The Dismantling Doctrine Podcast

For those two or three people who are unaware of who Seth Andrews is, all we have to say is "The Thinking Atheist" and you'll understand everything. Seth and I had a fantastic conversation recently in which we discussed his backstory, his views on being a former "Fox News Christian," dominion theology and the recent Texas abortion law, and more. In this wide-ranging conversation, we covered a lot...

In this special bonus episode, I'm welcoming back returning guest Dr David Madison, who was on the podcast several years ago. Our mutual friend Tim Sledge suggested I interview him about his new book, Ten Things Christians Wish Jesus Hadn't Taught . This very readable book--designed to be read through easily in one sitting--is aimed primarily at Christians who are open to questioning their faith,...

This episode features author and activist Ryan Stollar, who grew up in the Christian homeschooling bubble, but has since become a staunch advocate for those who unfortunately suffered a great many abuses within that system. A former editor and author at the now-archived Homeschoolers Anonymous blog for several years, Ryan has since branched out and is currently doing a lot of writing--including wo...

This special bonus episode features returning guest, Dr Warren Throckmorton. Though he identifies as a Christian himself, Dr Throckmorton has long been an outspoken activist and blogger for what he clearly sees as abuses within evangelicalism. In the current Christianity Today podcast series on the collapse of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, and Mark Driscoll's role in it, his name comes up--as he wa...

This week's guest is Daniel Phelps, who grew up in the World Revival Church, now located in Kansas City, MO. A recent investigation by Fox News has shone some light on this church's disturbing cult-like practices and tactics. Off the back of that, Daniel shares his story of how he not only grew up in the church--which he  now describes as a cult--and how he finally got out.  Can a church become a...

In this special bonus episode, I recently caught up with Kurt Andersen, author of the 2017 book Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire--A 500-Year History.   Kurt's book explains so much about the current state of America today by looking at its history through the lens of "fantasyland"--basically, what happens when people begin to blur, or commingle, fantasy and reality. It's not that other nation...

It's finally out! This is an absolutely incredible, informative and educational conversation I had a while back with David Johnson, host of the Skeptics and Seekers podcast. I met David when we were guests on the Still Unbelievable podcast, and he shared about a time when he'd been a guest on an atheist podcast and talked a lot about the church and racism--only to discover that when the episode fi...

This week's episode features another super informative--and potentially disturbing--conversation with returning guest, Fred Clarkson of the Political Research Associates. Matt Shea is a former Republican state legislator from my home state of Washington, up in the Pacific Northwest. He's long been a lightning rod for controversy in his own right, and a few years ago drew nationwide attention for h...

In this special bonus episode, I spoke recently with Dr Audrey Clare Farley, who wrote a fascinating (and quite disturbing) article not long ago exploring the connections between Dr James Dobson of Focus on the Family and...eugenics. Sounds crazy, right? No, there is definitely a connection--not just between Dobson and eugenics, but his entire "family values" empire. There's a dark underbelly to t...

After last week's conversation with Jared Yates Sexton, that spurred me to do some more investigation into this issue of the "noble lie"--what is it, and how exactly does it relate to the official American narrative of its history? Once we understand that critical concept--that goes all the way back to the ancient Greek philosopher Plato in the 3rd century BCE--it becomes a helpful paradigm or mod...

Jared Yates Sexton, the co-host of the Muckrake Podcast, is back! This time we are taking a super deep dive into his excellent and thought-provoking book American Rule: How a Nation Conquered the World but Failed its People. As always, Jared is a profoundly deep thinker and communicator--and in this case, we will look at some of the defining myths and "noble lies" that have sustained a particular...

This week's episode features an amazing survivor--Maya Ram. She not only survived a traumatic relationship with the Seventh Day Adventist cult, she also had to deal with a controlling, abusive mother too--who also used religion as a means of coercion. Today, Maya is rebuilding her life, and is involved in activism warning the world about the dangers of Christian mission work--not just in her home...

This bonus episode features a super-informative discussion with Emily Elizabeth Anderson, who herself is a survivor of not only the Bill Gothard/ATI homeschooling cult, she also experienced grooming and abuses by Gothard personally. Emily is now on the journey of helping others deal with church abuse and other forms of traumas they may have suffered. She has become an activist speaking out against...

In this week's episode, I finally had a chance to edit this show and get it out there--apologies to Andrew for taking so long! Andrew is on the vanguard of an exciting new field of research and experimentation: using psychedelics to treat such issues as PTSD, Religious Trauma Syndrome, and many more. Listen in as Andrew expands our consciousness as to the incredible possibilities that this fascina...

I'm super excited to be promoting this incredible conference, which begins very soon--May 11th through the 16th, 2021. My good friend Janice Selbie is putting it on, and the conference features an unbelievable line-up of guest speakers and presenters, such as Dr Marlene Winell, who literally "wrote the book" on religious trauma syndrome. She, along with many others--including me on a panel with Da...

In this special bonus episode, I caught up recently with Mikey Weinstein, founder and leader of the MRFF--the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. This incredible civil rights advocacy organization is dedicated to one thing: preserving the religious freedoms of active duty,  cadets, reservists and veteran service members of the US Armed Forces.  According to their site:  "MRFF clients have faced...

This week's special bonus episode features an excellent conversation with Lisa and Gerette, two amazing women who started the igotout.org website.  Both cult survivors in their own right, each not only tell their stories of their time in their cults and also what led them to get out finally after spending years in the group. Following this decision, both women have dedicated themselves to activism...

In this conversation with returning guest Dr Terri Daniel, co-host of the "Ask Dr Death" podcast, we get into the subjects of not only the psychology of religion in general, but we also discuss how religion can affect people's mental health. This is a subject I've long been fascinated by, as a cult survivor as well as an ex-evangelical. How much did your religious background affect you, both in th...

This bonus episode features a discussion with Fred Clarkson: journalist, publisher and author and most importantly for our purposes, Senior Research Analyst at Political Research Associates. In addition to breaking the story about Project Blitz a few years ago, Fred has been researching and writing about the Christian Right and dominion theology for literally decades now. As such, he is one of the...

In this fantastic bonus episode, returning guests Flo Conway and Jim Siegelman--authors of the classics Snapping and Holy Terror --take us on a trip back in time...to the origins of the Christian Right, with a close assessment of the various strategies that were used to sway and influence millions of impressionable evangelicals to get involved in politics. What's perhaps not so surprising? The pla...

In this episode, we round out our examination of the Falwell family legacy by speaking with Calum Best, who is himself an alumni of the Christian University founded by Jerry Falwell Sr., which was then taken over by his son after his death.   Beyond objecting to Jerry Falwell Jr's leadership style and negative example he set, we also discuss Charlie Kirk and the Falkirk Center, which until recentl...

In this special bonus episode, I finally was able to get together with Hemant Mehta, "The Friendly Atheist," for a fascinating discussion about his journey.   Hemant became an atheist out of the religion of Jainism, which is fascinating in and of itself--his story is quite different than the sort of "typical" atheist one might encounter who rejects the Christian version of God.   As a result of th...

In this second episode in my new 2021 series "Profiles of the Christian Right," I'm following up on last week's chat with Frank Schaeffer and doing a very deep dive into the legacy of Jerry Falwell Sr and his Moral Majority organization, which ran from 1979-1989. Not only do I do a thorough investigation into Falwell himself, I'll conclude by analyzing the many and varied through-lines from what h...

In this very informative and educational episode, returning guest Frank Schaeffer and I break down not only some of the early movers and shakers of the Christian Right--like Falwell Sr., Pat Robertson and others--we move on to discuss the legacy of what that movement has led us to today. Frank and his famous dad, Francis Schaeffer, were there when so much of this was all happening--and of course,...

This week's guest features Thomas Hanna, who's had a very interesting path indeed--he's gone from being a pastor to embarking on a journey of discovery that led him to becoming an atheist. He is now a therapist who specializes in helping clients deal with religious trauma syndrome and other issues from their time in religion. Thomas and I reminisce about our time as pastors, why that career so oft...