Graceful Atheist Podcast

Matt Sanderson is the author of I Wonder: Notes on Spirituality without the Supernatural. My conversation with Matt is poignant and vulnerable touching on his loss of faith, the loss of his mother and his search for meaning without dogma and the supernatural.
Matt tells us his faith journey from an atheist upbringing into evangelical/charismatic Christianity, drawn by community and an intense prayer experience, then later unraveling beliefs after being challenged, doubling down, and gradually deconverting through wider reading (philosophy, neuroscience) without a dramatic exit. Matt explains the book began as an attempt to sort through accumulated ideas, intensified after his mother’s death and his reflections on grief without belief in an afterlife. He discusses religious experiences as common human phenomena (via William James), religion’s techniques for evoking awe, non-reductionism, meaning as created (influenced by Viktor Frankl), the value and challenges of secular community, and joy/comedy as truth-telling. He frames wonder as both questioning and awe.
Links
https://mattsanderson.co.uk
https://mattsanderson1.substack.com
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
I Wonder: Notes on Spirituality without the Supernatural
https://link.amazon/B0dtMgo6T
Interact
Show Notes
https://gracefulatheist.com/2026/10/13/matt-sanderson-i-wonder/
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Deconversion
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/
Secular Grace
https://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/

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Author Stella McCormick has written a powerful memoir, Deliver Us From Mother: Faith, Fear, and the Family Cult That Broke Me. The story she tells in the book and shares with us on the podcast is one of surviving a single family cult, purity culture, sexual assault and desconstruction.
Stella is more than a survivor. She has thrived. Today she is a sexual assault advocate for the Army where she helps other victims of sexual assault process their experience.
Links
Stella on TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@stella_mccormick
Amazon Paid Links
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Amazon Commissions Earned:
Deliver Us From Mother: Faith, Fear, and the Family Cult That Broke Me
https://amzn.to/4yzxb0Y
Interact
Show Notes
https://gracefulatheist.com/2026/09/14/stella-mccormick-surviving-a-single-family-cult/
Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook group!
Support the podcast
Patreon https://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheist
Paypal: paypal.me/gracefulatheist
Deconversion
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/
Secular Grace
https://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/

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Karis Burkowski and ​David Fitzgerald have written an amazing book called Clearly Written by Boys: A Woman’s Guide to the Bible. The book takes this question seriously:
What if women mattered, really mattered, to the authors that wrote our Bible? Not just the queens and concubines, harlots and handmaidens, and barren women in need of a son’s miraculous birth; not just the unnamed mothers, wives and daughters; but all women?Clearly Written for Boys is a book about the Bible, and Christianity, and the problematic relationship both have had with women throughout their histories. Karis and David come from Christian backgrounds and are “cleaning up their own house.”
Join me in hearing from these two amazing authors and the critical message they have about women in Biblical history and for women of today.
Links
https://www.clearlywrittenbyboys.com
Amazon Paid Links
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Amazon Commissions Earned:
Clearly Written By Boys: A Women's Guide to the Bible
https://amzn.to/4wf8NAk
Interact
Show Notes
https://gracefulatheist.com/2026/07/20/steve-ghikadis-humanism-from-the-heart/
Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook group!
Support the podcast
Patreon https://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheist
Paypal: paypal.me/gracefulatheist
Deconversion
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/
Secular Grace
https://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/

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Steve Ghikadis is the author of Humanism From the Heart: Building Bridges Beyond Belief.
Steve Ghikadis is a Humanist Officiant, who conducts secular marriages, memorials, and many more meaningful life-affirming celebrations.
Raised as a freethinker, Steve has been married to a Christian for over a decade. He and his wife, Cindy, believe in the importance of bridging the gap between believers and non-believers. Their two young children are being raised in an interfaith household and are free to choose their own path.
He serves as an Ambassador for Humanist Canada, Recovering from Religion, and Sunday Assembly.
Links
Website: 
https://steveghikadis.com
Facebook profile:
https://www.facebook.com/share/14bX5omASis/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Amazon Paid Links
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Amazon #CommissionsEarned:
Humanism From the Heart: Building Bridges Beyond Belief
https://amzn.to/3RLmMQ2
Interact
Show Notes
https://gracefulatheist.com/2026/07/20/steve-ghikadis-humanism-from-the-heart/
Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook group!
Support the podcast
Patreon https://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheist
Paypal: paypal.me/gracefulatheist
Deconversion
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/
Secular Grace
https://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/

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Julia tells her story of deconstructing the Jehovah's Witnesses and the expected life of suburbia.
Julia was torn between two grandmothers: an evangelical and a Jehovah's Witness. She became a Jehovah's Witness and was all in. She got married and had kids and supported her husband who was an elder. That is when the boredom set it. She wanted more, she wanted to travel and be a need-greater. Before they were to leave to Ecuador, her husband tragically died of cancer refusing blood transfusions along the way.
Julia's life became messy as she started a long process of deconstruction. This included low-lights like having her children tell on her to the elders. And highlights going out on her own to travel and meet people's needs with out dogma.
Today Julia is free. She kayaks, bikes and travels internationally. She says "I wake up every day thinking, 'I love this world, and I love this life.'"
Interact
Show Notes
https://gracefulatheist.com/2026/06/29/julia-deconstructing-jws-and-suburbia/
Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook group!
Support the podcast
Patreon https://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheist
Paypal: paypal.me/gracefulatheist
Deconversion
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/
Secular Grace
https://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/

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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy