Life After God's tracks

In this episode Ryan shares a few thoughts about the victory of Joe Biden in the presidential election, followed by an interview with Juhem Navarro-Rivera of Socioanalítica Research about the political views and values of secular Americans as compared to all Americans. These results are revealed in a new report by Socioanalítica Research entitled, Secular Voices Survey.LINKSDownload the Secular Voices Survey | https://secularvoices2020.socioanalitica.comSocioanalítica Research website | https://socioanaliticaresearch.comFriendly Atheist guest post | https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2020/10/08/pay-attention-democrats-research-shows-secular-americans-are-a-voting-bloc"NoneDecision 2020" (The Humanist) | https://thehumanist.com/commentary/nonedecision-2020-secular-voters-disagree-on-more-than-candidatesSocioanalítica Blog (Medium) | https://medium.com/storias/how-secular-voters-can-decide-the-election-f45d72b0285fFollow Juhem on Facebook and Instagram, @Socioanalitica Follow Juhem on Twitter @JuhemNR

On this episode I speak with Chris Stedman. Chris is a writer, speaker, and community organizer living in Minneapolis. His new book, out tomorrow from Broadleaf Books, is called "IRL: Finding Realness, Meaning, and Belonging in Our Digital Lives." The IRL in the title refers to the internet shorthand for “in real life,” in contrast to our online lives. But Chris thinks this designation is a mistake.Much of the time, Chris says, we don’t think of our time on the internet as “real” and therefore don’t approach it with the same critical analysis that we might a different kind of engagement. How much thought do you put into an activity you don’t think is real? Chris argues that while our lives online are different than other relational spaces, it is no less real. As such he invites us to think deeply and critically about how we engage with the internet, how it is shaping us, and what it’s telling us about what is real and what is important.::LINKS::Visit Chris Stedman's website | https://chrisstedmanwriter.comBuy the book | https://bookshop.org/books/irl-finding-realness-meaning-and-belonging-in-our-digital-lives/9781506463513Follow Chris on Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/ChrisDStedmanRead “The Problem of Free Speech in an Age of Disinformation” | https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/13/magazine/free-speech.html

On this episode I speak with Robert P. Jones, founder and CEO of Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) about his new bombshell of a book, "White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity."Jones speaks about his growing up in the Southern Baptist Church in Texas and Mississippi, his growing awareness of the crisis festering within his faith community, and how he has come to understand the role that history and theology play in Christianity's support for white supremacy. Then he backs all that up by polling Americans about their attitudes about racial difference. What he found is not at all unexpected and yet somehow shocking all the same.----------LINKSBuy "White Too Long" | https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781982122867Visit PRRI's website | https://www.prri.org/Read "Christianity Will Have Power" in the New York Times | https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/09/us/evangelicals-trump-christianity.html

In this episode I speak with Justin Clark about the relationship between secularism, humanism, and socialism. We even talk a little about Marx and the current political climate in the US.

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 follows we discuss Pat’s recent suicide attempt, how he survived, and what he has learned about himself and what he wants from his life going forward. I want to express my deep gratitude to Pat for courageously sharing his story and courageously choosing life.Pat writes a column for the Patheos website entitled “Transparent Expedition,” where he writes in his characteristic raw, honest way about being the father of a gender fluid child and his experience of being a recovering evangelical. Please follow his writing by going to the link in the show notes.Please follow Pat's writing at www.patheos.com/blogs/transparentexpedition

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-freethinkersFollow Chris on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ccamrun2Visit 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 Charlotte. He is also the founder and past president of the African American Intellectual History Society. He received his B.A. in History from Keene State College and his M.A. and Ph.D. in American History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research and teaching interests include early American history, the history of slavery and abolition, and American religious and intellectual history. Cameron’s first book, entitled To Plead Our Own Cause: African Americans in Massachusetts and the Making of the Antislavery Movement, was published by Kent State University Press in 2014. His second book, Black Freethinkers: A History of African American Secularism, was published by Northwestern University Press in September 2019. His current book project, entitled Liberal Religion and Race in America, explores the intersection of race and liberal religion dating back to the mid-18th century and the varied ways that liberal theology has informed African American religion and politics in the 20th and 21st centuries.Please support the podcast by becoming a patron - www.patreon.com/lifeaftergod

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 www.patreon.com/lifeaftergod today and become a member.

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/80063867Buy Jeff Sharlet's books The Family - https://www.amazon.com/Family-Secret-Fundamentalism-Heart-American/dp/0060560053 C Street - https://www.amazon.com/Street-Fundamentalist-American-Democracy-Readers/dp/0316091065/Visit the Life After God website: http://www.lifeaftergod.orgFollow Life After God on...Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/ourlifeaftergodInstagram - http://www.instagram.com/ourlifeaftergodTwitter - http://www.twitter.com/ourlifeaftergod

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 Peck, and I'm a licensed clinical social worker in Boise Idaho specializing in religious trauma and mental health challenges related to the deconversion process.Today I'm excited to introduce you to Suandria Hall who is a licensed mental health professional in the Denver area who also specializes in religious trauma and helping people navigate life transitions including support for leaving high-demand religious groups.I met Suandria online through her Instagram account, My Choice My Power, which is also the name of her private practice in the Denver area. I was struck by her thoughtful reflections on mental health and her keen insight into the process of exiting religion. It's been a real honor to learn from her experience and hope you find this conversation as meaningful as I did.My goal for these episodes is to expand the conversation about post-religious mental health that includes a range of clinical voices, therapy modalities, and practices you can incorporate into your healing process.You may be surprised to learn that there's a growing number of mental health professionals out there already doing this work. As therapists, we often work with the individual, and what's said in the room stays in the room. These episodes are an opportunity to share what we're learning and to provide some psychoeducational content to support your journey.Note, these conversations are intended to be educational in nature and are in no way a substitute for working with your own licensed mental health professional or healthcare provider. As with any conversation that may reactivate past trauma, please put your needs first. This particular conversation is not graphic, but the topic and content may still be challenging for some nervous systems. Healing trauma is a dynamic process, and it's perfectly okay to step back and reengage once you have more resources available to you.**SPECIAL OFFER**Join the Life After God community as a Member between now and June 21, 2019, and receive a limited edition magnet. Visit www.patreon.com/lifeaftergod and join today!Be a part of the next LIVE panel discussion, "Facing Grief & Loss After God," on Friday, June 28 at 6:00 pm Pacific Time. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1219812888177918/Follow Suandria Hall on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mychoicemypowercounseling/ On the web - http://www.mychoicemypower.com/Connect with Brian Peck on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/RoomToThrive/On the web - https://www.roomtothrive.com/Learn more about Life After God at our website - www.lifeaftergod.org

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 Michael Brown in St. Louis just months after his arrival, and how humanist values translate into political commitments.**SPECIAL OFFER**Join the Life After God community as a Member between now and June 21, 2019, and receive a limited edition magnet. Visit www.patreon.com/lifeaftergod and join today!Be a part of the next LIVE panel discussion, "Facing Grief & Loss After God," on Friday, June 28 at 6:00 pm Pacific Time. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1219812888177918/Follow James Croft on Twitter (www.twitter.com/CroftSpeaks)Ethical Society of St. Louis - https://ethicalstl.org/Learn more about Life After God at our website - www.lifeaftergod.org

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 thriving in our world. Likewise, understanding grief and how to face it as an atheist is essential for a vibrant life after God.Become of member of the Life After God community and help make this podcast possible. Join today at www.patreon.com/lifeaftergodVisit our website at www.lifeaftergod.orgFollow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ourlifeaftergod), Twitter (www.twitter.com/ourlifeaftergod), and Instagram (www.instagram.com/ourlifeaftergod).

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 conversion to Christianity, his ministry in the Foursquare Church, his departure from the church and his eventual atheism and its effect on his relationships. In the second half we talk about his ALS diagnosis, what the prospect of death means to him and what he is already learning on this journey.Special thanks to Cass Midgley for his production and post-production assistance, and to Marie D'Elephant for helping me schedule Dave and for all her support along the way.Our executive producer is Jeff Straka.LINKSDave's website | http://www.everyonesagnostic.com/dave.htmlDave's Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dwwarnock

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 belief, including Islam, especially in open, democratic societies. On the other hand, we cannot separate our criticism of religion from the social and political context in which we make those critiques. Timing and tone do matter. While all critiques may be permitted, not all comments are advisable at every moment if we care about the lives of those who are most effected.Ideology has consequences, as we have seen with acts of terror that run the ideological spectrum from Nazism, to white nationalism and identitarianism (such as the ideology that animated the Christchurch, New Zealand terrorist), to Islamism and more. Islam is not a single thing or a unified way of seeing the world any more than Christianity is. Eiynah is an ex-Muslim of Pakistani background who was raised in Saudi Arabia and now lives in Toronto, Canada. She is a prolific podcaster, blogger, and commentator at the intersection religion, politics, and human rights.LINKSNice Mangos website | http://nicemangos.blogspot.com/Polite Conversations podcast | https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/polite-conversations/id1086199663?mt=2Follow Eiynah on Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/nicemangosLife After God website | http://www.lifeaftergod.orgSupport this podcast by becoming a member | http://www.patreon.com/lifeaftergodFollow Life After God on Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/ourlifeaftergodFollow Ryan Bell on Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/ryanjbell