On Sept. 26, ETSU’s Secular Humanist Alliance welcomed former pastor and Christian musician Dan Barker to campus for his talk on The Battle of Church and State.
Barker was religious from an early age and went on to preach for 19 years before he lost his faith. His book “Godless: How an Evangelical Preacher Became One of America’s Leading Atheists” outlines his journey through doubt and leaving the church.
Barker is also a member of the Clergy Project, a forum for non-believers still working in the religious world.
“Right now there are hundreds of pastors and priests who have yet to find an exit strategy,” said Barker. “If you’re a plumber or you’re an electrician or a, you know, professor or something and you change your career, that’s just a change. But if you’re a minister, that’s your whole life. That’s your whole community, so it’s a really tough thing to do.”
After a departure from the church in 1984, Barker’s unique perspective found him on the Oprah Winfrey Show, where he met Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-founder of the Freedom From Religion Foundation and Barker’s future wife. The FFRF has spearheaded multiple lawsuits regarding separation of church and state in the U.S., including nativity scenes on public lands and use of state funds for church repairs.
The Battle of Church and State was hosted by ETSU’s Secular Humanist Alliance, a student organization dedicated to providing resources to non-believing and doubting students on campus.
“If you’re a non-believing student who doesn’t have community of people who think the same as you, or you want a community that you can speak freely in about your beliefs, we’re definitely the group for that, and we’re always accepting new members,” said SHA Vice President Shawn Quilliams.
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