Beyond Atheism Podcast

In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Joseph Blankholm, an assistant professor in the Department of Religious Studies at University of California, Santa Barbara, and the author of the new book, The Secular Paradox: On the Religiosity of the Not Religious. We talk about his decade-long research project of attending secular events and interviewing secular people trying to build secular organizations. We discuss in depth what he calls the “secular paradox” – the uneasy ambivalence secular people feel toward religion. We also talk about the unique position of “secular misfits” who don’t fit into the expected secular pattern. Finally, we find out whether a “true secular person” can dislike John Lennon’s song “Imagine.”In the bonus content, available exclusively to supporters on Patreon, we find out more about Joe’s research in the field, his discomfort around attending a Secular Day of the Dead ceremony, and why his research required so much alcohol consumption.The Secular Paradox: On the Religiosity of the Not Religious: https://nyupress.org/9781479809523/the-secular-paradox/Follow Joe on Twitter: https://twitter.com/joeblankholmFollow Nathan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NathGAlexanderNathan’s website: https://www.nathangalexander.com/If you find the podcast valuable and want to support it, check out our Patreon page, where you will also find bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/beyond_atheism We are grateful for every contribution.

In this episode, we’re joined by Maddy Goodall, the Humanist Heritage Coordinator for Humanists UK. We talk about her current project outlining the century plus history of humanism in the UK. What follows is a surprising tale of political activism, liberation for women, and the unexpected humanist roots of everyday symbols and objects hiding in plain view. We also ask Maddy whether a “true humanist” can eat meat or believe in aliens.In the bonus section, available exclusively to supporters on Patreon, we ask Maddy to dish the dirt on some of her least favorite humanists.Humanist Heritage Project: https://heritage.humanists.uk/Humanist history in objects: https://heritage.humanists.uk/objects/How Humanist Are You? Quiz: https://humanists.uk/humanism/how-humanist-are-you/Check out Maddy’s articles:“Morality Without Religion: The Story of Humanism”https://freethinker.co.uk/2022/05/morality-without-religion-the-story-of-humanism/“The Forgotten Women of Humanist History”: ​​https://newhumanist.org.uk/articles/5792/the-forgotten-women-of-humanist-history“On the Trail of Humanism’s Hidden Women”:​​https://thehumanist.com/features/articles/on-the-trail-of-humanisms-hidden-women“American Architects of the UK Humanist Movement”:https://thehumanist.com/commentary/american-architects-of-the-uk-humanist-movementCheck out Nathan’s book (which was not so subtly plugged at various points in the episode): https://nyupress.org/9781479835003/race-in-a-godless-world/Follow Nathan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NathGAlexanderNathan’s website: https://www.nathangalexander.com/If you find the podcast valuable and want to support it, check out our Patreon page, where you will also find bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/beyond_atheism We are grateful for every contribution.

In this episode, Todd and Nathan discuss the strange inclusion of “God” in Canada’s constitution. Follow along as Nathan walks through Canada’s history to reveal how and why the otherwise secular Charter of Rights and Freedoms came to recognize the “supremacy of God” in its 1982 preamble. Todd and Nathan consider the significance of these symbolic inclusions and the risk they pose to the separation of church and state. Along the way, they also talk about religious references in Canada’s national anthem and the mandatory prayer before each sitting of the Canadian parliament. Additionally, we learn whether a true atheist can sing the Canadian national anthem with pride.In the bonus section, available exclusively to supporters of Patreon, we talk more about national anthems and where else religion appears in public life.For more, check out Nathan’s article, “How God was wedged into secular Canada’s constitution”: https://onlysky.media/nalexander/how-god-was-wedged-into-secular-canadas-constitution/Follow Nathan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NathGAlexanderNathan’s website: https://www.nathangalexander.com/If you find the podcast valuable and want to support it, check out our Patreon page, where you will also find bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/beyond_atheism We are grateful for every contribution.

In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Will Gervais, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Brunel University. We learn a bit about evolutionary psychology before finding out what it tells us about why people become atheists and the difference between the reported and observed power of rational thinking. Will also explains how his survey methodology revealed a number of “closeted atheists” that traditional polls may have missed. Stick around to the end to hear whether he thinks a “true atheist” can follow religious dietary restrictions, or hold prejudices against other atheists.In the bonus content, available exclusively to supporters on Patreon, we ask Will for his most controversial take on atheism and religion, and dive deeper into the relationship between political outlooks and atheism.For more on Will: http://willgervais.com/Follow Will on Twitter: https://twitter.com/wgervaisCheck out Nathan’s recent article, “How Three Media Revolutions Transformed the History of Atheism”: https://freethinker.co.uk/2022/04/how-three-media-revolutions-transformed-the-history-of-atheism/Follow Nathan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NathGAlexanderNathan’s website: https://www.nathangalexander.com/If you find the podcast valuable and want to support it, check out our Patreon page, where you will also find bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/beyond_atheism We are grateful for every contribution.

In this episode, we consider some of the ways the growing nonreligious population will shape future societies. To do so, we’re joined by Dr. Lori Beaman, the Principal Investigator of the Nonreligion in a Complex Future project. We talk about the numerous and sometimes unexpected effects and changes this project has been examining. Listen in to learn how the growth of the nonreligious has altered everything from our collective understanding of death and dying, to the language used in debating new policies. We also learn how religious assumptions continue to inform immigration and resettlement policies. Lori also weighs in on whether a true nonreligious person can do yoga or wish for a world without religion.In the bonus content, available exclusively to Patreon subscribers, we discuss how to think about Quebec’s controversial Bill 21, which prohibits the wearing of religious symbols for public officials, including teachers.For more on the Nonreligion in a Complex Future project: https://nonreligionproject.ca/Follow Nathan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NathGAlexanderNathan’s website: https://www.nathangalexander.com/If you find the podcast valuable and want to support it, check out our Patreon page, where you will also find bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/beyond_atheism We are grateful for every contribution.

In this episode, Todd and Nathan get personal about death. Atheists still fear death, but don’t have the comfort provided by a belief in an afterlife. They discuss how rational their own fears of death are, how technology might allow us to deny death, and the importance of accepting death as a prerequisite for giving meaning to life. This deep, far-ranging discussion also touches on how atheists have begun to commemorate loved ones and deal with grief through secular rituals and ceremonies.In the bonus section, available exclusively to Patreon supporters, Todd and Nathan talk about what they plan to do with their bodies after they die.George Eliot’s poem, “The Choir Invisible”: https://poets.org/poem/choir-invisibleCool “Disco” Dan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cool_%22Disco%22_DanFollow Nathan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NathGAlexanderNathan’s website: https://www.nathangalexander.com/If you find the podcast valuable and want to support it, check out our Patreon page, where you will also find bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/beyond_atheism We are grateful for every contribution.

In this episode, we are joined by Mark Solomon, host of the Being Reasonable podcast. We talk to Mark about “street epistemology”: having conversations with people to find out why they believe what they believe. We learn how Mark gets people to question the foundations of their knowledge, and we discuss how this can challenge deeply held (but untrue) beliefs.In the bonus section, available exclusively to supporters on Patreon, we ask Mark whether people need strange beliefs to survive the bleakness of reality. We also talk about aliens, tarot cards, and other topics he has explored on his channel.Being Reasonable on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BeingReasonableBeing Reasonable Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/being-reasonable/id1487687962Aporia Documentary: https://filmfreeway.com/projects/2390757 (Password: 1212)For more on Street Epistemology: https://streetepistemology.com/communityFollow Nathan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NathGAlexanderNathan’s website: https://www.nathangalexander.com/If you find the podcast valuable and want to support it, check out our Patreon page, where you will also find bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/beyond_atheism We are grateful for every contribution.

Ahoy, godless Street Pirates! In this episode we are joined by Evan Clark, the executive director of Atheists United, a growing organization in California. He tells us about how the organization has been changing to meet the needs of the atheist community, including through its innovative Atheist Street Pirates program. It is a great how-to on getting people through the doors and then getting them to stay and become involved. We discover how reading books about church-planting informed Evan’s approach to organizing, and we also learn, among other things, whether a “true atheist” can criminalize religious belief and when it is appropriate to remove religious signage.In the bonus section, available exclusively to supporters on Patreon, we talk more about free speech issues and the Street Pirates program, as well as reflections on the future of community-building in the atheist movement.Learn more about Atheists United here: https://www.atheistsunited.org/An article on AU’s Street Pirates program: https://religionnews.com/2022/03/03/in-l-a-atheist-lookouts-remove-religious-signage-from-streets-and-freeway-overpasses/Follow Nathan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NathGAlexanderNathan’s website: https://www.nathangalexander.com/If you find the podcast valuable and want to support it, check out our Patreon page, where you will also find bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/beyond_atheism We are grateful for every contribution.

In this episode, our guest is Emma Park, the new editor of the Freethinker magazine. Join us as we discuss the magazine’s incredible history and its impact on creating a secular society in Britain. Emma talks about the paradox of Britain’s growing nonreligious population and the stubborn persistence of institutions like the monarchy and religious privilege, and the challenge of finding the appropriate limits to free speech and expression. She also gives some thought to whether a “true freethinker” can be an anti-capitalist and if vandalizing a church can ever be considered free expression.In the bonus section, available exclusively to supporters on Patreon, we talk more about free speech, Antifa’s answer to fascism, and the paradox of tolerance.The Freethinker: https://freethinker.co.uk/Follow the Freethinker on Twitter: https://twitter.com/FreethinkerMagFollow Emma on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrEmmaParkNathan recently appeared on the Monday Morning Dullard podcast to talk about atheism. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVmjk9_mMxYFollow Nathan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NathGAlexanderNathan’s website: https://www.nathangalexander.com/If you find the podcast valuable and want to support it, check out our Patreon page, where you will also find bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/beyond_atheism We are grateful for every contribution.

In this episode, we are joined by Leigh Eric Schmidt, the Edward C. Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor in the Humanities at Washington University in St. Louis, and the author of a new book, The Church of Saint Thomas Paine: A Religious History of American Secularism. In a far ranging discussion we learn why after his death the eighteenth-century radical Thomas Paine went from disgraced Founding Father to the patron saint of the freethought movement. As the freethought movement in the early United States began to form it was guided not only by Paine's words, but also by quests for his literal bones. Leigh highlights how much early secularists were driven by the desire to make new religions and how a landmark court ruling would accidentally make secular humanists a Reagan-era bogeyman. We also learn whether a true “Painite” can believe in an afterlife or work for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.In the bonus section, available exclusively to supporters of Patreon, we ask Leigh whether he has ever attended an “atheist church,” and if he thinks atheists’ natural independent streak dooms the prospect of creating long-lasting secular institutions.Check out Leigh’s new book, The Church of Saint Thomas Paine: A Religious History of American Secularism: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691217253/the-church-of-saint-thomas-paineFor more on Leigh: https://rap.wustl.edu/people/leigh-e-schmidt/Nathan recently appeared on the Monday Morning Dullard podcast to talk about atheism. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVmjk9_mMxYFollow Nathan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NathGAlexanderNathan’s website: https://www.nathangalexander.com/If you find the podcast valuable and want to support it, check out our Patreon page, where you will also find bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/beyond_atheism We are grateful for every contribution.