angel!”
“Are you Catholic?”
“Are they all yours?”
“God bless you!”
These statements are just a sampling of what people say to my husband and me when they find out we have seven children.
We have a blended family — three biological children and four who came to us from Tennessee through an interstate adoption program. Strangers and casual acquaintances step into our circle to celebrate our “good deed” as if we’re doing something to please God. These well-intentioned people have no clue that we are hiding something very important from them: our identity as atheists.
Most people assume it was our faith that led us to adopt. But after hearing all sorts of mischaracterizations and faulty conclusions about who we are, it’s time for me to speak up. We’re not religious and we’re adoptive parents.
In fact, because I’m a happy Secular Humanist parent, I have chosen to advocate for adopting older children and working through the complexities of interstate adoption. My hope is that we can encourage other secular families to find and take in children of their own. For too long, adoption has been linked with religious groups — not always, but often. That needs to change.
http://www.salon.com/2014/04/08/atheists_are_adoptive_parents_too_why_agencies_must_stop_discriminating_partner/