Free Inquiry

07/28/2026

"When futurist Alvin Toffler popularized the phrase 'Future Shock' to mean when people have trouble adjusting to rapid social and technological change, it was 1970 and the technological change was color television and handheld calculators.

"Now we are facing a potential future in which human inputs are no longer needed and would only get in the way of progress. The mind reels."

I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed, so they can see that it's not the answer. —Jim Carrey Humanity is at ...

07/28/2026

"Much public discourse on criminal law, including in the pages of this magazine, centers on contrasting moral stances. The discussion would benefit from empirical consideration of the nature of crime and the forces that shape public understanding, public opinion, and the politics of criminal law."

Much public discourse on criminal law, including in the pages of this magazine, centers on contrasting moral stances.1 The discussion would benefit from emp ...

07/27/2026

The August/September 2026 issue of Free Inquiry is all about "Continuing the Conversation," with new looks at a variety of topics addressed in prior issues including crime and punishment, the historical record of Jesus, free will, and more. Read it online now!
https://secularhumanism.org/volume/no-5-vol-46/

07/16/2026

"Many in our present day tend to sneer at the ancients, ridiculing their polytheism and some of their rituals, but the fact is that a core feature of Greek religion, as well as that of other ancient religions, remains a central feature of religions today, especially the Abrahamic religions: the notion that we must placate God, begging him for favorable outcomes. Indeed, the notion that God demands sacrifice is the defining characteristic of Christianity."

During this month, we are being inundated with promotions for the soon-to-be-released movie, The Odyssey. I hope that whatever the merits of this film, it w ...

06/22/2026

Ronald Lindsay writes: "Myths, legends, and outright lies often accumulate around figures who are important and prominent for a group of people or for a culture as a whole. The internet may have given a boost to this phenomenon, but it has existed ever since humans could tell stories. Some myths survive; others die off over time; others may be revitalized after being ignored or dormant for a time."

C. S. Lewis, the gifted writer and deeply misguided lay theologian, famously argued that given the statements attributed to Jesus in the New Testament the o ...

06/04/2026

"The development of AI will present us with significant moral and political issues, to which we need to give serious consideration. But any attempt to develop a coherent, morally justifiable approach to these issues by relying on religious authorities is a deeply misguided project."

A little over a week ago, Pope Leo XIV issued an encyclical addressing various aspects of artificial intelligence (AI). The issuance of the encyclical recei ...

05/29/2026

Richard Dawkins writes: "I, an atheist, may be a cultural Christian. The pity is that so many who call themselves believers haven’t the faintest understanding of the religion they profess."

Editor’s note: Earlier this year, the Washington Post invited Richard Dawkins to write an 800-word article on “why you describe yourself as a cultural Chris ...

05/29/2026

Most Free Inquiry readers can recall John Lennon’s gentle command for listeners to imagine “there’s no heaven,” “no hell below us,” and “no religion too.” They might also remember how, in the 1950s and 1960s, rock ’n’ roll, including the Beatles, helped foster the “sexual revolution.” But much less well known is how rock and the sexual revolution contributed to the rise of the Nones in the United States.

Most Free Inquiry readers can recall John Lennon’s gentle command for listeners to imagine “there’s no heaven,” “no hell below us,” and “no religion too.” T ...

05/27/2026

"These ideas are not idle philosophical ruminations. As they infiltrate the brain trust of the MAGA movement, they serve to rationalize President Trump’s vandalism of Enlightenment innovations such as science, free trade, international institutions, and checks on executive power."

Would we be better off living in the Middle Ages? Astonishingly, influential voices on the American intellectual Right now seem to think so. Rather than aff ...

05/27/2026

"We are neither a Christian nation nor a nation soaked in and cursed by racism, sexism, ableism, predatory capitalism, and all the other isms the Left can manufacture. We are people like any other people in the world, neither inherently evil nor good. We are susceptible to mistakes and misjudgments, but what we still have going for us is a democratic system of government and at least the remnants of a culture of free speech."

As we approach the celebrations surrounding the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States, we can expect at least a couple of dueling narra ...