By August Berkshire

Why is it that whenever the Religious Right gets power, they always go after gays and women first? Is it because their faith is basically a fertility cult, and so all sex must be procreative and women must be submissive?

If there is a genetic component to being susceptible to believing in gods, then this might explain why very religious people tend to have more children than atheists.

Scientists, who are mostly atheists, do not study “god” – there is nothing tangible to study. Instead, they study god-belief. One of the main questions they ask is whether the propensity for god-belief evolved as a primary trait or a secondary trait.

Read more: President's Column: God, Gays, and Genes

Dear Listener: 

We hope that you are enjoying Atheist Talk Radio each week, whether live over the air, on internet simulcast, or as a podcast on our web site. To date, we have produced 156 programs on issues of importance to atheists and the public at large. The reason we produce this program is simple: if we, as atheists, do not control our message to the general public, no one else will speak for us. Programs cover atheism, science, state church separation, Humanism and other topics of interest. We present atheists’ views to the public in a manner that is respectful, informative and diverse.

This program costs $5,330.00 every six months. We sell a few ads, but most of our costs are covered by supporter donations. The program is broadcast live on AM950 KTNF, but most of our listeners follow our podcasts. Our number one download was the program broadcast from the Minnesota State Fair, “All About Atheism,” that had over 21,000 downloads. Next most downloaded was the very first program we did, with Richard Dawkins, at 13,000. Within two to three weeks of production, every program has between 1,000 to 2,000 downloads.

Read more: We Need Your Help to Sustain our weekly radio show

Atheist Voices of Minnesota
To be released Aug 28, 2012

All net proceeds from the sale of this book go to Minnesota Atheists.

"As much as we can, whenever we can, we have to tell our stories. Exactly as the writers in this book have done."

-from the Foreword by Greta Christina

Atheists have turned a corner in public visibility in recent years, but they nevertheless remain one of America's most misunderstood and mistrusted groups of people. Atheist Voices of Minnesota attempts to address these preconceptions by letting thirty-six atheists openly share their personal and unique stories. The results are touching, fascinating, and diverse. This collection is an excellent introduction to atheism, and will inspire other atheists to come out to their family and friends.

It will be available in paperback and in eBook format for Kindle and Nook. Available for pre-order on Amazon and B&N.com. It's also available directly through the Minnesota Atheists online store. Remember, all net proceeds from the sale of this book go to Minnesota Atheists.

Advance Praise

A chorus not of arguments and positions but of shared human lives. ... At turns smart, funny, and deeply touching.

–Dale McGowan, author and editor of Parenting Beyond Belief and Raising Freethinkers

Beautifully illustrates the variety of ideas and feelings that characterize atheism. ... Their thoughtful perspectives will be illuminating to people of any faith, or none.

–Kendyl Gibbons, senior minister of the First Unitarian Society

The variety of voices speaks to current and future atheists all across the country. ... I highly recommend it.

–Hemant Mehta, author of the FriendlyAtheist.com blog

This is a rich and compelling fabric of first-person accounts by atheists of every variety and from every walk of life.

—Tom Flynn, executive director of The Council for Secular Humanism, editor of Free Inquiry

The heartfelt stories in this book from old and young, rich and poor, gay and straight, men and women, and people from all walks of life makes it difficult to stereotype atheists.

—Herb Silverman, founder and president of the Secular Coalition for America, author of Candidate without a Prayer

Witty and wise, personal and universal, these short essays are a welcome addition to the current literature on atheism. ... Deserves to be on the shelf of all secularists.

-- Jennifer Michael Hecht, author of Doubt: A History and The End of the Soul

By letting a diverse group of atheists actually speak for themselves, Atheist Voices of Minnesota promotes a positive view of atheism in the best possible way.

—David Silverman, president of American Atheists

By Jennifer Zimmerman

The book Secrets & Wives: The Hidden World of Mormon Polygamy, by Sanjiv Bhattacharya, slowly reveals the secrets of a world that not many have had access to. Bhattacharya, a journalist and an atheist, travels through parts of Utah and Texas and befriends and interviews people from many different fundamentalist Mormon sects that practice polygamy.

In the preface of the book Bhattacharya tells us why he chose to say “Mormon polygamy” in the title and throughout portions of the book instead of “fundamentalist Mormon polygamy”. He explains, “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) insists there’s no such thing as ‘Mormon polygamy’ because it defines ‘Mormon’ as relating strictly to the membership of ‘the Church’, and there aren’t any polygamists in the Church. But I’m not defining ‘Mormon’ that way – I see it as a broader term, referring to the belief, or those who believe, in the divinity of the core Mormon scriptures” (page ix). I disagreed with Bhattacharya on this point, and I found it confusing to decipher which type of Mormon he was talking about. He would distinguish at times by calling LDS Mormons, “Vanilla Mormons” and referring to some of the sects he encountered as “fundamentalist Mormons.” He was not always consistent, which could lead to confusion on the part of the reader.  

Read more: Book Review: Secrets and Wives

By George Kane

The Supreme Court opened the new year by issuing a landmark ruling on the separation of Church and State. In a unanimous ruling in the case Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC, SCOTUS found for the first time that the Constitution requires a “ministerial exception” that protects the personnel decisions of churches and their schools from interference from the government and its courts.

The case began in 2004 when Cheryl Perich took a medical leave from her position as a teacher at the Hosanna Tabor Lutheran School for a chronic illness. When her leave was over the school did not allow her to return to work, so Perich claimed a violation of her rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission affirmed Perich’s claim, so the church sued. After the school lost in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court agreed to take up the case.

Read more: News and Notes