Daniel Edwin Barker (born June 25, 1949) is an American
atheist activist and musician who served as an
evangelical Christianpreacher and composer for 19 years but left Christianity in 1984. He and his wife
Annie Laurie Gaylor are the current co-presidents of the
Freedom From Religion Foundation,[2] and he is cofounder of
The Clergy Project. [3] He has written numerous articles for Freethought Today, an American freethought newspaper. He is the author of several books including Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher to Atheist.[4]
Barker has been an invited speaker at Rock Beyond Belief.[5] He is on the speakers bureau of the
Secular Student Alliance.[6]
Biography
Barker received a degree in religion from
Azusa Pacific University and was
ordained to the ministry by the Standard Community Church, California, in 1975.[1] He served as associate pastor at several churches: Religious Society of Friends (
Quaker), a church in the
Assemblies of Godfellowship, and an independent
Charismatic church. He receives royalties from his popular children's Christian musicals, Mary Had a Little Lamb (1977) and His Fleece Was White as Snow (1978), both published by
Manna Music.[7]
In 1984, he announced to his friends, family, and co-ministers that he became an atheist,[8] and appeared on AM Chicago (hosted by
Oprah Winfrey) later that year on a show about "kicking the religion habit".[9]
Personal life
Barker and Gaylor met when both were guests on the show. They began dating six months later and married in 1987. They have a daughter, Sabrina Delata.[10]
He is a member of the
Lenni LenapeDelaware Tribe of Indians,[11] and in 1991 edited and published Paradise Remembered,[12] a collection of his grandfather's stories as a Lenape boy in Indian Territory.
He was featured in a New York Times article about the growth of atheism in
Southern states,[18] has given addresses on his own "de-conversion" across the United States,[19][20][21][22][23][24] and has participated in more than 125 debates around the country.[25]
Barker and his wife host a weekly one-hour radio program, Freethought Radio. It is carried on several stations throughout the
Midwest and is available through podcast.[26]
Publications
Musicals
Mary Had a Little Lamb (Manna Music 1977)
His Fleece Was White as Snow (Manna Music 1978)
Books
Barker, Dan (1990). Maybe Yes, Maybe No: A Guide for Young Skeptics. Prometheus Books.
ISBN978-0879756079.
Barker, Dan (1992). Maybe Right, Maybe Wrong: A Guide for Young Thinkers. Prometheus Books.
ISBN978-0879757311.
Barker, Dan (1992). Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher to Atheist. Madison, WI: Freedom From Religion Foundation.
ISBN978-1877733130.
Barker, Dan (2002). Just Pretend. Freedom From Religion Foundation.
ISBN978-1877733055.
^Griffith, Justin (January 16, 2011).
"Dan Barker Joins the Lineup". Rock Beyond Belief website. Archived from
the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved August 17, 2013.
^"Dan Barker". Secular Student Alliance. Archived from
the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved August 18, 2013.