Atheist Bus Campaign Continues.. Updated

The Atheist Bus Campaign in the UK, largely it seems kicked off by the Comment is Free bloggersphere has just put out its final billboard (this time it's not on the bus). The advert asks people not to label children according to their religious belief, (or as a humanist etc) following Richard Dawkins' claim that such labelling is tantamount to child abuse. I think such a campaign is missing the point for a number of reasons. Firstly, the idea that atheists need to be out there preacher there message just seems a little too religious for a atheism (there was also the splintering of atheist views when the first ad came out proclaiming "there probably is no God". Some said probably sounds too agnostic.) I also wonder what the goal with such a campaign is? The people they are trying to influence or reach? Is it not following the lowest common denominator with religious evangelicals by playing their game? Instead is there a better way to have a more meaningful dialogue?

But more importantly regarding this campaign, as one comment on the post stated, why is it assumed that non-religion is normative? Why is it assumed that children have no religious belief, or should have no religious belief? What is the age when a child is free to make up their own mind? How can you be sure to keep them out of all "religious brainwashing" until that age? For instance, many children believe in all sorts of things, and in many cases would have highly diverse beliefs about their own parents faith traditions. Children believe in fairies and ghosts and wizards. If a child wants to be called a wizard, but is obviously not old enough to make a "rational" decision about it, is it right to go with the label? The point I'm trying to get at is, non-religious belief in children is not normative, so why try and force it?

Secondly, many children are sent to faith schools in order to learn about certain values that parents believe those schools teach, such as, loving your neighbour and loving the stranger (that is, those Other from yourself). Or sharing, or humility and sacrifice. None of these things have anything to do being labeled a religious belief or not.

I've just found a quote by Charles Darwin on educating children in religion:

"Nor must we overlook the probability of the constant inculcation in a belief in God on the minds of children producing so strong and perhaps as inherited effect on their brains not yet fully developed, that it would be as difficult for them to throw off their belief in God, as for a monkey to throw off its instinctive fear and hatred of a snake." (p.93)

These were exerpts taken out of his autobiography upon his death out of fear they were too controversial for the Church, but which were later included.