Sarah Morehead is the President of the Reason Rally Coalition. She is also Executive Director of Recovering From Religion, the group that runs the Hotline Project and Secular Therapist Project. She was named American Atheists’ 2014 “Atheist of the Year.”
We spoke about what’s in store for the 2016 Reason Rally and how it’ll be different from the 2012 event, as well as her work behind the scenes putting together Apostacon.
You can see the Reason Rally launch video right here.
David Niose has been the president of two major organizations, the American Humanist Association and the Secular Coalition for America. He currently serves as the AHA’s legal director. He’s also a lawyer who has argued in front of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court about why the Pledge of Allegiance shouldn’t be recited in public school classrooms. And he’s the author of Nonbeliever Nation and Fighting Back the Right: Reclaiming America from the Attack on Reason.
We spoke with David about the legal issues affecting young atheists and how they should respond. Topics addressed include: Saying the Pledge of Allegiance, “See You at the Pole” events, religious choir music, science education, Gideons Bible giveaways, faith-based assemblies, and prayers at football games.
Notes:
If you need advice on handling Pledge of Allegiance issues, be sure to check out the AHA’s Don’t Say the Pledge website.
Also, if you see any potential church/state separation problems at your school, be sure to contact the AHA’s Appignani Humanist Legal Center, Americans United, Freedom From Religion Foundation, or American Atheists.
Dan Barker was a teenage evangelist and longtime preacher before he stepped away from God for good. He is now the co-President of the Freedom From Religion Foundation (along with his wife Annie Laurie Gaylor), a group dedicated to the principle of separation of state and church.
Barker is also the author of Godless (2008) and Life Driven Purpose (2015).
I spoke with Barker about why he goes on The Daily Show even when the segments aren’t very kind to him, his next project encouraging people to read the Bible, and how all Christian ministers are “slaves traders.” (Yep.)
Notes:
Here are links (one and two) to Barker’s segments on The Daily Show.
Here’s more about Nebraska State Senator Ernie Chambers and his 2007 lawsuit against God.
(Image via Tim Hughes, 2010)
Neil Carter is a blogger at Godless in Dixie, where he writes about being an atheist in the Deep South. He’s a teacher, a personal trainer, and a father.
I spoke with Neil about what it’s like being non-religious in Mississippi, the “evandelism” that followed his coming out, and the importance of having someone to talk to when you have religious doubts.
If you’d like to support Neil’s work, you can donate to his Patreon page right here.
(Full disclosure: Neil’s blog is hosted on Patheos, as is Friendly Atheist.)
Notes:
Here’s a link to the CBS Sunday Morning segment that featured Neil.
If you need someone to talk to about your religious doubts, call the Hotline Project.