Ronald A. Lindsay argues that secular people need not avoid December 25 or conform to religious expectations when the holiday arrives. He emphasizes that Christmas is historically arbitrary and culturally syncretic, encouraging secularists to freely adopt—or discard—traditions à la carte in whatever ways bring joy, without guilt or deference to Christian claims.

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https://secularhumanism.org/exclusive/christmas-a-la-carte/

About the Author: Ronald A. Lindsay is the former president and CEO of the Center for Inquiry, recent interim general counsel for CFI, and editor of Free Inquiry magazine.

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Free Inquiry Audio Edition is a production of The Council for Secular Humanism and the Center for Inquiry.

Ronald A. Lindsay critiques the Catholic Church's latest decision to bar women from the diaconate as another exercise in institutional paralysis, masking inaction with dense theological language to avoid alienating opposing factions. He argues that fear of undermining claims to absolute truth keeps meaningful reform perpetually out of reach, even at enormous moral and financial cost.

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https://secularhumanism.org/exclusive/the-hamster-wheel-of-catholic-reform/

About the Author: Ronald A. Lindsay is the former president and CEO of the Center for Inquiry, recent interim general counsel for CFI, and editor of Free Inquiry magazine.

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Free Inquiry Audio Edition is a production of The Council for Secular Humanism and the Center for Inquiry.

This essay is the author's abridged version of his book-length memoir, The Long Surrender: A Memoir about Losing My Religion (Wisdom Editions, 2022), available wherever books are sold.

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https://secularhumanism.org/2025/11/the-long-surrender-a-memoir-about-losing-my-religion/

About the Author: Brian Rush McDonald is a psychotherapist in private practice in Alexandria, Virginia. After leaving the ministry, he worked in various capacities for a couple years, from university professor to Starbucks barista before completing all the requirements to be a licensed psychotherapist. He has now been in private practice for nearly twenty years. He treats individuals who are experiencing depression, anxiety, or life adjustment issues. He also provides couples counseling. He and Kathy have been married for forty-seven years and have three adult children and three grandchildren. McDonald enjoys playing trombone in several community groups, and he and Kathy enjoy sailing on the Chesapeake Bay.

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Free Inquiry Audio Edition is a production of The Council for Secular Humanism and the Center for Inquiry

Dennis E. Curry examines the ethical contradictions surrounding the death penalty, showing how political ambition, procedural failures, and experimental execution methods expose deep moral flaws in state-sanctioned killing.

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https://secularhumanism.org/2025/11/the-blowtorch-and-the-butterfly-deconstructing-death-penalty-ethics/

About the Author: Dennis E. Curry, MD, is a writer, political commentator, and resident physician in psychiatry practicing in Canada. Subscribe to his newsletter at: https://denniscurry.substack.com/.

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Free Inquiry Audio Edition is a production of The Council for Secular Humanism and the Center for Inquiry

Editor's Note: Paul Schlueter III is serving a life sentence in Pennsylvania after being found guilty of murder in the first degree. He was charged with the death of Carol Ann Bonney in 1985. He pleaded no contest to the homicide but asserted a defense of diminished capacity, which was rejected by the court. We are publishing Mr. Schlueter's essay, because it provides a perspective on incarceration not often encountered: a perspective from the inside. In his essay, Mr. Schlueter makes various observations about the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections and their employees. These observations express Mr. Schlueter's opinions, and in publishing this essay, Free Inquiry does not endorse these opinions or present them as facts.

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https://secularhumanism.org/authors/paul-schlueter-iii/

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Free Inquiry Audio Edition is a production of The Council for Secular Humanism and the Center for Inquiry

Christo Roberts defends the moral and practical justification for punishing criminals, emphasizing that modern states cannot function without a criminal justice system.

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https://secularhumanism.org/2025/11/in-defense-of-retribution/

About the Author: Christo Roberts is a retired prosecutor. He lives in Cape Town, South Africa. Some of his writings can be found at Reason, Religion and Science—A Sceptical Look at Irrational Claims (https://thefreethoughdomain.wordpress.com/).

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Free Inquiry Audio Edition is a production of The Council for Secular Humanism and the Center for Inquiry

Ronald A. Lindsay surveys the broader inequities of the criminal justice system before turning to punishment, arguing that while retribution and its expressive function have a place, capital punishment is only justifiable in principle for the most extreme crimes.

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https://secularhumanism.org/2025/11/criminal-justice-in-general-capital-punishment-in-particular/

About the Author: Ronald A. Lindsay is the former president and CEO of the Center for Inquiry, recent interim general counsel for CFI, and editor of Free Inquiry magazine.

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Free Inquiry Audio Edition is a production of The Council for Secular Humanism and the Center for Inquiry

Ronald A. Lindsay traces the religious and war-tinged origins of Thanksgiving, arguing that traditional proclamations depict a needy, punitive deity whose favor depends on public gratitude. He contrasts this with a secular, human-centered approach to giving thanks and expresses appreciation to Free Inquiry's readers for supporting thoughtful, nonreligious discourse.

Read this article and find accompanying references at:

https://secularhumanism.org/exclusive/thanksgiving-thoughts/

About the Author: Ronald A. Lindsay is the former president and CEO of the Center for Inquiry, recent interim general counsel for CFI, and editor of Free Inquiry magazine.

Subscribe to Free Inquiry: https://secularhumanism.org/subscribe/

Free Inquiry Audio Edition is a production of The Council for Secular Humanism and the Center for Inquiry