All afternoon the kitchen table has been occupied by one of my family's seasonal rituals: the Amnesty International greetings card campaign: two atheists, a Muslim and a Christian, have been cutting up old Christmas cards and choosing the non-religious ones to send to people on Amnesty International's list of deserving recipients.
The one at the top of the pile right now is Justine Masika Bihamba, a Congolese woman whose work for women's rights was punished by soldiers who broke their way into her house, attempted to rape her 21-year-old daughter, and then assaulted her sexually with a knife. No action has been taken against the soldiers, though their identity is known.
But there are 31 other people there, and they all need and deserve a card. It is a wonderful way to get children involved in work for human rights. But adults can do it, too. Also, I can't help noticing that these stories might lend a little perspective to the claim that religions are a force for evil in the world. Comments on that are welcome, but only from people who have spent five minutes and 90p on a card.
Note that Amnesty is a non-religious organisation. Let's also assume that the overwhelming majority of readers here are in favour of its work. But when I encourage the children to write their greeting cards, am I not indoctrinating them? They weren't nearly old enough to make up their own minds when we taught them that human rights were a noble cause. Should I have waited until they were 18?
