I have exciting news for anyone who knows about The Clergy Project or who has followed it since its inception in 2011. This October, at the annual Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) Convention in Pittsburgh, four of its founders will be meeting together in person for the first time. They are Dan Barker, co-president of FFRF, Dan Dennett, who is a featured speaker at the convention, “Adam Mann” and me.
What makes it exciting is that until now, one of us -“Adam Mann” – has been undercover as an atheist clergy. Adam was one of the original five participants in the Dennett-LaScola pilot study, “Preachers Who Are Not Believers” that came out in 2010.
I interviewed Adam in 2009, shortly after Easter, when he, after a year of independent study (see his extensive reading list), accepted that he was an atheist. He originally contacted Dan Barker, seeking a kindred soul, and soon found himself talking to me in a small town about 30 miles from his home and 340 miles from mine. He didn’t want to risk being seen meeting several times with a Yankee lady with DC tags. Once there, he noted something even more suspicious – an Obama sticker on my bumper. (He spotted the car in the parking lot and figured it must be me!)
In 2011, when The Clergy Project was becoming a reality, Dan Barker, who had stayed in touch with Adam, asked him to be involved in setting it up. So there we were, working as colleagues to create this new entity – a private online meeting place for current and former religious professionals without supernatural beliefs.
I won’t say much more now, because I don’t want to steal his thunder at the convention. Suffice it to say that after seven years of secret atheism and making positive changes in his life, he wants to be himself. He wants to be “out” and able to express himself freely. And he can’t think of a better place to begin the process than with the people who got him started down that road.
Here are a few words from Adam:
“After trying so hard to carefully ease out of ministry I have finally realized that I can never be completely open, honest and authentic without making this a public announcement.”
You’ll hear more from Adam, including his real name (at last!) after the conference. Meanwhile, for those clergy project members and others who can be there in person, we’d love to see you in Pittsburgh, Oct 7-9. It’s a great town. I should know; I grew up just fifty miles away in New Castle. Make sure you get there on Friday night the 7th. That’s when Adam and I are scheduled to speak. After that, he’ll be “himself” for the rest of the weekend, eager to soak in the freethinking atmosphere and speak openly about his beliefs for the first time.
**Editor’s Question** What words do you have for “Adam” as he approaches this change in his life?
