"Black Nonbelievers" with Mandisa Thomas

Unreasonable

The Black Church is as American as anything you can name. For so many, the promise of a glorious afterlife gave, and gives, succor to a lifetime of hardship here on Earth.
The influence of its sacred music is directly linked to the secular music we all listen to and enjoy today, from Jazz to Soul to R&B to Rock nd Roll. And for that we can be grateful.
But despite the prevalance of church culture in the African-American community, and American society as a whole, many Black people reject the idea of an afterllife and a god that oversees it. For them, Jesus was a salve foisted on their ancestors by slaveholders who needed their property to behave.
Mandisa Thomas is the founder and president of Black Nonbelievers, an organization that promotes atheism among the Black community, and provides communal shelter from a world that often ostracizes nonbelievers.
She is a happy warrior in the battle of certainty vs. skepticism.
Listen now, and then check out these resources to learn more.
Black Nonbelievers

Pew Research:
History of Faith Among Black Americans

gOD-Talk Film and Web Series
”Black Nonreligious Americans” Survey by
Black Nonbelievers and American Atheists
Black Nonreligious Survey

Black Christians vs. Black Nonbelievers Debate

Cringe Alert: Kent Hovind Debate

Black Freethinkers by Chris Cameron

Dr. Tony Pinn
Candace Gorham
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