Firebrand American Atheists President Speaking at
The Free Library of Philadelphia
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
“Religion is a poisonous lie, and needs to be dealt with as such.”
David Silverman, President, American Atheists
The Freethought Society is proud to host David Silverman, the President of American Atheists, who will speak about his book, Fighting God: An Atheist Manifesto for a Religious World, in which he asserts that “firebrand/in-your-face atheism is not only more effective at making change and leading progress, but is also more humanistic than the so-called ‘nice guy’ approach.” Silverman’s proud, profound, provocative and passionate presentation starts at 2:00 PM on Saturday, October 24 at The Free Library of Philadelphia, 1901 Vine Street, in the Montgomery Auditorium.
“Cloaking your bigotry in religion doesn’t make it any less bigoted, and calling you out on your bigotry isn’t persecution, it’s accountability,” says Silverman, who is president of America Atheists, a nonprofit organization dedicated to defending the civil liberties of atheists and advocates for complete separation of religion and government.
Known as “America’s loudest heathen,” a term he embraces proudly, Silverman is passionate about atheism and atheist equality. He has appeared on several TV programs for on-air debates, including The O’Reilly Factor, The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson, Ronan Farrow Daily, Scarborough Country, CNN’s Paula Zahn NOW, Nick News, Hannity & Colmes, FOX and Friends, NPR’s All Things Considered, and many more. He lives in New Jersey with his wife and child. Fighting God is his first book. Silverman makes no bones about his views, and is a very much outed atheist. He can be contacted many ways, including via Twitter, where his handle is @MrAtheistPants.
“David Silverman is the bad boy of atheism and we need people like him.
There’s a tiresome breed of so-called atheists called the ‘I’m-an-atheist-BUT-heads.’
They love to put the emphasis on the ‘but,’ and go out of their way to emphasize
how deeply they respect all faith although, with mawkish regret, they can’t actually share it.
David Silverman is not of their number, and how refreshing it is to read a book
that is not afraid to speak the truth, sans apology.” — Richard Dawkins
Across the Internet and on TV, Silverman has been called rude, uncaring, and fascist (the latter by Bill O’Reilly), but the readers of Fighting God will realize he is none of those things. His methods ruffle feathers, but they work, and they work for the good of all people (except those who make money with religion). As Silverman’s Jewish mother told him on her death bed, he not only helps atheists, but every person in any religious minority, because in the end, he fights only for the equality that is due all of us.
Silverman has been an atheist since he was 6 years old. He became an activist in 1996 and soon became American Atheists New Jersey State Director. He was tapped to be the National Spokesperson in 2004, and then was named Vice President in 2008. The Board of Directors elected Silverman as President in September of 2010.
Silverman was raised Jewish and went through the standard religious education, but never believed. In college, he engaged in many debates with Orthodox Jews, but, since Silverman’s style is fierce but not insulting, he became very good friends with many of his opponents, eventually marrying one of them. Fighting God: An Atheist Manifesto for a Religious World is dedicated to his formerly-Orthodox wife of nearly 25 years.
Silverman earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from Brandeis University, his MBA in Marketing from Penn State University, and his CAGS in International Business from Seton Hall. Silverman served as a professional inventor at Bell Labs for 8 years (74 issued patents) and a Marketing Director for Natural Microsystems. While employed, he also founded the Alliance of Lucent and AT&T Atheists and Secularists, the first employee club of its kind.
Silverman’s presentation is free and open to the public, and begins at 2 PM, Saturday, October 24, in the Montgomery Auditorium of The Free Library of Philadelphia, 1901 Vine Street, Philadelphia. We guarantee Silverman’s presentation will stoke your interest. His book, Fighting God: An Atheist Manifesto for a Religious World, will be published December 1, 2015, just in time for the holidays. Pre-orders are now being taken at:
http://www.amazon.com/
For more information, contact:
Margaret Downey
Freethought Society President
Phone: 610-793-2737 or 610-357-9432
Email: Margaret@FtSociety.org
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