Santa Claus is the perfect device for speedrunning a kid through the process of belief giving way to skepticism. Kids learning about Santa Claus (who omnisciently judges you from far away and gives you rewards based on your behavior… sound familiar?), only to find out he isn't real and was made up by your parents to get you to behave, is an ideological dry run for finding out God isn't real. And just like parents all tell their kids about Santa Claus despite no longer believing in him, parents tell their kids about religion despite (sometimes) no longer believing in it. That's the thing a lot of Atheists don't understand. Religion isn't just a belief system, it's a practice system. Many continue to practice without believing. You go through the motions even if you no longer believe because that's just what we do around here. Santa Claus is how secretly-nonbelieving participants in a religious community subtly admit to themselves that it's all fake without outright saying it: They have this "lesser God" that they play with, that they actively tell children is real, and then disabuse them of the notion when they are old enough. If the child chooses to extrapolate that process further, they can become nonreligious. But if they value the practice of playing with that concept, then they can use that same concept on their children, even if they don't believe in it. It's a microcosm of religion itself. I've known Atheists who tell their children God/heaven is real simply because they don't see an alternative in their community. Kids usually discover what death means around 4 years old and if you don't accompany that discovery with the concept of an aterlife, they'll freak out and cry and everyone else will know that you didn't give them the "gift" of religious indoctrination. So a lot of people go along with that process even if they disagree with it. Now see how Santa Claus serves as a secular microcosm of religion and you can see how Santa Claus becomes a gateway to Atheism dressed in the robes of a Saint.
interesting theory anon, I actually work in childcare and make increasingly ridiculous and far fetched claims about Santa and other paranormal phenomena to basically create this ideological dry run that you speak of. Assuming they debunk me I see as preparing them for the endless horde of grifters and con artists they encounter online(I have had multiple kids vividly describe to me how they got scammed and/or scammed someone else on roblox).
>>545873The real Santa Claus was the memories we made along the way
I remember I used to go to church with the neighbor's kids as a teen, and the pastors and stuff at the Salvation Army basically admitted this out loud every december, and frequently too. Like even the leaders of the abrahamics don't beleive their doctrine but it effects their bottom line wheather their minions see anything that might shatter their faith.
>santa claus denialMODS
>>545989Whether*
Wait… Santa isn't real?
>>546015>Has a fireplace>Doesn't use itShould be shot for that ngl even if she wasn't a richoid
Hey there, I came to /leftypol/ by way of /fringe/.
In ye olden days, anagrams were a way aristocrats communicated. I'm not sure how much it's still practiced, but it's fun to play with words. Santa/satan is a classic.
Consider the way satan is presented in classic theology: He's the accuser. The prosecutor in the courtroom, while God is the judge. That's the role of Santa Claus: He makes a list of naughty people to be punished. But just like Satan doesn't deliver torment (God does that), Santa's elves are responsible for packaging the presents.
Okay fine, the metaphor breaks down towards the end, but it works the other way too is my point. God IS real, and Santa is the microcosm to prove that to children, because children behaving is essentially a form of prayer-through-action to the benefit of their parents and loved ones, which can come back in the form of fiscal gratitude at the end of the year. Yeah, it's not Santa rewarding you, it's your Mom & Dad: Because you weren't in their hair all year, so they could make more money, so they COULD reward you for your good behavior.
I've got a half-baked theory here that there's something to be said for autism. Allists learn by watching others, autists have a need to understand why something is the way it is before they'll do it that way too. I think for generations now it's been seen as "easier" to teach through mimicry than to explain economics to infants and toddlers. But honestly, they can handle it. Kids learn to hear and think earlier than they learn to speak.