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(Listen to the full interview at SecularByNature.com) Darrel Ray is a respected author, activist, psychologist, and atheist personality who comes from a religious background. Although he left the church and his faith in the mid-'80s, he's the child of two missionaries, and his fundamentalist upbringing played a significant role in the work he does today. The author of several successful works on secularism and atheism, Ray is most widely known for The God Virus: How Religion Affects Our Lives and Culture and Sex and God: How Religion Distorts Sexuality, and his writing examines the adverse impact religion has on society. After having appeared frequently on his friend Matt Dillahunty's The Atheist Experience, Ray established his own Secular Sexuality podcast in 2014. He's also the founder of the non-profit organization Recovering from Religion, which works to assist people considering a break from religion, or are dealing with the aftermath of already having done so. Additionally, Ray is active with the Kansas City chapter of Oasis, a meeting place for the secular community to gather and discuss ideas, community involvement, and social issues. Andrew J. Rausch recently met with Dr. Ray to discuss… #atheist #atheism #AtheistInterviews #DarrelRay #psychology #RecoveringFromRelgion #Secular #SecularByNature #AtheistExperience #Oasis #OasisKC #OasisKansasCity #heaven #hell #God #religion #Christianity #KansasCity #TheGotVirus #SexAndGod #SecularSexuality #AndyRausch #Jesus #Bible #godless Music by @ridiculousbeats https://www.instagram.com/p/BummBQ9nan_/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=14lgvvyz88qc8

INTRO (listen to audio or read the full article at SecularByNature.com) By Andrew J. Rausch Mandisa Thomas grew up in the early 1980s in Fayetteville, Georgia, in the home of a non-religious single parent. However, she says her grandmother was a devout Christian. As a result, Thomas sometimes attended church, even singing in the choir. She realized she was an atheist at a young age and has long been interested in the historical ties between Christianity and the black community. She would come to realize that Christianity had been ingrained into the black identity in America by force. Although she came to these realizations at a relatively young age, she would quickly discover that many members of the black community saw such suggestions and observations a form of betrayal. This was a verboten topic for most black people in America. Hoping to expand the conversation about the effects religion has had on the black identity, she would eventually establish Black Nonbelievers, Inc. in Atlanta in 2011. Thomas serves as the non-profit organization's president. In subsequent years, Black Nonbelievers, Inc. has branched out significantly, and now has local chapters in ten U.S. cities. #atheist #atheism #secular #secularism #SecularByNature #freethinker #humanist  #godless #goodwithoutgod #atheistinterviews  #blacknonbelievers #agnostic #freethinker #interviews #logic #reason #humanist #Jesus #God #Bible #2016Election #Trump #worstpresidentever #Christianity #formerChristian @black.nonbelievers.orlando