Armchair Atheism

In this episode, I speak with Candace Gorham about her book The Ebony Exodus Project: Why Some Black Women Are Walking Out on Religion – and Others Should Too. Candace is a licensed professional mental health counselor, a former ordained minister turned atheist activist, as well as a researcher and writer on issues relating to religion and the African-American community. She is a member of the African American Humanist advisory board, The Secular Therapy Project, The Clergy Project, and the Secular Student Alliance Speaker’s Bureau.

Armchair Atheism is the official podcast of GodlessHaven.com, exploring subjects related to religion and non-belief through interview discussions with a variety of scholarly and thoughtful voices.

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The Ebony Exodus Project at Amazon

Ebony Exodus on Facebook

Black Nonbelievers

The Secular Therapy Project

The Clergy Project

Secular Student Alliance

 

For this episode, I speak with Caroline Matas about a handful of subjects revolving around New Atheism, the #MeToo movement, and Men’s Rights Activism. Caroline is currently a doctoral student in the Religion in the Americas subfield at Princeton University. She is also the news editor and social media manager at the Harvard Religious Literacy Project. She is a graduate of Harvard Divinity School, where her work focused on contemporary American religious groups’ media use.

Armchair Atheism is the official podcast of GodlessHaven.com, exploring subjects related to religion and non-belief through interview discussions with a variety of scholarly and thoughtful voices.

To download the episode, right-click the link and select “Save As.”

Follow the Armchair Atheism podcast feed.

 

Featured article: How Men’s Rights Activists are Finding Unlikely Allies in New Atheism…

Caroline’s page at the Religious Literacy Project

Follow her on Twitter

 

Some of what we discuss:

Here’s the truth about false accusations of sexual violence, The Conversation

Stephanie Zvan’s article on the demographics of MRAs

The Warlock Hunt by Claire Berlinski

BuzzFeed’s story on Lawrence Krauss

Statement by American Atheists regarding Dave Silverman

 

Rajani Gudlavalleti is a community organizer, consultant, and writer. For over a decade, she has worked at the intersections of social justice, public health, and the legal system. Rajani has conducted this work through the Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore City Health Department, and Open Society Foundations. Currently, her primary passion is as community organizer for Baltimore Harm Reduction Coalition, coordinating BRIDGES, Baltimore’s grassroots movement for safer consumption spaces. In 2011, Rajani received her master’s in public policy from Hopkins, focusing on gender-specific and racially equitable approaches to criminalized issues such as drug use and sex work. Rajani is also a trainer with Baltimore Racial Justice Action, co-organizer of Baltimore Asian Resistance in Solidarity, and board member of Foundation Beyond Belief.

Armchair Atheism is the official podcast of GodlessHaven.com, exploring subjects related to religion and non-belief through interview discussions with a variety of scholarly and thoughtful voices.

To download the episode, right-click the link and select “Save As.”

Follow the Armchair Atheism podcast feed.

 

Rajani’s page at The Humanist

Her blog: Charmingly Hyphenated

Secular Social Justice Conference 2018

Also check out her past appearance on the Bi Any Means Podcast

What was a god assumed to be, according to Hebrew scripture? How do our cultural contexts and philosophical assumptions impact the way we conceive of ancient religious concepts today? Can philosophy help us to understand how these issues have served to shape the very question of what a god is down through history? In this episode of the podcast, I speak with Jaco Gericke about these topics and others that raise important issues with much of our contemporary discourse about God. Dr. Gericke is Professor of Biblical Studies at North-West University, South Africa. He has doctorates in Semitic Languages and Old Testament Studies, and did post-graduate work in theology and philosophy. His work has been published in journals such as Old Testament Essays and the Journal for Semitics, as well as in various books, the most recent of which is What is a God?, released in 2017 by T&T Clark.

Armchair Atheism is the official podcast of GodlessHaven.com, exploring subjects related to religion and non-belief through interview discussions with a variety of scholarly and thoughtful voices.

To download the episode, right-click the link and select “Save As.”

Follow the Armchair Atheism podcast feed.

 

Jaco Gericke at Academia.edu

Gericke on philosophy of ancient Israelite religion at Common Sense Atheism

 

Dr. Gericke’s Books:

What is a God? Philosophical Perspectives on Divine Essence in the Hebrew Bible

The Hebrew Bible and Philosophy of Religion

 

Mentioned in the show:

History of ancient Israel and Judah at Wikipedia

Elohim at Wikipedia

The Origins of Biblical Monotheism by Mark S. Smith

Concepts of God at Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Perfect being theology at Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Jacques Derrida at Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (see Section 2 in particular)

 

How should we understand the concept of religion? How does our understanding of it impact the way we see different traditions, communities, and practices? What are the ways religion has been understood in the past and in the academy? For this episode of the podcast, I speak with Kevin Schilbrack about his contribution to the long-running debate over defining religion. Dr. Schilbrack teaches in the Philosophy and Religion Department at Appalachian State University, he is a graduate of Chicago Divinity School, and has published widely on the conceptual and philosophical issues arising in the cross-cultural study of religions. He is the contributing editor of books such as Thinking Through Myths and Thinking Through Rituals, and his most recent work, Philosophy and the Study of Religions: A Manifesto (which forms the centerpiece of this interview), was published by Wiley-Blackwell in 2014.

Armchair Atheism is the official podcast of GodlessHaven.com, exploring subjects related to religion and non-belief through interview discussions with a variety of scholarly and thoughtful voices.

To download the episode, right-click the download link and select “Save As.”

Follow the Armchair Atheism podcast feed.

 

Dr. Schilbrack’s university page: appstate.academia.edu/KevinSchilbrack

Critical Realism and the Academic Study of Religion (YouTube)

Kevin Schilbrack on What is Philosophy of Religion?

 

Books:

Philosophy and the Study of Religions: A Manifesto

Thinking Through Rituals: Philosophical Perspectives

Thinking Through Myths: Philosophical Perspectives

 

Further reading:

Pew Research Center’s Religious Landscape Survey

Gallup, Five Key Findings on Religion in the US

Some definitions of religion, Joseph Adler

Sociology of Religion Resources

 

Is evolution just a theory? Why is creationism unscientific? In this episode of the podcast, we look at some of the common questions and problems in the creation-evolution debate. Ken Miller is the Professor of Biology and Royce Family Professor for Teaching Excellence at Brown University. He was the lead expert witness for the plaintiff in the Kitzmiller v. Dover case of 2005 that challenged the teaching of intelligent design in schools. Dr. Miller has debated several proponents of intelligent design, published a variety of scholarly articles in scientific journals, and co-authored a mainstream Biology textbook with Joseph Levine that has seen multiple reprint and revised editions. One of his popular level books, Finding Darwin’s God, looks at evolution in light of religious belief, while his 2008 book, Only a Theory, discusses the arguments of the creation-evolution debate in the United States.

Armchair Atheism is the official podcast of GodlessHaven.com, exploring subjects related to religion and non-belief through interview discussions with a variety of scholarly and thoughtful voices.

To download the episode, right-click the download link and select “Save As.”

Follow the Armchair Atheism podcast feed.

 

Dr. Miller’s page at Brown University: vivo.brown.edu/display/kemiller

Kitzmiller v. Dover at the National Center for Science Education

The Flagellum Unspun – Dr. Miller’s critique of irreducible complexity

Books on Amazon:

Only a Theory: Evolution and the Battle for America’s Soul

Finding Darwin’s God: A Scientist’s Search for Common Ground Between God and Evolution

For more on evolution:

Lines of evidence: The science of evolution at Berkeley.edu

TalkOrigins’ Index of Creationist Claims

NCSE’s article on Intelligent Design Creationism

Evolution articles at Scientific American

Leaving religion behind can have real life consequences for many people, some of them frustrating or even traumatic in nature. When one first walks away from a religious tradition, or stands up to the dominant tradition within their own community, a variety of challenges and questions may present themselves. Where do we turn to for emotional or social support when we are no longer able to talk to friends, family, and the fellow believers we once knew? What do we do when we have doubts? When we just need to vent to someone without feeling judged? In this episode of the podcast, I discuss some of these issues with Gayle Jordan, the Executive Director of Recovering from Religion. Gail is an attorney and a former personal trainer who blogs about secularism, life on her farm in Tennessee, and endurance event training at her website, “Happy. Healthy. Heathen.”

Armchair Atheism is the official podcast of GodlessHaven.com, exploring subjects related to religion and non-belief through interview discussions with a variety of scholarly and thoughtful voices.

To download the episode, right-click the download link and select “Save As.”

Follow the Armchair Atheism podcast feed.

Recovering from Religion: http://www.recoveringfromreligion.org

Gayle’s blog: Happy. Healthy. Heathen.

More info on The Hotline Project

More on The Secular Therapist Project

Dr. Valerie Tarico’s interview with Dr. Marlene Winell on Religious Trauma Syndrome

 

Is there evidence of life of death? What should we make of claims about near-death experiences, apparitions, and psychic encounters? For this episode of the show, I talk with Keith Augustine about these questions and more. Mr. Augustine is the Executive Director and Scholarly Paper Editor at Internet Infidels. He holds a Master’s in Philosophy from the University of Maryland, and recently co-edited a book with Michael Martin entitled The Myth of an Afterlife: The Case Against Life After Death. Keith has published articles in the Journal of Near Death Studies, Skeptic magazine, and at infidels.org.

Armchair Atheism is the official podcast of GodlessHaven.com, exploring subjects related to religion and non-belief through interview discussions with a variety of scholarly and thoughtful voices.

To download the episode, right-click the download link and select “Save As.”

Follow the Armchair Atheism podcast feed.

Keith’s page at the Secular Web: https://infidels.org/library/modern/keith_augustine/keith-bio.html

 

Arguments against Life After Death: Books

Martin, M. & Augustine, K. (Eds.). (2015). The myth of an afterlife: The case against life after death. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

https://www.amazon.com/Myth-Afterlife-against-After-Death/dp/0810886774

Musolino, J. (2015). The soul fallacy: What science shows we gain from letting go of our soul beliefs. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books.

https://www.amazon.com/Soul-Fallacy-Science-Letting-Beliefs/dp/1616149620/

Lamont, C. (1990). The illusion of immortality (5th ed.). New York, NY: Unger/Continuum. (Original work published 1935).

https://www.amazon.com/Illusion-Immortality-Corliss-Lamont/dp/0804463778/

Woerlee, G. M. (2013). Illusory souls. North Charleston, SC: CreateSpace.

https://www.amazon.com/Illusory-Souls-G-M-Woerlee/dp/149617352X/

Critiques of Evidence for Survival: Con

Lester, D. (2005). Is there life after death? An examination of the empirical evidence. Jefferson, NC: McFarland.

https://www.amazon.com/There-After-Examination-Empirical-Evidence/dp/0786421169/

Moore, B. N. (1981). The philosophical possibilities beyond death. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.

https://www.amazon.com/philosophical-possibilities-beyond-death/dp/0398044597/

Sudduth, M. (2016). A philosophical critique of empirical arguments for postmortem survival. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

https://www.amazon.com/Philosophical-Empirical-Arguments-Postmortem-Philosophy/dp/1137440937/

Dodds, E. R. (1934). Why I do not believe in survival. Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research, 42, 147–172. Online at

https://archive.org/stream/proceedingsofsoc42soci#page/146/mode/2up

Critiques of Evidence for Survival: Pro

Gauld, A. (1982).

For some religious believers, faith is one of the most important things a person can have in their life. But what is faith? Common theistic definitions say that faith is belief or trust, while a number of atheists argue that faith is an irrational claim to knowledge. In this episode of the show, I talk with Professor John Bishop about some of these issues, as well as the different models of faith. Dr. Bishop is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. He has a BA from the Australian National University and a PhD from Cambridge. His interests center around philosophy of religion and philosophy of action, he has written books on each of these subjects, published a number of scholarly articles in academic journals, and has authored the entry on “Faith” for the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Links are available below.

Armchair Atheism is the official podcast of GodlessHaven.com, exploring subjects related to religion and non-belief through interview discussions with a variety of scholarly and thoughtful voices.

To download the episode, right-click the download link and select “Save As.”

Follow the Armchair Atheism podcast feed.

Dr. Bishop’s university webpage: http://www.arts.auckland.ac.nz/people/jbis016

Dr. Bishop’s entry on Faith at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Faith as doxastic venture – Dr. Bishop’s 2002 paper from the Religious Studies journal

 

Books:

Believing by Faith

Natural Agency

 

Things discussed in (or related to) this episode:

The Will to Believe by William James

Pascal’s Wager at the SEP

Faith and Reason at the IEP

How long has atheism been around? In this seventh episode of the show, I talk with Tim Whitmarsh, the A.G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture at the University of Cambridge, about atheism in ancient history. Professor Whitmarsh works on all areas of Greek literature and culture, specializing particularly in the world of Greeks under the Roman Empire. Professor Whitmarsh has published several books, including Greek Literature and the Roman Empire, Narrative and Identity in the Ancient Greek Novel, and his most recent, Battling the Gods: Atheism in the Ancient World.

Armchair Atheism is the official podcast of GodlessHaven.com, exploring subjects related to religion and non-belief through interview discussions with a variety of scholarly and thoughtful voices.

To download the episode, right-click the download link and select “Save As.”

Follow the Armchair Atheism podcast feed.

Tim’s website: http://www.classics.cam.ac.uk/directory/professor-tim-whitmarsh

Twitter: @Twhittermarsh

Battling the Gods on Amazon.com

Battling the Gods at Knopf Doubleday

 

Links related to this episode:

Epicurus at the IEP

Greek Religion at the Ancient History Encyclopedia

Rebecca Newberger Goldstein’s review of Battling the Gods for the New York Times