Debbie Hayton Debbie Hayton

How some atheists fell for the new religion of gender identity

Richard Dawkins [Credit: Jana Lenzova]

The Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) is probably not on the radar of most people in the UK. It’s a US-based non-profit organisation that campaigns for the separation of church and state. Some years ago, the Telegraph reported on its campaign to remove Christianity from Christmas celebrations in American state schools.

But it seems that this association of ‘atheists, agnostics and skeptics of any pedigree’ has fallen hook line and sinker for gender identity ideology. Yesterday, it was reported that Richard Dawkins had quit the FFRF Board over its ‘imposition’ of a new religion

His departure followed two other scientists – Jerry Coyne and Steven Pinker – after the FFRF retracted a paper Coyne had written to counter an earlier piece that concluded, ‘a woman is whoever she says she is’. Those were the words of Kat Grant (pronouns: they/them) who has argued that ‘a gender diverse model allows womanhood to be defined on internal, personal terms, not outwardly visible characteristics’.

Personally I think that is nonsense, but it is an opinion that Grant is entitled to hold.

Written by
Debbie Hayton

Debbie Hayton is a teacher and journalist. Her book, Transsexual Apostate – My Journey Back to Reality is published by Forum

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