This page lists a few selections of freethought literature. Visit the website of any organization on the organizations page to find more. Some not only sell books, but offer access to other forms of media as well, and of course, many freethought books have extensive bibliographies.

Freethought Today is the only freethought newspaper in North America. It is published by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. https://ffrf.org/ The content covers news and a wide variety of freethought topics. For brevity, I will mention two unusual ones: In the decades I’ve subscribed to the publication, there has always been a Crankmail Column and one entitled Black Collar Crime.

The Crankmail Column contains angry responses from good religious folks who are offended whenever FFRF challenges a church/state violation in or out of court. One might think the responses would be polite & erudite, or perhaps offer a reasoned argument. Nope! Instead, what you find are misspelled words, punctuation errors, obscenities, and various sorts of threats (from those who claim to have a god on their side). Here’s an example from the latest issue I received: “You can shove your head in a toilet full of diarrhea. Next you can go chew the genital warts off of your grandmas vagina lips. Finally clip some jumper cables to your moms nipples. May God bless you and yours. AMEN!” – Joe Mcgee. Well, at least Joe didn’t misspell anything, and while we can’t speak to his own experience in any of these matters or if he learned of them in Sunday school, at least he was explicit. This would be funny if it weren’t so pathetic, and it leads to worriesome thoughts about those who possess an ignorant, arrogant, fanatical religious mind.

The Black Collar Crime blotter takes up at least one page in the paper, more often, two. It covers arrests and charges, pleas and convictions, criminal and civil suits, and legal developments involving clerics of every denomination. Crimes of every sort have been published at one time or another – murder, fraud, embezzlement, corruption of minors, false imprisonment, sexual molestation, assault & battery – the whole gamut. Given that a central theme of religious claims is that it promotes morality, this column invites skepticism – especially since it covers the behavior of religious leaders! Alarming also is the behavior of the congregations of some of these criminal clerics. Often, instead of condemning their leader, they make excuses or come to his aid, sometimes attacking the victim instead. Almost sounds like today’s politics.

Free Inquiry is a scholarly secular humanist (non-religious life stance) magazine published bimonthly by the Center for Inquiry in association with the Council for Secular Humanism. http://www.secularhumanism.org

“The [stated] mission of the Council for Secular Humanism is to advocate and defend a nonreligious life stance rooted in science, naturalistic philosophy, and humanist ethics and to serve and support adherents of that life stance.”

The scope of the articles in Free Inquiry is broad: the articles are varied and, well, involve any topic that might be relevant to secular humanism.

Woe to the Woman: The Bible Tells Me So is a book by Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of FFRF. The title sums it up nicely, but part of the book’s description reads, “In these critical days when fundamentalists are trying to unite church and state, it behooves thoughtful women and men to “know thine enemy.” Lucidly argued, concise and thorough, Woe to the Women documents the bible’s punitive, antediluvian rules and attitudes toward women.” The FFRF book store url is: https://ffrf.org/shop/books-lit-35/ffrf-books-23

Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher to Atheist is a book by Dan Barker, co-president of FFRF (Dan is also involved with The Clergy Project). Once again, the title sums up the book’s subject nicely, but the book’s description reads: “After 19 years of evangelical preaching, missionizing, evangelism and Christian songwriting, Dan Barker “threw out the bathwater and discovered there is no baby there.” Barker describes the intellectual and psychological struggle required to move from fundamentalism to freethought. Sections on biblical morality, the historicity of Jesus, bible contradictions, the unbelievable resurrection, and much more. This book is an arsenal for skeptics and a direct challenge to believers.” (Same URL as above.)

The God Delusion is one of many freethought books by Richard Dawkins: “A preeminent scientist — and the world’s most prominent atheist — asserts the irrationality of belief in God and the grievous harm religion has inflicted on society, from the Crusades to 9/11.”The Center for Inquiry product URL is: https://centerforinquiry.org/store/product/the-god-delusion-paperback/ 

Dawkins also founded the Richard Dawkins Foundation. “The mission of the Richard Dawkins Foundation is to promote scientific literacy and a secular worldview. “

The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason is a book by neuroscientist Sam Harris. Chapter 4, The Problem with Islam, is an excellent critique of Islam for those who might be interested in learning more about that religion. “In The End of Faith, Sam Harris delivers a startling analysis of the clash between reason and religion in the modern world. He offers a vivid, historical tour of our willingness to suspend reason in favor of religious beliefs―even when these beliefs inspire the worst human atrocities.” The book is available through online bookstores.

Okay, this last item is just a URL that will take you to information that tells you how you must go to the toilet. You may think you know this, but unless you are a devout Muslim you probably don’t. Take heed, and enjoy.  (The page will lead you to other items of interest as well.)    

https://dwindlinginunbelief.blogspot.com/2012/01/islam-its-mostly-about-going-to.html