The Christian share of the U.S. population is declining, while the number of American adults who do not identify with any organized religion, the so-called “nones” is growing, now close to 23%, a 7-point jump in just seven years, according to an extensive survey out this week by the Pew Research Center. These changes are taking place across the religious landscape, affecting all regions of the country and many demographic groups. First on Freethought Radio, Dan Barker and Anniel Laurie Gaylor give us their take on the Pew results. They also report FFRF victories in Florida and California, celebrate the birthday of Bertrand Russell, and talk with Harvard educated atheist professor of religious studies Hector Avalos about his new scholarly book, The Bad Jesus: The Ethics of New Testament Ethics. After Freethought Radio, we’ll hear commentary on the Pew survey results from Claude Fisher, professor of sociology at Berkeley who was a guest on Tuesday’s Background Briefing with Ian Masters and then from Kyle Kulinski who has an online radio show called Secular Talk. Also in the news here locally was the unfortunate apparent suicide of a 60-year-old man who jumped into the Fall Creek Gorge. Christian churches teach suicide is a sin, but how does secular philosophy deal with it? We’ll hear from Simon Critchley, philosophy professor at the New School who talks to Nigel Warburton on the Philosophy Bites podcast, and then historian and poet Jennifer Michael Hecht is inerviewed by Jessica Bluemke on the Friendly Atheist podcast.
Suicide and secular philosophy
Skeptical Sunday 