“The new edition of Caught in the Pulpit extends and reinforces the message of the first: that many who preach religion do not themselves believe what they preach, for the good reason that they have more insight into its vacuity than those to whom they preach. Some are tragically trapped in this hypocrisy, some choose to keep living the lie: but knowing this adds to our sense of the lie that is religion itself. This is an important book, because it reveals an important truth.”
—A.C. Grayling, Master of the New College of the Humanities London

About the Book

What is it like to be a preacher or rabbi who no longer believes in God? In this expanded and updated edition of their groundbreaking study, Daniel C. Dennett and Linda LaScola comprehensively and sensitively expose an inconvenient truth that religious institutions face in the new transparency of the information age—the phenomenon of clergy who no longer believe what they publicly preach. In confidential interviews, clergy from across the ministerial spectrum—from liberal to literal—reveal how their lives of religious service and study have led them to a truth inimical to their professed beliefs and profession. Although their personal stories are as varied as the denominations they once represented, or continue to represent—whether Catholic, Baptist, Episcopalian, Methodist, Mormon, Pentecostal, or any of numerous others—they give voice not only to their own struggles but also to those who similarly suffer in tender and lonely silence. As this study poignantly and vividly reveals, their common journey has far-reaching implications not only for their families, their congregations, and their communities—but also for the very future of religion.

About the Author(s)

Daniel C. Dennett is the Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Philosophy at Tufts University and the codirector of the Center for Cognitive Studies. He is the author of numerous books, including Brainstorms, Breaking the Spell, Consciousness Explained, Darwin’s Dangerous Idea, Elbow Room, Freedom Evolves, and Intuition Pumps. He lives in North Andover, Massachusetts. Linda LaScola has been a qualitative researcher for more than 25 years and has traveled around the United States interviewing people on numerous subjects, including health, mental health, public policy, and religion. She lives in Washington, DC. Richard Dawkins (foreword by) is a Fellow of the Royal Society and was the inaugural holder of the Charles Simonyi Chair of Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University.

Details

ISBN: 9781634310208
Format: paperback
SRP: $16.95
Page count: 280 pages
Trim size: 6 x 9
Pub date: May 2015

“In laying bare her own journey from devout Catholic seminarian student to nonbeliever, Catherine Dunphy humanizes the Clergy Project, an organization formed in 2011 to serve as post-theistic community for former clergy-turned-nonbelievers. She reveals how and why she and other clergy left behind the restraints of organized religious belief, overcame the pain of losing faith, and found new meaning in secular activism. Hers is but one of many remarkable stories of the difficult transition most of her new humanist colleagues share as they confront their doubts about faith and fears of ostracism from friends and family. It takes bravery to not simply bury doubt about faith. Ultimately From Apostle to Apostate is a lively, smart, and necessary story about the freedom found through the rationalist humanity of like-minded people.”
—Gerald Posner, author of the New York Times best seller God’s Bankers: A History of Money and Power at the Vatican

About the Book

What happens when your entire life and career are constructed around a religious faith that you no longer possess? Do you continue to promote a gospel that you have intellectually and emotionally rejected to maintain your livelihood and the support and respect you receive from your community? Or do you renounce your faith to your congregation and the public at large, putting yourself and your family at risk? Catherine Dunphy offers a comprehensive introduction to the Clergy Project, established in 2011 to provide a safe space where clergy who have lost their faith can connect with others facing the exact same questions—often alone and in isolation. Charting the origins, growth, and goals of the project, Catherine Dunphy draws on her own experience as a founding project member and on interviews with project founders and participants. She also reveals the troubles and triumphs experienced by many project members, whose numbers have grown from just over 50 to more than 600 in a few short years. As she movingly demonstrates, despite the substantial personal and professional challenges nonbelieving clergy face, for many of them, a loss of faith has turned out to be not a loss at all—but rather a gain of newfound community, self-respect, and honesty with themselves and others.

About the Author(s)

Catherine Dunphy is an original member of the Clergy Project and its former executive director. She is operations manager and contributor at Rational Doubt, a Patheos blog. Trained as a Roman Catholic chaplain, she began and ended her journey out of faith while attending seminary. She was an atheist by the time she graduated with her Master of Theological Studies degree in 2004. Richard Dawkins (foreword by) is a Fellow of the Royal Society and was the inaugural holder of the Charles Simonyi Chair of Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University.

Details

ISBN: 9781634310161
Format: paperback
SRP: $14.95
Page count: 184 pages
Trim size: 6 x 9
Pub date: July 2015

“A lovely book!”
—Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion

About the Book

Every thinking person wants to lead a life of meaning and purpose. For thousands of years, holy books have told us that such a life is available only through obedience and submission to some higher power. Today, the faithful keep popular devotionals and tracts within easy reach on bedside tables and mobile devices, all communicating this common message: Life is meaningless without God. Former pastor Dan Barker eloquently, powerfully, and rationally upends this long-held belief in Life Driven Purpose. Offering words of enrichment, emancipation, and inspiration, he reminds us how millions of atheists lead happy, loving, moral, and purpose-filled lives. Practicing what he preaches, he also demonstrates through his own personal journey that life is valuable for its own sake—that meaning and purpose come not from above, but from within.

About the Author(s)

Dan Barker, a former evangelical minister, is co-president of the Freedom from Religion Foundation, co-host of Freethought Radio, and co-founder and board member of the Clergy Project. A widely sought-after lecturer, debater, and performer, he regularly discusses atheism and life’s meaning and purpose in the national media, with appearances on Oprah Winfrey, The Daily Show, the O'Reilly Factor, Good Morning America, and many others. Daniel C. Dennett (foreword by) is university professor, professor of philosophy, and co-director of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University.

Details

ISBN: 9781939578211
Format: paperback
SRP: $14.95
Page count: 216 pages
Trim size: 6 x 9
Pub date: April 1, 2015

“This is as much an adventure and coming-of-age story as it is a coming-out story (both gay and atheist). It is fast-paced, earthy, and sensitive, taking readers into a fascinating cultural account and series of events that keeps you reading even though you know how it ends. Most noteworthy, in my opinion, is that it clearly shows how sincere and fervent religious belief erodes when logic and clear thinking creep in.  Beware, Christian fundamentalists—this book is dangerous to your beliefs, but is a secular blessing to the rest of us.”
—Linda LaScola, cofounder of The Clergy Project and author with Daniel C. Dennett of Caught in the Pulpit: Leaving Belief Behind

About the Book

In this exceptionally moving and soul-searching memoir, Fernando Alcántar recounts his incredible journey from poor Catholic boy on the dusty streets of Mexico to globetrotting missionary and high-profile Christian leader in the United States—where he eventually left his celebrated life behind to advocate for the liberating power of reason and equality. With heart-wrenching honesty, he shares stories of trauma, tragedy, prejudice, uncertainty, survival, and, ultimately, discovery. In the process, he gives a voice to thousands who are hiding in the shadows, afraid to publicly question their religious, cultural, or sexual identity for fear of isolation and retaliation. You will discover that his is not simply a Mexican story or an American story, a heterosexual's story or a homosexual's story, a Christian's story or an atheist's story. Rather, his is a universal story—one uniquely about and for our times.

About the Author(s)

Fernando Alcántar is a former leader of the Foursquare denomination in Mexico and senior coordinator of North American Partnerships at Azusa Pacific University, where he oversaw hundreds of churches in Mexico and helped to mobilize thousands of missionaries a year from all over the United States and Canada. He later served as director of leadership development for young people for the California-Pacific Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. He is now a gay atheist activist, spreading a message of tolerance, introspection, and understanding. He lives in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. Dan Barker (foreword by) is co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

Details

ISBN: 9781634310482
Format: paperback
SRP: $15.95
Page count: 224 pages
Trim size: 6 x 9
Pub date: November 2015