Dan Barker

Dan Barker (1949-), a former preacher, is co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, co-host of Freethought Radio, and co-founder of The Clergy Project. After 19 years as an evangelical minister, Dan "saw the light" and announced his atheism in 1984. His first public appearance as an atheist was on Oprah Winfrey's "AM Chicago." He travels extensively, lecturing and performing on college campuses, and has participated in more than 130 public debates. A former composer of Christian music (for which he still receives royalties), Dan is now a jazz pianist and writer of freethought music, including the albums Beware of Dogma and Adrift on a Star. Dan has 5 children, 10 grandchildren, 2 great-grandchildren, and lives with his wife (and co-president) Annie Laurie Gaylor in Madison, Wisconsin. He is a member of the Lenape (Delaware) tribe of American Indians. (Photos: outdoor, Ingrid Laas; window, Tim Buchanan; microphone, Bruce Press; piano, Brent Nicastro.)