Life After God

In this episode I speak with historian Dr. Nathan Alexander about his new book, Race in a Godless World: Atheism, Race, and Civilization, 1850-1914. We talk about what Christianity and secularism have each done to engender and stem racist ideas and policies. We also discuss the peculiar resurgence of scientific racism in recent years, particularly among self-described atheists, skeptics, and freethinkers. Please buy and read Dr. Alexander's book, Race in a Godless World. More info here:...

Today on the Ex-Files I speak with Pat Green. Pat is a former Christian pastor and recovering evangelical. Pat’s claim to fame is that he is a the father of Dave. Pat has been a successful business person, a taxi cab driver, and is currently a writer and photographer, living in Chicago. Pat was originally on the Life After God podcast back in 2015 when the I first started the show and I’m honored to have him back. This episode comes with a content notification. In the conversation that...

On this episode of the podcast I speak with Tim Hellmann. Tim is a former Christian who grew up fundamentalist in Bible Methodist and Pilgrim Holiness congregations. He tells me that he’s not very comfortable with labels but mostly closely identifies with agnostic. He has a bachelors degree in Sociology and Anthropology from Truman State University, and, most importantly, Tim is the father of two sons. Tim is an honest, open-hearted, compassionate person whose commitment to authenticity...

On this episode of the podcast I speak with University of North Carolina history professor, Christopher Cameron, about his new book, Black Freethinkers: A History of African American Secularism. Buy the book: http://www.nupress.northwestern.edu/content/black-freethinkers Follow Chris on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ccamrun2 Visit Chris's website: https://pages.uncc.edu/christopher-cameron/ Dr. Christopher Cameron is an Associate Professor of History at the University of North Carolina at...

On this episode I speak with my friend Brian Peck about the importance of taking a trauma-informed approach to treating what he calls adverse religious experiences. Rather than merely pathologizing religion, Brian suggests that we recognize the reality of religious abuse and then focus on treating trauma using the best evidence-based practice. "Religious abuse is what happened to you," he says. "Trauma is your body's response to the abuse." This is a conversation I've been wanting to have...

In this episode I speak with Kristi Kiger Upman. For ten years Kristi worked for the Southeast White House, a ministry associated with The Family. She tells me about how she became a Christian, her experience working in evangelical Christian ministry, and how she ultimately left her faith. Kristi was at the Southeast White House at the same time Jeff Sharlet was at Ivanwald. In episode 81 I speak with Jeff Sharlet so be sure to check that out as well. Please support the podcast. Visit...

On this episode of the podcast I speak with Yale professor of comparative literature and humanities, Martin Hägglund, about his new book, "This Life: Secular Faith and Spiritual Freedom." Unlike any book I've ever read before, Martin weaves together a secular understanding of life that is rooted in our necessarily fragile, temporal existence, with the logical outcome of this understanding of secular life in our social and political lives. In, "This Life," Hägglund argues that the social...

This week on the podcast I speak with Jeff Sharlet, the New York Times bestselling author of seven books, including The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power and C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy. Today, Netflix released a five-part documentary series entitled, The Family, based upon Sharlet's stellar investigative reporting. Watch the Netflix series: https://www.netflix.com/title/80063867 Buy Jeff Sharlet's books The Family -...

This week on the podcast I speak with Marissa Alexa McCool and Bethany Futrell, the co-hosts of Inciting Incident podcast. Marissa is a podcaster, author, performer, speaker, and an LGBT rights and atheist activist. She is a trans woman, married, partnered, and a parent. She lives in St. Paul, Minnesota with her family. Marissa graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2017 with degrees in English, Cinema and Media Studies, and Anthropology, while also studying theatre, Shakespeare,...

Welcome to a special edition of the Life After God podcast. I'm excited to share conversations with you from a growing number of professionals who specialize in religious trauma, deconversion, and post-religious mental health. My goal with these conversations is to offer you a diverse range of perspectives, share practical insights you can use in your daily life, and introduce you to some amazing humans who are committed to helping others thrive after leaving religion. My name is Brian...

In this bonus episode I speak Gretchen Koch on the occasion of the 10-year anniversary of the murder of George Tiller, the famous abortion doctor from Wichita, Kansas, who was shot and killed during the worship service at the Reformation Lutheran Church. Gretchen's parents were members of the same church and in attendance that day. Gretchen herself was visiting her parents but was at home and heard what happened later that day. Check out Gretchen's comic based on her parents' recollection...

In this episode I speak with James Croft, a leader at the Ethical Society of St. Louis where he has been for the past five years. James is a humanist educator, activist, and sought after speaker around the world. He earned an MA in Education from University of Cambridge and an Ed.D. from Harvard Graduate School of Education. In this conversation we talk about briefly about the origins of the Ethical Society, his experience at the Ethical Society of St. Louis, his experience of the murder of...

On this episode I speak with Lloyd Evans. Lloyd is the founder and senior editor of JWsurvey.org - a website that promotes freethought among Jehovah's Witnesses. He is also author of "The Reluctant Apostate," a book that chronicles his experiences growing up as a JW and his journey to freedom from Watchtower indoctrination. His "John Cedars" YouTube channel, which has nearly 50,000 subscribers, hosts a range of videos aimed at dissecting the various teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses, as well...

On this episode I speak with Alana Carter, a senior at Nazareth College, about her experience of loss and grief as a post-theist. Then I talk with Garrett Price, a mental health professional working in end-of-life care, about what is happening in grief and how to face it as an atheist. The question I get more than any other is how to face death as an atheist. Whether it is the death of a loved one or ones own death, the prospect of mortality is one of the main things that keeps religion...

On this special NEWS BRIEF edition of the Life After God podcast, host Ryan Bell speaks with Gretchen Meader about Jean Vanier who died today at the age of 90. Jean Vanier was a Catholic philosopher, theologian, and humanitarian who in 1968 founded L'Arche, a community where people with disabilities live with those who care for them. LINKS Jean Vanier, Savior of People on the Margins, Dies at 90 (New York Times) |...

On this episode, Ryan speaks with Dave Warnock. Dave is the father of two daughters and a son, a former evangelical pastor in the Foursquare Church, now an atheist, and a lover of life. About six weeks ago Dave was diagnosed with ALS—Lou Gehrigs Disease—for which there is no treatment and life expectancy is between three and five years. As a result of this heavy news, Dave has chosen to live the remainder of his life very deliberately; to die out loud, as he says. We talk about his...

In this episode of the podcast, Ryan speaks with Aaron Rabinowitz about ethics and the current context and conditions of moral and ethical formation today. It is a wide ranging conversation, at the end of which Ryan experiences a surprising conversion! LINKS Video of Aaron's presentation to Triangle Freethought Society | https://youtu.be/m2zw3ZSSnN4 Embrace the Void podcast | https://voidpod.com/podcasts Philosophers in Space podcast | https://0gphilosophy.libsyn.com/ What is moral...

In this episode I speak with Eiynah about the challenges of speaking about Islam and Muslims in our current political climate. We recorded this conversation on Wednesday evening, March 20, just five days after the horrific terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, that claimed the lives of 50 people. How can we talk about Islam and Muslims without being a bigot? On the one hand, individuals absolutely have the right to challenge and criticize and type of ideology or...

This week on the podcast I speak with Emily Joy about her experience leaving evangelicalism under a cloud of sexual abuse. Years later she and a friend started the #ChurchToo hashtag which has become a national phenomenon. BIO Emily is a spoken word poet, yoga teacher and activist living and working in Nashville, Tennessee. Her advocacy takes place at the intersection of faith, sexuality and healing, and her work has been featured in Time, Cosmopolitan, Jezebel, Mother Jones, The...

This week on the podcast I speak with author and sociologist, Christian Smith. Christian Smith is the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for the Study of Religion and Society at the University of Notre Dame. Smith is well known for his research focused on religion, adolescents and emerging adults, and social theory. Smith received his MA and PhD from Harvard University in 1990 and his BA from Gordon College in 1983. He was a Professor of Sociology at the...