Recovering From Religion

David Teachout returns to help us answer the perennial question: What does love got to do with it? What is this fantastic emotion? From troubadours to modern musicians and rom-coms, myths to personal declarations, love and its many manifestations is almost as synonymous with humanity as the capacity for reason. Perhaps that’s why they’re so often pitted against one another. Let’s explore love, bot...

This week on RfRx, Jason Friedman joins us to discuss his journey from being a self-proclaimed prophet to being shunned by his Evangelical church group, leaving his faith and embarking on a difficult journey through abuse, depression, and later of healing and self (re)discovery. We’ll discuss finding new community, working through trauma, re-discovering one’s sexuality, and the fulfillment of expe...

This week on RfRx, David Teachout is taking us on a deep dive into Buddhism. Buddhism, in its core tenets, is as much philosophy as it is religion. Contrary to most religions, there’s no requirement to be a dualist while still appreciating, and incorporating Buddhist principles into one’s life. For many atheists raised, and repeatedly told, that there’s no meaning found outside of fundamentalism,...

This week on RfRx, Cynthia McDonald is joining us to discuss advocacy, activism, and atheism in the Black Community. In honor of the MLK Day holiday, Cynthia will discuss the legacy of Doctor King, his activism, some of the social and economic injustices that are still impacting black communities today, and how religious belief or non-belief fits into the equation. Cynthia is a Social Worker in th...

For the first RfRx episode of 2023, we are joined by former Canadian Pentecostal turned secular activist, Stacie Grahn. From Pentecostal to Reformed theology, she only ever wanted to find the truth. In this episode, Stacie will discuss her incredible journey over the past year as, not intending to get rid of her faith, she overcame fear, faced down cognitive dissonance, and ultimately found healin...

Whether you’re celebrating holidays this season, assiduously avoiding them, or just looking for a little cheer in your day, join us for our last RfRx meeting of the year! (Don’t worry, we’ll be back in 2023). Popular co-hosts Helen Greene and Rob Palmer will both be making appearances this week to discuss doing holidays in a secular fashion, tips for dealing with religious loved ones and overcomin...

This week on RfRx, we are joined by Lindsey Doolittle, art educator, children’s author, artist to the Faces After Suicide exhibition, and Award-Winning filmmaker. She will share her experience as someone who is bereaved by suicide and suggest resources and tools to help support suicide loss survivors, especially during this time of year. After she speaks, Lindsey will welcome any questions. For Rf...

This week on RfRx, popular guest speaker David Teachout will be returning to discuss putting the pneuma back into spirituality - an exploration of pneuma, Greek for breath or life, at the heart of spirituality and why the transcendent doesn’t have to leave humanity behind. David Teachout is a mental health therapist and photographer, focused on and teaching how creativity intersects with mental fl...

Recent events in the United States have represented a painful reminder of the ongoing threat of violence against members of the queer community, regardless of their religious affiliation. This week on RfRx, Ryan K. will be joining us to share his story as a queer person in and outside of religious communities, offer resources for finding support, honor some of the latest victims and survivors of v...

A lifetime of being told you are broken, sinful or just wrong can tend to make our hurts and our flaws somehow less obvious, hidden under heaps of shame, guilt and trauma. Tapping into our innate mammalian care-giving system and inner sense of kindness and compassion can give us the tools to sit with ourselves in our darkest places and empower our healing and growth. This week on RfRx, Christy Pow...

This week on RfRx, Kelley Laughlin will be joining us to discuss how he moved away from religious belief, took a trip through various forms of unsubstantiated “woo woo” beliefs, and finally found his way out. Now he volunteers and advocates for secular causes promoting science and critical thinking. Kelley left Christianity as a teenager, explored a bunch of different religions, and ended up belie...

This week on RfRx, Jason Racheotes will be joining us to discuss how our views on politics and civic engagement may evolve and change after deconverting or coming out of religion. We will learn about some different political concepts that are often ignored and get more clarity on tangible actions we can take as individuals to improve our political process. Jason Racheotes was raised in a secular h...

Join us this week for the RfRx Halloween Special Episode! David Teachout will be returning to speak about the psychology of fear, its effects on our lives, and how to overcome it. Come talk with us about what terrifies you - and what doesn’t anymore. Help us celebrate our favorite secular holiday by bringing your spooky costumes, scary stories, and skeptical questions. Stick around for the hangout...

This week on RfRx, Dr. John Wathey will return to discuss his latest work, The Phantom God. Does neuroscience have anything to say about the existence of God or the basis of human spiritual beliefs? Many books have been written about this, but most have strayed from the scientific method. In this talk Dr. Wathey will take a more rigorous approach, emphasizing two big ideas. One is religious compul...

This week on RfRx, we will be continuing the conversation about psychic mediums with Susan Gerbic. A skeptic activist, Susan spent the last two years battling “Grief Vampires” during lockdown. She will explain how grief vampires took advantage of online resources and why we should, too. Susan will also discuss her work on Wikipedia fighting against the nonsense and the battle to stay in the game....

This week on RfRx, Rob Palmer will be joining us to discuss psychic predictions. In 2021, The Skeptic Zone producer and CSI Fellow Richard Saunders completed his 12-year project dubbed the Great Australian Psychic Prediction Project (GAPPP) – an analysis of almost 4,000 published paranormal predictions made by over 200 people claiming paranormal powers in Australia. The scoring of the predictions...

This week on RfRx we are getting into the spirit of the fall season by taking a social scientific look at belief in some of the spookier aspects of the supernatural: spirits and demons. Anthropologist Kara Griffin will share their experiences growing up steeped in these beliefs in fundamentalist evangelical churches, discuss the basis of belief in spirits and demons across cultures, and consider s...

This week on RfRx, Jack Wathey will discuss the Illusion of God’s Presence. Science has only begun to make sense of religion’s powerful grip on the human mind. Why do seven percent of members of the National Academy of Sciences believe in a personal god who answers prayer? The question is important because it probes the most irresistible essence of the appeal of religious and spiritual thinking. U...

Back by popular demand, returning guest speaker and professional counselor, Janice Selbie, will be joining us this week on RfRx to discuss Life After Purity Culture. We’ll talk about what purity culture is, why it’s important to talk about it, and debunk some really, really bad sex advice. Janice is also going to share some exciting news about her latest work and upcoming events to keep an eye out...

This week on RfRx, Richard Gilliver will be joining us to talk about being a skeptic who studies religion academically and how that produces a different viewpoint when discussing the topic with other people. He will also discuss skepticism and the difficulties for supernatural claims when skepticism is applied. Richard Gilliver has been having discussions with religious people for thirty years, or...

This week on RfRx we will have Jennifer Manlowe on to discuss Religious Trauma and the Search for Identity. She will cover the traumatic effects of religious indoctrination on body, identity, self worth, and body image. How do we find dignity and self esteem post-breakup with religion? And what if we aren’t ready to give up everything about our former religious identity and beliefs? For RfRx comme...

Do you believe in ghosts, hauntings, or other paranormal phenomena? Wondering how to tell if that unexplained event is really evidence of paranormal activity? This week on RfRx, skeptical paranormal investigator Kenny Biddle will be joining us to take a closer look at some paranormal claims. He will discuss his experiences as a paranormal investigator, how to apply science and critical thinking to...

For this week’s RfRx, David Teachout will be returning to discuss more about reproductive health issues. We’ll explore the psychology behind sexuality and autonomy, the effects on individuals when those are challenged, and what we can do to help navigate the emotional landscape that results. David Teachout is a mental health therapist and photographer, focused on and teaching how creativity inters...

This week at RfRx, Professor of Biology Dr. Nathan Lents will be joining us to discuss the history of the modern Intelligent Design movement. He will cover the major tenets and efforts of Intelligent Design and how they get the science wrong. He will review some recent attempts to promote the movement as a scientific one, and discuss how the claims have been debunked. Nathan H. Lents, Ph. D. is Pr...

This week’s RfRx will be a special round table discussion about the state of reproductive rights in the United States. After the recent Supreme Court decision overturning the landmark Roe v Wade decision, many people have been left wondering what happens next. Dr. Darrel Ray, Gayle Jordan, Helen Greene and David Teachout will join us for a discussion about the connections between religion and repr...