The Easter break gave me the chance to enjoy camping with friends and my children. It also gave me time for reflection about the place of religion in our lives.

A few years back I was attending an Easter celebration at my child's pre-school in London. Amongst all the lovingly crafted Easter display of fluffy bunnys and flower baskets the children sat adorned with perked hand made cardboard ears listening to the local vicar. He gave the more serious religious 'backdrop' of Easter celebrations. He was talking the children through an illustrated account of how Jesus was betrayed, nailed to the cross and how he was eventually resurrected.  The vicar was an amiable, well respected man and the children soaked up his words like they would any fairy story with a bit of 'gore'.

As a non-religious parent it did however strike me as a rather bizarre event at the time. Living in Queensland now I also found it odd, how my children wanted to join the voluntary religious education at school, because their class mates who took part were returning with lollies. I'm getting less and less tolerant of religious indoctrination.

I celebrated Easter by camping under the stars with friends and family, an egg hunt and lots of chocolate. Easter marks the end of summer. It's an opportunity for quality time and rich conversations. For us it's a celebration of the amazing wonders of life, the universe and the human spirit.

I'll leave you with this fantastic, inspirational talk by Dr Martin Bridgstock held at the end of last year here, locally at a Noosaville Bookstore. He talks about his involvement with the Australian Skeptics and the battle they undertook in the mid-eighties when the then government was attempting to have Creation Science taught in Queensland science classrooms. He also explores his approach to paranormal claims in Queensland.

I wish you all a beautiful holiday Monday in our glorious, enlightened Noosa Biosphere.