Voices of Deconversion

013 Vix - Eyewitness to Religious Killing, She Shares How Witches & Demons Infuse Nigerian Christianity. She Discovered the Flying Spaghetti Monster and Co-Runs Nigerian Atheist & Agnostic Movement's FB Page

June 13, 2017 06:24 - 1 hour - 103 MB

As a young girl, Vix witnessed deadly fighting between Christians and Muslims in northern Nigeria. Her family also experienced a significant personal tragedy. Vix was raised in a Nigerian Christian culture with belief in witches and demons. Her parents are devout Christians. Vix began her journey away from Christianity after moving away from her devout Christian parents to go to college in the the United States. She now co-runs the Nigerian Atheist and Agnostic Movement's Facebook Page...

012 Marty McDonald-Very Devout Catholic From Childhood, He Became Evangelical in Adulthood. Marty is Now an Atheist.

June 06, 2017 03:09 - 1 hour - 132 MB

Marty grew up the oldest of 9 boys in a very devout Catholic family. Marty became agnostic in 1996 and as of 2011 considers himself an atheist. He is one of the friendliest, most helpful people you'll meet. I often notice him encouraging other atheists & agnostics on social media (some of them newly deconverted). Marty offers fascinating specifics about his Catholic upbringing. Just like so many deconverts, Marty took his faith very seriously. Trusting God to provide following a significa...

011 Wendy Marsman- Raised Fundamentalist, A Missionary for 15 Years Before Her 20 Year Marriage Ended. Now an Atheist, She Reconnected with Her High School Sweetheart.

May 30, 2017 04:00 - 1 hour - 138 MB

Wendy was raised in a fundamentalist evangelical home in Canada. She married and raised her children in Brazil while working as a missionary. Her marriage of 20 years ended and during that time Wendy was becoming an atheist. Wendy has become so much happier outside the church and has even reconnected with her high school sweetheart! They have a blended family of 5 children. Wendy hosts the Women Beyond Belief Podcast-a podcast aimed at giving women who've left religion a voice and a place ...

010 Luciano Gonzalez-Moderate Catholic to Active Conservative Christian. He was Raised in Latin America & The United States

May 23, 2017 06:55 - 1 hour - 127 MB

Luciano's doubts came to a turning point in college. He attended Winter Jam (a Christian concert tour) and heard the Newsboys promoting the movie God's Not Dead. Luciano and his girlfriend went to see it. The movie had an impact on Luciano, which he describes in this episode. Luciano is a Puerto Rican atheist raised in Panama, Colombia, Honduras, Georgia and North Carolina. His blog is Sin/God at Patheos.com. He is a Board Member for HAFREE (Hispanic American Freethinkers). He also is a...

009 Audrey Moreland-Raised Strict Jehovah's Witness, She Lost Family & Friends When She Left the Church

May 16, 2017 04:00 - 1 hour - 94.6 MB

Audrey was born into a very strict Jehovah's Witness family. Meetings were held at her church 7 days a week! A week in the life of a Jehovah's Witness consisted of continual preparations for church meetings/activities. This only left time for church. Audrey eventually left the church at age 21, but this came at a significant cost for her closest relationships. Sam Harris https://www.youtube.com/user/samharrisorg Richard Dawkins https://www.youtube.com/user/richarddawkinsdotnet ...

008 Gary Westfall-One of My Best Friends, Raised with Belief in God, Now Agnostic

May 09, 2017 05:48 - 36 minutes - 33.8 MB

This enjoyable conversation was quick, humorous and sometimes serious with one of my best friends from childhood. Gary is an awesome guy and a great friend. He was raised with belief in God, but now considers himself agnostic. His belief system changed significantly when his mom, a very dear friend of my family and one of my very favorite people (also my mother's best friend) was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Gary does have a belief in something, but it differs from the norm. In additio...

007 Andrea Westfall-Raised Catholic, But It Never Took. She's a Writer, Editor and Content Creator

May 09, 2017 04:49 - 1 hour - 88.3 MB

My good friend Andrea joins me for a wonderful conversation. She was raised in the Catholic church, but for her it just never took. She loves all things dance! She is a writer, editor and content creator. She lives near Detroit, Michigan. The Book of Mormon Musical http://bookofmormonbroadway.com/tour George Carlin When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops http://www.audible.com/pd/Comedy/When-Will-Jesus-Bring-the-Pork-Chops-Audiobook/B002V5BVXW Bill Maher Religilous http://reaso...

007 Andrea - Raised Catholic, But It Never Took. She's a Writer, Editor and Content Creator

May 09, 2017 04:49 - 1 hour - 88.3 MB

Andrea was raised in the Catholic church, but for her it just never took. She loves all things dance! She is a writer, editor and content creator. She lives near Detroit, Michigan. The Book of Mormon Musical http://bookofmormonbroadway.com/tour George Carlin When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops http://www.audible.com/pd/Comedy/When-Will-Jesus-Bring-the-Pork-Chops-Audiobook/B002V5BVXW Bill Maher Religilous http://reasoncinema.com/religulous/ Real Time Podcast http://www.st...

006 Dr. Anthony Pinn - A Good Methodist Who Became a Better Atheist

May 02, 2017 03:00 - 52 minutes - 72.7 MB

Dr. Pinn had some very encouraging words for deconverts. He also shared some really unique insights into the problem with theism and Christianity in particular. Our interview was shortened due to some scheduling issues, but I'm so grateful for the opportunity to meet and interview Dr. Pinn. He is such an intelligent and just all around great person. Although the episode is a bit shorter than usual, it is jam packed with some wonderful conversation. Enjoy...and remember, "we are legion"! ...

Special Episode: Researching Deconversion with Professor Jim Nagle

April 30, 2017 02:04 - 1 hour - 85.8 MB

This episode deviates from our typical weekly interview, so I'm posting it on the weekend as special bonus episode! Professor Nagle identifies with the catholic tradition. The first half of our discussion is his religious journey away from catholicism to agnosticism and back again. It's important to note that Professor Nagle uses the term deconversion in a broader sense than I do. For this podcast I define deconversion in the sense of a person leaving Christianity altogether and beco...

Special Episode 001: Researching Deconversion with Professor Jim Nagle

April 30, 2017 02:04 - 1 hour - 85.8 MB

This episode deviates from our typical weekly interview, so I'm posting it on the weekend as special bonus episode! Professor Nagle identifies with the catholic tradition. The first half of our discussion is his religious journey away from catholicism to agnosticism and back again. It's important to note that Professor Nagle uses the term deconversion in a broader sense than I do. For this podcast I define deconversion in the sense of a person leaving Christianity altogether and beco...

005 Maria Stadtmueller of The Big Chew Podcast and meetyourmyth.com

April 25, 2017 02:55 - 1 hour - 123 MB

Maria is a writer and podcaster from rural New Jersey from an ultra-catholic family. Maria wanted to be a nun and was obsessed about going to hell. By chance she read Joseph Campbell in high school and he flung open the doors to how humans create story and belief. Maria was a stand-up comic in New York. She has a Master's degree in creative writing from the University of Iowa, where she also studied religion. Her passion is the new cosmology-the science based story of how we and our unive...

004 Robert Parham, M.A., LMHC

April 18, 2017 05:32 - 1 hour - 78 MB

Robert W. Parham, M.A. is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, National Certified Counselor, and Certified Sex Offender Treatment Provider. He holds two Masters Degrees, one in Counseling that he earned in 1996 from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and one in Clinical Psychology that he earned in 2006 from the Washington School of Professional Psychology. Robert has been helping people in the mental health field for over 18 years, working in psychiatric hospitals, residential treatme...

003 Alix Jules: Writer, Activist, Social Critic, Commentator & Blogger

April 11, 2017 06:29 - 1 hour - 147 MB

Writer, activist, social critic and commentator, Alix's activism has garnered national attention on matters of race, religion and politics. Alix was the first atheist featured in Ebony magazine. He's a founding member of the largest freethought organization in North Texas and organizer for Black Non-Believers of Dallas. He advises for the American Humanist Association and the Center for Inquiry. His writing can be found on various venues such as Secular Nation, Free Inquiry, American Atheist...

002 Ebony Exodus Project: Candace Gorham, LPC

April 11, 2017 05:27 - 1 hour - 118 MB

Researcher, teacher and counselor Candace Gorham shares her story of deconversion from Christianity. The Ebony Exodus Project: https://www.amazon.com/Ebony-Exodus-Project-Walking-Religion/dp/1939578027 Black women are the single most religious demographic in the United States, yet they are among the poorest, least educated, and least healthy groups in the nation. Drawing on the author's own past experience as an evangelical minister and her present work as a secular counselor and rese...

001 Dan Barker-Co-President of the Freedom From Religion Foundation

April 11, 2017 04:58 - 1 hour - 140 MB

Dan Barker and his wife Annie Laurie Gaylor are co-presidents of the Freedom From Religion Foundation and co-hosts of Freethought Radio. Dan is a former minister and evangelist, Dan became a freethinker in 1983. His books, Just Pretend: A Freethought Book for Children and Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher To Atheist (1992) are published by FFRF. Other books include Godless (Ulysses Press, 2008), The Good Atheist: Living a Purpose-Filled Life Without God (Pitchstone Publishing, 2011), L...

Introduction: Why am I doing this?

April 11, 2017 03:36 - 8 minutes - 11.4 MB

In this introduction episode I let you know what to expect from the podcast. I also give a brief summary of my story of deconversion from Christianity. Finally, I share with you the reason I decided to create the Voices of Deconversion podcast. I'm excited to share these fascinating and uplifting stories with you. Thanks for subscribing to the podcast!

Introduction