Atheism and Knowledge

A friend and I frequently discuss the merits of raising atheist children.  I take up the cause of raising children as atheists, with my friend taking the contrary position.  My views boil down to the simple idea that, if not taught to worship a god, children will not invent the idea.  There are also obvious issues with the impressionability of younger minds.  Finally, if they decide to become religious later in life, it will be of their own accord.

I believe the propensity to become religious is at the heart of the disagreement.  I think it is somewhat likely that someone can become religious after childhood.  On the other hand, my friend thinks the chances are next to zero.  Therefore, not teaching children about god forever deprives them of religion.  In further disagreement, my friend purports that it is quite easy to become an atheist.  Thus the kids can fix the delusion by themselves.

Recently, I have been thinking about this argument in another light.  I frequently consider the prospect of teaching my children at an advanced rate.  That is to say, I would love them to be learning classical mechanics and calculus in middle school.  Aside from the practical concerns of providing such an education, I see this as isomorphic to the concerns about raising atheist children.

For instance, providing such an education to my children would certainly create a separation between them and their peers.  It also might deprive them of becoming true autodidacts.  However, I can't help but imagine the doors this knowledge could open up.  Furthermore, an internal, darwinian sense of self-preservation demands that I give to my children all of the skills I have.  Knowledge is at the top of that admittedly short list.

So, in the immortal words of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, "what is to be done?"  How can parents ever really impart knowledge to children without depriving them of the experience of seeking that knowledge?  Research has proven that parents have a very small role in a child's moral and social development.  Perhaps teaching them what little we know about the universe is one of the few things parents can do to really change a child's life.