Category: Leading Questions

In the August/September issue of Free Inquiry, Leading Questions featured a discussion between science journalist Chris Mooney and Johan Braeckman, professor of philosophy of science at Ghent University in Belgium, on growing belief in Islamic creationism in Europe. Below, Braeckman talks about attitudes toward evolution popular among Muslims today that have been strongly shaped by …

Last May, science journalist Chris Mooney attended the 2012 World Skeptics Congress in Berlin, where he heard disturbing reports of a new form of creationism—namely, Islamic creationism—gaining traction in Europe. There he spoke with Johan Braeckman, who has been following this development closely. Braeckman is a professor of philosophy of science at Ghent University in …

In December 2011, the Center for Inquiry (CFI) held a conference titled “Daniel Dennett and the Scientific Study of Religion: A Celebration of the Fifth Anniversary of Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon.” Breaking the Spell launched an unprecedented era of openness for atheists and public discussion of the validity of religious belief. …

Lee Salisbury was at one time an up-and-coming charismatic Christian pastor, even a healer! How did he wind up actively involved in the ranks of Minnesota Atheists? Often, successful Christian activists simply cannot allow themselves to entertain doubts as to the worthiness of their enterprise, but Salisbury had a yearning for critical thought. He left …

Rachel Tabachnick is a researcher and writer who monitors the religious Right. Recently, she has focused on the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), a new strain of Dominionists—Christians who believe, basically, that they ought to be running this country. The NAR helped organize a prayer rally last summer for Texas governor and presidential candidate Rick Perry. …

A May 2011 episode of the Center for Inquiry podcast Point of Inquiry featured Center for Inquiry President and CEO Ronald A. Lindsay interviewing science journalist Chris Mooney, the POI cohost. In the first part of the program, adapted for publication in the August/September issue of Free Inquiry, they discussed Mooney’s stance of accommodationism regarding …

Recently, in a special two-part episode of Point of Inquiry, the Center for Inquiry’s podcast, cohost Chris Mooney changed places and became the interviewee. In the first part, an edited version of which is presented below, CFI President and CEO Ronald A. Lindsay asks Mooney about his stance of accommodationism regarding science and religion. In …

Part 1 of this Leading Questions interview appeared in the April/May 2011 Free Inquiry. Chris Mooney, a science journalist and host of Point of Inquiry, the Center for Inquiry’s podcast, talks with researcher Barry A. Kosmin about his work with the groundbreaking American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS), which has identified long-term trends in the religious …

Barry A. Kosmin is director of the Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture and a sociologist and research professor in the public policy and law program at Trinity College in Connecticut. He is the nation’s leading expert on the growing percentage of Americans who lack a religious identity, the so-called Nones. …

Philosopher Stephen Law teaches at Heythrop College, University of London, and edits the philosophical journal Think, which is published by the Royal Institute of Philosophy and is aimed at the general public. He is a fellow of The Royal Society of Arts and Commerce, and in 2008 became the provost of the Centre for Inquiry …

Investigative journalist Alexander Zaitchik is the author of the new book, Common Nonsense: Glenn Beck and the Triumph of Ignorance (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2010). A freelance journalist living in Brooklyn, New York, Zaitchik has contributed to Salon.com, The Nation, Wired, and many other distinguished publications. Common Nonsense: Glenn Beck and the Triumph of …

S.T. Joshi is a prolific author and critic credited with almost single-handedly bringing H.P. Lovecraft, once denigrated as a mere pulp writer, into the literary mainstream and winning him recognition as the father of modern horror fiction. Joshi’s restored original texts are available from Arkham House as well as in a series of annotated collections …

Dr. Michael E. Mann is a member of the Pennsylvania State University faculty and director of the Penn State Earth System Science Center. He was a lead author of the chapter “Observed Climate Variability and Change” in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Third Scientific Assessment Report published in 2001. Mann has been at …

For the past sixteen years, the U.S. government’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy has barred gays and lesbians from serving openly in the armed forces, while also prohibiting military officials from initiating inquiries into service members’ sexual orientation when they are abiding by the rules. Top military leaders, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates and …

Free Inquiry: Isn’t the New Atheism just the same old atheism? Victor J. Stenger: Yes and no. The New Atheism is more popular now, and I think it takes a harder line. It says that we shouldn’t be treating religion with kid gloves or avoid offending moderate Christians merely because we need their support for …

Chris Mooney is the best-selling author of The Republican War on Science and a number of other books, including Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens Our Future. He is a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Arguing that the New Atheists polarize the discourse about the proper role of science in …

Susan Sackett worked as the personal executive assistant to Gene Roddenberry, creator of the television legend Star Trek, for more than seventeen years. She was also his production assistant on the first Star Trek film and worked closely with him on the next five Star Trek movies. In addition, she served as production associate during …

Peter Singer has been called “the world’s most influential living philosopher” by The New Yorker, and Time magazine included him in “The Time 100,” their annual listing of the world’s one hundred most influential people. He is DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University and Laureate Professor at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public …

Eric Maisel, PhD, is the author of more than thirty works of fiction and nonfiction. His nonfiction titles include Coaching the Artist Within, Fearless Creating, The Van Gogh Blues, The Creativity Book, Performance Anxiety, Ten Zen Seconds, A Writer’s San Francisco, and A Writer’s Paris. A columnist for Art Calendar magazine, Maisel is a creativity …

Jerry A. Coyne has been a professor at the University of Chicago in the department of ecology and evolution for twenty years. He specializes in evolutionary genetics and works predominantly on the origin of new species. He is a regular contributor to The New Republic, The Times Literary Supplement, and other publications. His most recent …

Jennifer Michael Hecht is the author of award-winning books of philosophy, history, and poetry, including Doubt: A History and The Happiness Myth. She recently discussed the role of art and poetry in her doubt, in addition to her skepticism of science, with D.J. Grothe, associate editor of Free Inquiry. Free Inquiry: A couple years before …

P. Z. Myers, associate professor of biology at the University of Minnesota, Morris, focusing on developmental biology and neurobiology, is one of the most influential opinion leaders in the online atheist community. He is the author of Pharyngula, the most heavily trafficked science blog online, with over a million unique hits per month. He talked …

The Reverend Michael Dowd and his wife, science writer Connie Barlow, have lived permanently on the road for six years, sharing their “sacred view of evolution” with religious and secular audiences of all ages. Dowd recently discussed his new book, Thank God for Evolution, with D.J. Grothe, associate editor of Free Inquiry. Free Inquiry: Obviously, …

Journalist Chris Hedges spent nearly two decades as a foreign correspondent in Central America, the Middle East, Africa, and the Balkans and has reported from more than fifty countries. He is senior fellow at The Nation Institute in New York City, a lecturer in the Council of the Humanities, and the Anschutz Distinguished Fellow at …

Steven Pinker, a renowned cognitive neuroscientist and research psychologist, is Johnstone Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. His research on cognition and language has won the Troland Award from the National Academy of Sciences and two prizes from the American Psychological Association. His critically acclaimed books include The Language Instinct, How the Mind Works, and …

Lawrence Krauss is a best-selling author and one of America’s top spokespersons for the scientific outlook. He is Swasey Professor of Physics and professor of astronomy at Case Western Reserve University, where he also directs the Center for Education and Research in Cosmology and Astrophysics. A science educator interested in helping define the proper limits …

Neil deGrasse Tyson, one of America’s leading science popularizers, directs the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History. The host of PBS-Nova’s ScienceNow, he appears regularly in the media. He has just been named a Laureate of the International Academy of Humanism. This passionate science educator recently discussed communicating science to the public …

The John Dewey Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University, Philip Kitcher is one of the world’s most eminent philosophers. He is the author of many books on science, literature, and music, including Abusing Science: The Case Against Creationism; The Lives to Come: The Genetic Revolution and Human Possibilities; and Science, Truth, and Democracy. His research …

A noted constitutional scholar, historian, and lawyer, Peter Irons is a professor emeritus of political science at the University of California, San Diego. Among his many award-winning books is the best-selling May It Please the Court and A People’s History of the Supreme Court. He recently discussed his new critically acclaimed book, God On Trial: …