Columbia University Press
Atheists in America
-
Edited by:
About this book
Author / Editor information
Reviews
Dan Barker, copresident, Freedom from Religion Foundation:
I used to preach that atheists are fools who lead sad, empty, meaningless, and immoral lives. Then I actually met some atheists. After reading the moving and honest stories in Atheists in America, you will agree with me that nonbelievers lead reasonable, moral, and purposeful lives.
Michael Shermer, editor of Skeptic:
Atheists in America—a vital new contribution to the growing literature on nonbelievers—reveals in their own words how a wide diversity of people learned to live lives of integrity and meaning without God. The book also grants readers ready to hear it the message that not only is it okay not to believe, being an atheist can be both enlightening and liberating.
Amarnath Amarasingam, York University:
Atheists in America is a unique contribution to the literature on atheism touching on topics rarely discussed or researched. I do not know of any other book on the market that seeks to bring together individual narratives of deconversion and the challenges faced afterward.
Topics
-
Download PDFPublicly Available
Frontmatter
i -
Download PDFPublicly Available
CONTENTS
v -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
Acknowledgments
xi -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
INTRODUCTION. The Other Closet: An Introduction to Atheism and Coming Out Processes
1 - PART 1. LEAVING FAITH
-
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
Arriving at Atheist Identity from Religious Backgrounds
23 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
1. HOW I GOT TO NONE OF THE ABOVE
27 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
2. RELIGION AND THE F-WORD (FEMINISM)
31 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
3. CLAP OUR HANDS LIKE TREES
40 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
4. EX-MORMON
48 - PART 2. CULTURAL CONTEXTS IN COMING OUT AS ATHEIST
-
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
Introduction
59 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
5. AN UNEXAMINED LIFE
65 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
6. USER ERROR: COMING OUT AS ATHEIST IN UTAH
72 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
7. THE NAMES WE CALL HOME
79 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
8. A LIFE OF CLASS CONSCIOUSNESS
85 - PART 3. TWO CLOSETS? Identifying as Both LGBTQ and Atheist
-
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
Introduction
91 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
9. A TALE OF TWO CLOSETS
95 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
10. THE PERMANENT PRODIGAL DAUGHTER
101 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
11. FAR FROM HOME
108 - PART 4. AIN’T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH
-
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
Navigating Romantic Relationships as an Atheist
117 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
12. AN ATHEIST’S SIMPLE REVELATION ABOUT LOVE: IT’S COMPLICATED
121 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
13. SWEPT UNDER THE RUG
126 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
14. ON LOVE AND CREDULITY
132 - PART 5. FAMILY LIFE AND ATHEIST PARENTING
-
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
Introduction
137 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
15. DINNER WITH GRANDMA
143 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
16. PARENTING AUTHENTICALLY IN AN INTERFAITH MARRIAGE
148 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
17. HAVING A BABY MADE ME AN ATHEIST
157 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
18. BORN SECULAR
162 - PART 6. THE SEARCH FOR CONNECTION
-
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
Coming Out to Friends and Questing for Community
169 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
19. SLOW GROWTH
173 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
20. AN ATHEIST IN THE BIBLE BELT
181 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
21. COMING OUT AND FINDING HOME
185 - PART 7. ATHEISM AT WORK
-
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
Tales of Coming Out to Coworkers and Colleagues
193 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
22. IS THIS THE WAY TO AMARILLO?
197 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
23. CRACKING OPEN THE CLOSET DOOR
202 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
24. MY FAVORITE ATHEIST
207 - PART 8. ATHEISM AND AGING
-
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
The Challenges of Entering Older Adulthood as a Nonbeliever
211 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
25. THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED
215 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
26. A CONTRARIAN LIFE STORY
224 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
27. DARK MATTER AND MISSING SOCKS
232 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
Concluding Thoughts: The Open Door
239 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
Notes
241 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
Bibliography
251