While America has an abundance of religious summer camps..this field trip and cultural excursion is where some Europeans send their children.

Jugendweihe, a secular version of a religious confirmation, marking the transition to early adulthood. It is, in other words, for adolescent atheists. "Most of the kids are atheists, yeah," Marleen said....

JUGENDWEIHE today is a variation on the 19th—century German tradition of secular humanism, and it is valued by nonreligious parents as a kind of educational supplement. Parents pay about $100 to the Jugendweihe Association, which organizes a host of events, like weekend trips to London or Paris. There are lectures on safe sex, pregnancy and love, and, for girls, visits to a gynecologist. There are fashion shows, counseling on hair—styling, nutrition, even body piercing.

Ed Lasky   4 16 05