RELAX, IT’S JUST GOD

The go-to guide for talking to kids about religion without dogma, guilt or awkward silences

ABOUT THE BOOK

Relax, It’s Just God: How and Why to Talk to. Your Kids About Religion When You’re Not Religious is a step-by-step guide to raising confident, open-minded kids in an age of religious intolerance. Drawing on a survey of 1,000 nonreligious parents and the latest child‑development research, award‑winning journalist Wendy Thomas Russell blends science, humor and personal experience to help parents:

  • Speak openly about beliefs without pressuring kids to agree

  • Make religious literacy fun, engaging and age‑appropriate

  • Talk about death in a way that comforts without relying on religious promises

  • Navigate religious differences with extended family

  • Support kids when they face religious pressure or threats

A rapidly growing demographic cohort in America, secular parents are at the forefront of a major and unprecedented cultural shift. Unable to fall back on what they were taught as children, many of these parents are struggling, or simply failing, to address issues of faith with their children in ways that promote honesty, curiosity, kindness and independence.

Relax, It's Just God encourages parents to promote religious literacy and understanding and to support kids as they explore religion on their own — ensuring that children have an opportunity to make up their own minds about what to believe (or not believe) while extending love and respect to those who may not agree with them.

Whether parents identify as nonreligious or just open-minded, Relax, It’s Just God offers the tools needed to raise kids with curiosity, empathy and confidence.

Featured on the PBS NewsHour. Gold-medal winner of a Next Generation Book Award, silver-medal winner of the Independent Publishers Book Award.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Wendy Thomas Russell is a journalist, author, editor and publisher. A former investigative news reporter, Russell began a secular parenting blog in 2010 that delved into a range of topics and culminated in her first book, Relax, It’s Just God. Wendy is the co-author of ParentShift: Ten Universal Truths That Will Change the Way You Raise Your Kids, and the publisher of Brown Paper Press. She lives in Long Beach with her husband and daughter.

PRAISE & REVIEWS

"In this gem of a book, journalist Russell explores religion from a nonreligious perspective, helping parents guide their children in a healthy, exploration-oriented direction without guilt, dogma, or indifference.... This singular book with a clean style and respectful approach is recommended for all libraries."
— Library Journal (starred review)

"Written for secular parents from a nonreligious perspective, this guide explores methods of teaching youngsters about God, religion and spirituality... Contains a wealth of information for secular or mixed-religion families preparing for the God talk with kids."
— Kirkus Reviews

"Relax, It's Just God is a thought-provoking entry in the expanding category of secular parenting advice."
— The Humanist Magazine

"One of the best things I've read in years."
— Karen Loethen, co-host of The Secular Parents Broadcast

"Hers is a vital voice in the world today."
— Chris Stedman, author of Faitheist: How and Atheist Found
Common Ground with the Religious