Latest Articles
The Needs of the Nones
January 24, 2024On the most recent episode of the Center for Inquiry’s podcast Point of Inquiry, I talked to Free Inquiry contributor Sarah An Myers about millennial attitudes toward religion and atheism. It is complementary to the previous episode of the show that I hosted, in which I talked to political scientist Juhem Navarro-Rivera about the relative …
Take Me to Church
Volume 44, No. 2February/March 2024
It is the world’s great religions that have perhaps given most thought to the role played by the environment in determining identity and so—while seldom constructing places where we might fall asleep—have shown the greatest sympathy for our need for a home. —Alain de Botton, The Architecture of Happiness The architecture firm I write for …
Science, the Poetry of Reality, Jewel in Humanity’s Crown
Volume 44, No. 2February/March 2024
Aristotle was tutor to Alexander the Great. You could be the tutor of Aristotle. And thrill him to the core of his being. Aristotle’s was one of the great intellects of all time. But you know far more. You have a deeper, more penetrating, more comprehensive understanding of the way the world works. Such is …
Is Veganism a Moral Imperative?
Volume 44, No. 2February/March 2024
Morality is a human invention. Most of us who accept the truth of that proposition also believe that our moral principles are subject to review and criticism and should be revised if they cannot be rationally justified. This brings me to the claim made by some that veganism is a moral imperative. By “veganism,” I …
Popular Articles
Have Christians Accepted the Scientific Conclusion That God Does Not Answer Intercessory Prayer?
Volume 39, No. 1December 2018 / January 2019
In 1982, a young cardiologist at the San Francisco General Medical Center named Randolph Byrd had a brilliant insight that would motivate several important investigations of prayer during the following two decades. He realized that the standard research paradigm known as the double-blind randomized clinical trial could be used to test the efficacy of intercessory …
Why I Am Pro-Abortion, Not Just Pro-Choice
Volume 36, No. 5August / September 2016
Why be pro-abortion? Because of all the genuine, unquestioned goods it makes possible.
The Importance of Being Blasphemous
Volume 35, No. 6October / November 2015
Looking back on the Satanic Verses affair from the time of the Charlie Hebdo massacre, it is clear that Western culture has hemorrhaged away its courage.
Popular Articles
Have Christians Accepted the Scientific Conclusion That God Does Not Answer Intercessory Prayer?
Volume 39, No. 1December 2018 / January 2019
In 1982, a young cardiologist at the San Francisco General Medical Center named Randolph Byrd had a brilliant insight that would motivate several important investigations of prayer during the following two decades. He realized that the standard research paradigm known as the double-blind randomized clinical trial could be used to test the efficacy of intercessory …
Why I Am Pro-Abortion, Not Just Pro-Choice
Volume 36, No. 5August / September 2016
Why be pro-abortion? Because of all the genuine, unquestioned goods it makes possible.
Looking Back
No God, Know Peace: Introduction
Volume 34, No. 2February / March 2014
In the April/May 2013 issue, FREE INQUIRY invited readers to submit autobiographical essays describing the life-stance odysseys that had led them to their present positions of secular humanism or atheism.
Why I Am Not a Born-again Christian
Volume 34, No. 2February / March 2014
I had a fairly normal childhood. Most weeks I attended Sunday school, sorting through crayon nubs to color pictures of farm animals, children, and disciples all clustered around Jesus with looks of adoration.
Why I Am Not an Observant Jew
Volume 34, No. 2February / March 2014
I was fifteen years old (I am now eighty-nine) when I discarded the myth that there exists somewhere an entity that created the universe and, by the way, also the human species.
No God, Know Peace: Introduction
Volume 34, No. 2February / March 2014
In the April/May 2013 issue, FREE INQUIRY invited readers to submit autobiographical essays describing the life-stance odysseys that had led them to their present positions of secular humanism or atheism.
Why I Am Not a Born-again Christian
Volume 34, No. 2February / March 2014
I had a fairly normal childhood. Most weeks I attended Sunday school, sorting through crayon nubs to color pictures of farm animals, children, and disciples all clustered around Jesus with looks of adoration.