Graceful Atheist Podcast
by David Ames
A secular humanist podcast about Secular Grace after deconstruction and deconversion.The podcast takes an honest look at stories of faith transition from a life-altering faith, to doubt and deconstruction, to deconversion, and finally, to a thriving graceful life post-deconversion.My name is David, and I am trying to be the Graceful Atheist. Join me and be graceful human beings.https://gracefulatheist.com/Support the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheist
Episodes
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Susan Huckle: The Earth Is Flat?!
Susan Huckle is a comedian and author of The Earth Is Flat?! And other things my mother told me. She grew up in an evangelical home, experienced peak purity culture. Later in life her parents began to believe conspiracy theories including a flat Earth. She tells her story with comedy, join and...
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Matt Sanderson on Spirituality Without the Supernatural, Wonder, and Meaning After Faith
Matt Sanderson is the author of I Wonder: Notes on Spirituality without the Supernatural. My conversation with Matt is poignant and vulnerable touching on his loss of faith, the loss of his mother and his search for meaning without dogma and the supernatural. Matt tells us his faith journey from…
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Stella McCormick: Surviving a Single Family Cult
Author Stella McCormick has written a powerful memoir, Deliver Us From Mother: Faith, Fear, and the Family Cult That Broke Me. The story she tells in the book and shares with us on the podcast is one of surviving a single family cult, purity culture, sexual assault and desconstruction. Stella is...
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Clearly Written By Boys
Karis Burkowski and David Fitzgerald have written an amazing book called Clearly Written by Boys: A Woman’s Guide to the Bible. The book takes this question seriously: What if women mattered, really mattered, to the authors that wrote our Bible? Not just the queens and concubines, harlots and...
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Steve Ghikadis: Humanism From the Heart
Steve Ghikadis is the author of Humanism From the Heart: Building Bridges Beyond Belief. Steve Ghikadis is a Humanist Officiant, who conducts secular marriages, memorials, and many more meaningful life-affirming celebrations. Raised as a freethinker, Steve has been married to a Christian for over…
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Julia: Deconstructing JWs and Suburbia
Julia tells her story of deconstructing the Jehovah's Witnesses and the expected life of suburbia. Julia was torn between two grandmothers: an evangelical and a Jehovah's Witness. She became a Jehovah's Witness and was all in. She got married and had kids and supported her husband who was an…
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Humanism and AI
The Consciousness Delusion In this solo episode I discuss Artificial Intelligence. Should we agree with Richard Dawkins that Claude is conscious? Probably not, for several reasons. I talk about how LLMs work, why I don't think they are conscious and how a humanist should respond. Topics: (Semi)...
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Liam: A friend and a Friend
Liam is a friend and a colleague of many years. He is a member of the Religious Society of Friends often called Quakers. Liam and I have shared deep conversations before and after my deconversion. I respect the way Liam holds and lives out his beliefs. You might be surprised. The British Liberal...
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Doubt is Antimemetic
I recently read Antimemetics: Why Some Ideas Resist Spreading by Nadia Asparouhova and it blew my mind. Just reading the intro I knew I needed to do an episode on the subject. Almost everything about deconstruction and deconversion is antimememetic. It is a significant idea that resists…
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Friends and Family: Mark Anthony Diaz
Mark Anthony Diaz is the author of Reedkeeper's Journey and one of my best friends. Mark and I grew up together. We had the same sarcastic friend group in high school. We did ministry together. Crucially, Mark stuck with me after my deconversion. Mark is a person of deep conviction, and while…
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Colin Ryan: Epic Tiny Victories
Welcome back Colin Ryan, author, storyteller, comedian and survivor of Bipolar 2, OCD and ADHD. Colin has written Epic Tiny Victories: A hopeful story about depression anxiety and reframing your life. It is hilarious, honest and poignant. Colin describes in the book growing up Evangelical, purity...
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10 Year Deconversion Anniversary
Reflections on ten years of deconversion. I re-tell my deconversion story and reflect on what has changed and what has stayed the same. Links Apostate: Stories of Deconversion https://amzn.to/4rj7TA6 Interact For quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show notes...
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Matthew Taylor: Why We Podcast
Mathew Taylor, co-host of Still Unbelievable!, returns to the podcast to discuss why we podcast.Links Matthew on Twitter: https://twitter.com/vteclimey Confessions of a YEC blog: https://confessionsofayec.wordpress.com/ "God takes the good people early" post:...
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Sara: Christian Humanism
This week's guest is Sara. Sara grew up in a Canadian Mennonite community and embraced it wholeheartedly. She was surrounded by evangelical Christianity and she thrived. As a young adult, she married and followed her husband into ministry. While he led, she helped as was expected of her. It…
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Beth: Deconstruction from the Moral Majority
This week's guest is Beth. Beth grew up in a fundamentalist Christian home that revered James Dobson, Jerry Falwell and all those who created the "Moral Majority." Her father was a pastor whose sermons centered on the End Times and protecting their families from the "shifting culture," (read: all...
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Andrew: Dino Dad Reviews
Arline interviews this week's guest, Andrew. Andrew is a self-named atheist "paleo-nerd." He grew up home-schooled in a fundamentalist church in southern California. His whole schooling was religious and that included Young Earth Creationism. In high school, Andrew struggled with his shy nature…
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Racquelle: Deconstruction from SDA and Conspiracy Theories
Arline interviews this week's guest, Racquelle. Racquelle grew up in Canada in the Seventh Day Adventist church. Conspiracy theories were common in her household. Some of them she bought into. Throughout her life she went through periods of doubt but something kept bringing her back to Church. A...
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Andy Neal: Andy Films and Hikes
Arline interviews this week's guest, Andy Neal of Andy Films And Hikes fame. He is self described as a "plus size hiking influencer." Andy tells his story of deconstruction, acceptance of his body and his joy in nature. He is an inspiration to all to get outdoors and experience nature. Links...
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Natalie: Pentecostal to Mormon to Atheist
Natalie from New Zealand tells Arlene here story. She grew up Pentecostal participating in church. In her young adulthood she converted to Mormonism. She saw that as woman her role was limited and was finding it difficult to accept the church's perspective on LGBQT issues. Eventually Natalie...
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Jeff: Deconstruction of a Southern Baptist Minister
Jeff grew up in his words "a very religious household." He attended a large Southern Baptist church. In college he fell in love with the seriousness of Calvinism after reading John Piper's Desiring God. He left seminary early to become a minster because he felt time pressure to be "on mission"…
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Megan: Catholic to Evangelical to Athiest
This week's guest is Megan. Megan grew up in a fundamentalist Catholic home with an irrationally religious mother and an absent father. As a teen, she was invited to an evangelical bible study after school and after some serious "love bombing" by the youth group, she was a part of a community.…
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Kris: Former Christian Leader to the Least of These
This week's guest is Kris. Kris grew up in a home with much wounding and suffering, an irreligious home that would shape her desire for God as a young adult. She became a christian when she was 22—a "poor, broken young mom." For years, Christianity worked well for her. She found community, built…
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Jeremy Schumacher: Wellness with Jer
This week's guest is Jeremy Schumacher. Jeremy's story begins in the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod and it was as culty as it sounds. He started questioning the beliefs when he was ten, but it took twenty more years before he was able to leave. "Two things really kept me in [Christianity]...
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Graceful Atheist Solo October 2023
This week is a solo episode with David talking about the state of the podcast. Interact For quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show notes https://gracefulatheist.com/2023/10/08/graceful-atheist-solo-october-2023/ Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook group...
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Mandi: Deconversion from Messianic Judaism
This week's guest is Mandi. Mandi grew up in a mixed Jewish and Christian home, attending a Messianic temple. She loved every minute of it as a kid and cherishes her memories. In high school and as a young adult, though, she began to ask questions, and as we've seen in religion time and time…
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Jordon: Mennonite to Philosopher
This week's guest is Jordon. Jordon comes from a long family line of Mennonites but Jordon was bookish and musical and never quite fit in. He grew up in the church, but with two older brothers already having left the church, by 21 he was also out. He'd never had a television, gone to public…
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Nora: MK to the USA
This week's guest is Nora. Nora grew up in Argentina, the granddaughter of Italian immigrants, and Argentina still has her heart. When Nora was in middle school, her father believed God wanted him to become a missionary to the US. The family's move to California was all loss, culture shock, and...
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Tracey: Focus on the Family to None
This week's guest is Tracey. Tracey spent her childhood in a white American Christian home where Focus on the Family reigned and "Obey right away" was the expectation. She was a believer as an adolescent but began asking hard questions in high school. As a young adult, she saw how prideful the...
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Mary Justice: Deconstruction From SDA
This week's guest is Mary Justice, the heart behind the delightful Instagram account, @maryfairyboberry. Mary is an international adoptee who grew up in an emotionally and verbally abusive Seventh-Day Adventist home. Between home and church, there were rules that dictated her entire life. "It's...
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Amanda: Deconversion From An Unnamed Cult
This week's guest is Amanda. Amanda comes from a rather surprising brand of Christianity she refers to as the "Serpent Seed Pentecostal Cult." She goes into detail, and it's quite a ride. Various things happened throughout her adolescence that made her wonder if Christianity was true, but her...
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MJ: Dissident Daughters
This week's guest is MJ, the heart and mind behind the Instagram account, @dissident_daughters MJ grew up in a conservative evangelical home where Focus on the Family reigned and her whole world consisted of family, church friends, and a few Christian homeschooling families. She believed...
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Darrel Ray: Recovering From Religion
Dr. Darrel Ray is the founder and President of the Board of Directors of Recovering from Religion and the founder and project leader of the Secular Therapy Project. See his full bio here. Dr. Ray grew up in a Christian home but was already skeptical of certain claims at the age of twelve. He…
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Mary Burkhart: Religion In Remission
CW: sexual abuse; suicidal ideation This week's guest is Religious Trauma Life Coach, Mary Burkhart. See her full bio here. Mary grew up in the Apostolic Pentecostal Church, and her family's devotion goes back generations. When she was little, unspeakable things happened to Mary, but their church...
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Daniel: Psychology of Apologetics
You're going to want to grab a cozy drink and pull up your favorite note-taking app because this episode is jam-packed! Former guest, Daniel shared his deconversion story here, and now he returns with a lesson on the psychology of modern—and often, predatory—apologetics. He knows his stuff, so...
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Stephanie Stalvey Artist
This week's guest is artist Stephanie Stalvey. You can see her full bio here. She is the artist behind Instagram's @stephanie.stalvey.artist. Stephanie was a "90's church kid" attending various evangelical churches when she was young. She took her beliefs seriously, and it wasn't until her…
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Benoit Kim: Discover More
This week's guest is Benoit Kim. He is a "Veteran, Penn-educated Policymaker turned Psychotherapist, & Podcaster at Discover More." Benoit is a Christian, creating space for deep and meaningful conversations and stories. The Discover More podcast is a show for independent thinkers with an…
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Kyler: CPTSD
Content Warning: Sexual abuse, spiritual abuse, severe mental health disorders Kyler's story is one of "beauty from ashes". He lives with dissociative identity disorder, a category of CPTSD. Kyler is one distinct personality in the "system". The adults in his life abused him as a child—would not...
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Christian Lomsdalen: Norwegian Humanist Association
This week's guest is Christian Lomsdalen. Christian is the current president of the Norwegian Humanist Association and a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Bergen studying the didactics (science) of religion. Christian grew up in an ordinary Christian Norwegian family as "Christmas Christians"....
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Hey There Benji
This week's guest is Benjamin Faye, also known as @heytherebenji.Benji was adopted when he was young and during middle school, his adoptive parents suddenly "wanted a spiritual life" and started going to church. His life as an adoptee was difficult. Benji questioned whether he belonged in the...
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Ben Reed: Deconversion from Church of Christ
This week's guest is Ben Reed. Ben grew up in the Church of Christ with a cappella music, no clapping, no raised hands, no prophecies, no miracles, but also no demons. "Compared to the more charismatic denominations, the Church of Christ is pretty boring…I think that's kind of why I stayed so…
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Shifra: Out of Hasidic Orthodoxy
This week's guest is Shifra Lowen. Shifra grew up in a small, well-controlled Hasidic community in Canada. As a girl, Shifra wanted to do everything according to the rules of their village. At the same, she desperately wanted forbidden things, like a kitten or a pet bird. At 17, her marriage was...
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Holly Laurent: The Rise and Fall of Twin Hills on Mega the Podcast
This week's guest is comedian and writer, Holly Laurent. See her full bio and work here. Holly tells a bit of her story, growing up in a fundamentalist evangelical household. From the fear of demons to eternal conscious torment, Holly is still dismantling the indoctrination. In comedy, she's…
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Josh de Keijzer: After God's End
This week's guest is Josh de Keijzer, PhD. Josh writes at After God's End: Fragments of a Post-Christian narrative Josh grew up in an evangelical home in the Netherlands. He knew his family was "set apart," different from the mainstream Dutch culture. "I realized…I had been brought up as an...
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Joanna Johnson: Silenced In Eden
This week's guest is author Jo Lloyd Johnson. Jo grew up in a "non-denominational charismatic commune". She spent her adolescence in various churches, but they weren't as "Spirit-filled" as she was taught they could be. She married young and the first years of marriage were difficult. There was...
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Cat Delmar: Former Seventh Day Adventist
This week's guest is Cat Delmar. Cat grew up in a nominally Seventh-day Adventist family. The SDA churches, however, were anything but nominal. They had all the rules, from no caffeine to no pierced ears. "There's a lot of control of the body [in Seventh-Day Adventism]." At sixteen, Cat took...
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Stephanie: Deconversion of an MK
This week's guest is Stephanie, a Deconversion Anonymous group member. Stephanie grew up in the Assemblies of God church as a Missionary Kid for most of her childhood. Her younger years held all the trappings of white American evangelicalism, from conservative Christian school curricula to a...
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Kelly: You Are Enough
This week's guest is Kelly. Kelly was raised as a daughter in a traditional evangelical household, "indoctrinated from diaperhood." They grew up perfectionistic, depressed, timid, and anxious, given Christian cliches about 'God always being with them' through their depression. Who they really...
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Bart D. Ehrman: Armageddon
This week's guest is Bart D. Ehrman, the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His new book is Armageddon: What the Bible Really Says about the End. Is the book of Revelation a prophecy of future catastrophe? Is it a book of hope? Or is it a…
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Grace: Hyssop + Laurel
TW: sexual violence; intimate partner violence; postpartum PTSD This week's guest is Grace. Grace was fortunate not to grow up in the church, but when she became a Christian in high school, she—in her own words—"quickly became the quintessential insufferable Christian teenager." Grace was a…
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Matt: Deconversion Anonymous
This week's guest bares his whole heart. "My story—at the moment—doesn't end really well, but there's hope for the future." This week's guest is Matt. Matt grew up in a Methodist family and after partying through high school, Matt chose to attend a Christian college and became serious about his...
About this show
A secular humanist podcast about Secular Grace after deconstruction and deconversion.The podcast takes an honest look at stories of faith transition from a life-altering faith, to doubt and deconstruction, to deconversion, and finally, to a thriving graceful life post-deconversion.My name is David, and I am trying to be the Graceful Atheist. Join me and be graceful human beings.https://gracefulatheist.com/Support the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheist
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David Ames
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