A mother of two amazing daughters and with her Master's Degree in English, Be-Asia McKerracher has taught at both the college and high school level. This background has led her to write Secular Parenting in a Religious World: Practical Advice for Free-Thinking Parents.
What Readers Say: "Raising secular children in this religious world is a difficult one, and this book really does help raise children to think for themselves!"
"Overall, I highly recommend this book to any parent. Especially those who come from a religious family..."
"Secular Parenting offers strategies on handling and communicating with children about school settings, holidays, media, sex, family, and family gatherings.."
Full of practical advice drawn from nearly fifteen years of parenting and educating children, Be-Asia McKerracher offers parents an alternative to a strictly religious upbringing. Secular parenting helps children establish respect for people regardless of their faith (or lack thereof).
If you are looking for parenting answers, this is your book.
Extended Book Description: This candid parenting guide rejects the idea that parents need God to raise moral children. Full of practical advice drawn from nearly fifteen years of parenting and educating children, Be-Asia McKerracher offers parents an alternative to a strictly religious upbringing. Secular parenting helps children establish respect for people regardless of their faith (or lack thereof). Instead, children raised in a secular environment grow to recognize the commonalities between the world's religions through guided exploration. Furthermore, as they mature, secular parenting allows children the freedom to choose their own faith--or decide not to choose religion at all.
What greater gift could parents provide for their children? And what greater hostility do parents sometimes encounter--from friends, loved ones, and society at large--for attempting to deliver such a gift? Secular Parenting in a Religious World provides parents with the tools to raise free-thinking children and weather the storms of familial and societal disapproval, always with our children's futures at the forefront of our minds.
About the Author: Be-Asia McKerracher was born and raised in Seattle, WA. She moved to the Midwest in 2003 to begin her career as an educator at Truman State University. Be-Asia is also known as The Secular Parent online. Her website (secularparent.com), which began in 2006, was originally a way to deal with the frustrations of being a nonreligious parent in the Midwest. Now, it has become a place of respite for secular parents in America and around the world. In 2008 Be-Asia participated in The Kansas City Star's Faith Walk series, publishing four articles on the topic of children and faith. As a result of her work with The Kansas City Star British-based publication The Freethinker invited Mrs. McKerracher to publish a longer, in-depth article on the subject of children and faith. Her article, Challenging the Myth: An Expose of the 'Divinity' of the Young Child, was published in 2009. Be-Asia earned her B.A. and Master's degrees through Truman State University in English in 2006 and 2009, respectively. In 2010, she became an adjunct faculty member with University of Missouri's High School/College Partnerships program (HSCP). She currently lives in Kansas City, MO, with her husband and two teenage children.
