Free Thought Bloggers: where they stand on Atheism+
This post is in response to a comment I received from Giovanni Rilasciato regarding a previous article of mine titled, “On Atheism+ and humanism: part 2.”
Rilasciato writes:
FYI, there are 36 bloggers at FtB, and most of them haven’t even commented on A+. There’ve been a few who have even written about why they do not support it, such as Al Stefanelli. It seems that there are about half a dozen there behind this.
I presume that Rilasciato was referring to two parts of that previous post. This passage:
It seems to suggest that this very small group of people (Free Thought Blogs and their supporters) are preparing to carry the banner of social justice for the rest of us, and for a group of people that inherently eschew cliques and in-groups and chafe at being told how they should think or act, this is contemptible.
and
On a final note, I think it’s telling that nearly all of the Free Thought Bloggers, from Miller, Christina, McCreight to P.Z. Myers and others are all supporting each other, which to the rest of us, smacks of provincialism if nothing else and speaks to me personally that not one of them are capable of independent thought.
I have waded through all 36 35 Free Thought Blogs and have attempted, as best as I can, to surmise which bloggers support Atheism+ and which have either made no public statement about it or have voiced their opposition. I will admit here that saying that “nearly all of the Free Thought Bloggers” may have been an exaggeration, but I think what I’m about to show indicates that a significant number of FtB’s (more than a dozen) have publicly hopped on the bandwagon. The number could very well be more if they had written anything about it. Two have spoken against it and a couple more were either vague or seemed to be on the fence.
For brevity’s sake, I did not attempt to sift through any comments that may have been left by the bloggers in response to readers that may assert support or opposition. I just stuck with their posts. For each individual page, I went back through the archives from Aug. 18, the date of McCreight’s original post (“How I Unwittingly Infiltrated the Boy’s Club & Why It’s Time for a New Wave of Atheism“) to today.
Someone may ask: isn’t this a waste of time? Why bother? Sure, but so is playing video games or watching movies. I put some effort into this because:
- I did make a serious claim that Free Thought Blogs was filled with people who hopped on the bandwagon, and I actually found that the figure appears to be more than one-third of the all bloggers at FtB. Again, the figure could be greater, but some either have remained mum or post so infrequently that it’s hard to gauge where they stand.
- Rather than speculate, I thought it would be instructive to throw out a more concrete figure.
- Since Atheism+ has become such a divisive issue the last few weeks, I thought readers would be interested to see a rundown on where the bloggers stand. Personally, I would like to see where all the Free Thought Bloggers stand on the issue because hell if the blowback from this thing can compel McCreight to quit blogging altogether, the public obviously has some strong feelings about it, even if some idiots who can’t tell the difference between blasting a person’s arguments versus demeaning the person.
That said, here is the format that I used. Again, this is a best effort on my part. Any corrections or additional information is welcome.
Name — Stance on Atheism+ with link showing support or dissent
Ed Brayton — Has made no statement that I am aware.
P.Z. Myers — a supporter but says he’s not an official “member.”
Chris Rodda — No comment that I am aware.
Stephen Andrew — No comment that I am aware.
Cuttlefish — Seems generally supportive even if not willing to adopt the label.
Reasonable Doubts — An infrequent podcast show; has made no comment.
Comradde PhysioProffe — Seems to be a supporter since he reposted part of McCreight’s original post from Aug. 18 with the title of his own post, “Skeptical D00ds Are Not Skeptical About Their Own Gross Misogyny,” included in the title is an apparent reference to Thunderf00t.
Assassin Actual — Hasn’t posted since Aug. 2.
Daniel Fincke — Supporter.
Deacon Duncan — Supporter.
Greta Christina — Supporter.
Hank Fox — Possibly a passive supporter. He speaks on the perceived motivations behind the ”movement” and about a “Beta Culture,” which seems to be a similar alternative.
Jason Thibeault — Supporter.
Jen McCreight — Inventor in chief.
Dana Hunter — Supporter.
Al Stefanelli — Not a supporter.
Martin Wagner — Supporter.
Brian Lynchehaun — Supporter.
Justin Griffith — No statement.
Kylie Sturgess — Not a supporter.
Maryam Namazie — No statement.
Blackskeptics — No statement.
Richard Carrier — Alientating, overly enthusiastic supporter.
Edwin Kagin — Seems skeptical about Atheism+.
Mano Singham — No statement.
Natalie Reed — Not a supporter.
Chris Hallquist —No statement, moved to Patheos.
Brianne Bilyeu — No statement.
Taslima Nasreen — No statement.
Zinnia Jones — No statement.
Ashley F. Miller — Supporter.
Cristina Rad — No statement. Only two posts since McCreight’s Aug. 18 introduction to Atheism+.
AronRa — No statement. Only three posts since Aug 18.

















"…actually found that the figure appears to be more than one-third of the all bloggers at FtB."
So, LESS than half have demonstrated they're openly supportive / have shown no formal support or are silent on the matter in a blog post on their own blogs. Therefore NOT a overwhelming majority.Thanks for making this clear.
Jim
12 Oct 12 at 10:32 am
That was more than a month ago, so it could have very well changed a little, but I haven't time to dredge through every single blog again. But yes, that was the idea. Admittedly, I misspoke when I previously said "nearly all" of FT bloggers supported A+. Of course, I didn't literally mean that almost all 35 of them supported it at the time I wrote that; just that of the people supporting it, there was an air of provincialism over there. Again, that was a month ago, so take it for what it's worth. In any case, the idea was to get a more concrete estimation based on their own public statements. Someone previously commented to me that only half a dozen had voiced their support. I found that to be a bit understated.
jeremystyron
12 Oct 12 at 11:32 am