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Author and Observer writer Robert McCrum loves a good list. Thus he has crafted a definitive selection of essential works of non-fiction, classic titles he believes have had a decisive influence on the shaping of our imagination — economically, socially, culturally and politically. The countdown starts here. His No 10 choice is The Selfish Gene, …

“What’s more, different ways of coming out don’t just have personal impacts in people’s lives. They have political implications as well. And those will vary from person to person. Some people want their coming out to make a gentler, blending-in, “we’re just like everyone else” statement. Others want their coming out to be more radical, …

“We’re living in the midst of a revolution in human attitudes and belief. In much of Europe and North America and other areas of the developed world, such as Australia and Japan, large portions of the population are now nonreligious, that is, they reject belief in God and transcendent spiritual entities of any sort. This …

“And using the world more is a big part of what’s going to de-stigmatize it. Marnie, who grew up in southern New Hampshire in a generically Christian family, says, “I try to avoid hedging and avoiding the topic, when it’s brought up. I feel strongly that when ostensibly ‘normal’ people say they are atheists without …

In June 2016, astrophysicist Adam Frank wrote in the New York Times, “Yes, There Have Been Aliens.” His story follows the discoveries of one frontier of astronomy, exoplanet research, which seeks to find and describe planets around stars other than our sun.    His conclusion? While we see no evidence for intelligent life anywhere, it’s …

from Maryam Namazie “We oppose any religious body – whether presided over by men or women – that seeks to rule over us.” So say more than 300 mostly Muslim women, but also others from different faiths who have been abused in their personal lives. From their own lived experiences, these women are voicing their …

How do you navigate the holiday season? Whether or not you personally celebrate anything this season, what advice can you offer to those whose secular identity makes a stressful time all that much more difficult? Our favorite answer wins a copy of A Brief Candle in the Dark by Richard Dawkins (no repeat winners). And …

“I think most believers are good people. Although religious doctrine is generally irrational, divisive, and irrelevant to human values, some religions have good teachings sprinkled in with the dogma, and many well-meaning believers, to their credit, concentrate on those teachings. Surveying the smorgasbord of belief systems, we notice that they occasionally talk about peace and …

November 27, 2016 Who has international influence? Rather than any particular field or institution, it turns out to be the individual stars of various specialist areas. This is true of all the fields of knowledge analyzed. It’s notable, however, that a particularly high number of religious thinkers are represented at the top Global Thought Leader …

“When you come out as an atheist, you’ll probably be in for a round of Atheism 101 – Myths and Facts. Maybe more than one round. Even the most supportive believers often have misunderstandings about us. And the more people you come out to, the more mythbusting you’ll have ahead of you. So do some …

“Are these reflections on religion offensive? They concern topics that many people would rather leave examined, but unlike most earlier criticisms of religion they do not point a finger of blame. It doesn’t take conniving priests to invent these cultural contraptions, an more than it took a devious social engineer to create the Japanese tea …

Richard Dawkins and Sidney Johnson, age 11, together recently in Indianapolis. Sidney has read The Greatest Show on Earth and is halfway through The Ancestor’s Tale (2nd Edition). Richard says, “This young American reader, who also asked one of the most intelligent questions after my talk, gives me hope for the future. A Letter from …