The famed British philosopher Bertrand Russell was known for being an outspoken atheist and social critic, in addition to his many contributions to the fields of mathematical logic and analytic philosophy. (You may have heard one of his most famous quotes: “No one can sit at the bedside of a dying child and still believe…

My lifelong companionship with spiritual doubt began during my childhood, after my Christian salvation experience. It has to do with a lot of things, including the intensely evangelistic culture I grew up in where “making a decision for Christ” and/or “praying the sinner’s prayer” and/or “asking Jesus into your heart” were front and center of…

My friend and fellow writer Rachel Held Evans — her upcoming book Evolving in Monkey Town is excellent, btw — wrote an intriguing blog post Tuesday about being a stumbling block to other believers. Like Rachel, I grew up in a church youth-group culture where we feared being a stumbling block to others almost as…

“Have you had the following religious experience?” That’s the question asked by the 2008 Baylor Religion Survey, authored by Dr. Rodney Stark and others, in an extensive look at the “depth and complexity” of America’s religious landscape. The survey’s findings are revealed in the book What Americans Really Believe, by Rodney Stark. And to be…

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