October 2015

David Williamson is the founder and President of the Central Florida Freethought Community. His group has been leading the way when it comes to getting atheists to give invocations at local government meetings.

I spoke with David about why secular invocations are so valuable, step by step instructions on what local activists can do to get on these invocation lists, and what atheists should say if they get the opportunity to speak in front of government officials.

Notes:

You can connect with CFFC on Facebook. The group is keeping track of secular invocations in central Florida at InvocationsOnline.com.

We chatted during the show about Christian chaplains on public high school and college sports teams, and there’s a lengthy compilation of where that’s happening at TeamChaplains.wordpress.com.

If you’d like to learn more about delivering secular invocations in your area, Americans United has a wonderful guide as part of their Operation Inclusion.

Cathy Lynn Grossman is a senior national correspondent for Religion News Service, a wire service for faith-based news. She often writes stories involving research and statistics. She also worked for more than two decades with USA Today.

I spoke with Grossman about the toughest story she’s ever written, what the Internet is doing to religion, and whether the amount of religion currently in politics is a new phenomenon.

Jocelyn Floyd is an attorney working with the Thomas More Society, a non-profit group that usually defends religious liberty cases. As a frame of reference, they’re usually on the other side of the Freedom From Religion Foundation on the issues. She also serves as a board member for the Northern Illinois chapter of the Christian Legal Society.

I spoke with Jocelyn about Nativity scenes on government property, the need for anonymity in lawsuits, and Kim Davis.

Notes:

We discussed one particular Nativity scene outside the Franklin County Courthouse in Indiana. You can read more about that case right here.

Lauren Lane is the Founder and Executive Director of Skepticon, a national conference located annually in Springfield, Missouri that promotes skepticism, science education, and community building.

I spoke with Lauren about how her team runs a free conference for more than a thousand people, how they improve the event every year, and what goes on behind the scenes.

If you’d like to donate to Skepticon, you can do that right here.

(Disclosure: I’ve spoken at Skepticon multiple times, though I won’t be able to attend this year. It’s a wonderful event and you should all attend if you can!)