Dan Barker

Who they are

Dan Barker is Co-President of the Freedom From Religion Foundation — a former evangelical preacher who co-founded The Clergy Project to support other ministers who've left the faith, and wrote 'Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher to Atheist'.

Person

Dan Barker spent years as an evangelical Christian minister and musician before a personal break from belief became the defining turn of his career. That transition became the subject of his book 'Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher to Atheist,' and eventually landed him at the Freedom From Religion Foundation in Madison, Wisconsin, where he now serves as co-president. He co-founded The Clergy Project, an active organization that supports former clergy who no longer hold supernatural beliefs — a direct outgrowth of his own experience. He co-hosts Freethought Radio, the radio program affiliated with FFRF, and writes regularly for Freethought Today on atheism, Bible criticism, and secularism. He's also authored 'Free Will Explained' and appears frequently on podcasts — The Michael Shermer Show, Keep Talking — debating religious dogma and making the case for freethought. The through-line is someone who lived the thing he now critiques and has built an entire public identity around that lived authority.

How they likely show up

  • Career defined by a dramatic ideological reversal (preacher to atheist) → likely comfortable holding and defending minority positions under pressure, and experienced in high-stakes public confrontation.
  • Extensive debate and speaking history — Aspen Ideas Festival Fellow, podcast circuits, public debates on superstition and dogma → accustomed to live, adversarial formats; probably more energized by direct challenge than by consensus-building.
  • Two books authored ('Losing Faith in Faith,' 'Free Will Explained') plus sustained output in Freethought Today → thinks in long-form arguments, not just talking points; will have a structured position ready on almost any topic in his domain.
  • Co-founded The Clergy Project (supporting former clergy) → motivated by practical solidarity and institutional change, not just rhetoric; builds infrastructure around ideas.
  • Possibly — medium tenure shape suggests he doesn't stay in one lane indefinitely; the pivot from ministry to secular activism to co-presidency shows willingness to rebuild identity wholesale.
  • Music and debate listed as personal interests alongside professional work → treats public performance as natural, not effortful; likely at ease in front of an audience.

Conversation tips

  • → Reference the lived experience — he was inside the church for years before leaving. Ask about that period, not just the aftermath; he has stories most critics of religion don't.
  • → Engage with his arguments directly. He debates professionally and will respect someone who has actually read 'Losing Faith in Faith' or 'Free Will Explained' and has a specific pushback or question.
  • → Don't treat FFRF as just an advocacy group — he co-runs a media operation (Freethought Radio) and a support organization (The Clergy Project). Ask about the institutional work, not just the messaging.
  • → He writes actively on Bible criticism and sexism in scripture — if you've read any of his Freethought Today pieces, naming a specific one will land far better than a general compliment.

Toolbox

Openers

  • Open on The Clergy Project — he co-founded it to support clergy who've privately lost their faith but have nowhere to turn. It's a concrete institution built around a very specific gap he knew firsthand.
  • Reference 'Free Will Explained' — it's his more philosophical work and a different register than the memoir. Asking what he thinks the secular community gets wrong about free will is a sharp opener.
  • Mention Freethought Radio — he co-hosts it as part of FFRF's operation. Asking what the radio format lets him do that debates or books don't is a good way into how he thinks about different audiences.

Discovery questions

  1. The Clergy Project serves people who are still inside the church privately — what's the biggest practical barrier you've seen for ministers trying to leave?
  2. You've made the case against free will in a book and against religion in another — do you find secular audiences are as resistant to the free will argument as religious audiences are to the atheism one?
  3. You were a working musician and preacher before the transition — how much does the performance background shape how you approach a debate stage versus a written argument?

Avoid

Don't open with a casual or dismissive take on religion expecting easy agreement — he's spent decades making precise, sourced arguments and will engage seriously with specifics, not with vibes.

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Sources

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Generated by briefthecall.com from public web sources on August 21, 2026. Each claim is linked to its source above.

Automatically generated by AI from public sources. May be inaccurate or out of date. Remove or correct this profile →