The Freedom From Religion Foundation has a number of their billboards available on their website. Now that the holiday season has begun, I thought I’d post one of my favorites here.

I’ve never really been a huge fan of December and the competing religious holidays. Personally, I’d just assume let them pass unnoticed. But when children are involved there’s just no way to do that. As a parent, I want our daughter to enjoy this time of year without her feeling out of place because her parents aren’t religious. The best solution is not to forcibly shield her from images of Santa or fir trees (what’s religious about them?) but to celebrate in a secular fashion. This holds true throughout the year, of course.

In a few years I’ll be able to explain the above message to her. For now, though, the important thing is to help her to enjoy her life and grow up without dogma. This will be increasingly hard as she gets older and enters the Italian public school system, which is distinguished by its institutionalization of Catholic religious proselytizing. Why should it be so difficult to be free from religion?