''Free Inquiry'' is a bimonthly

journal A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...

secular humanist Secular humanism is a philosophy, belief system or life stance that embraces human reason, secular ethics, and philosophical naturalism while specifically rejecting religious dogma, supernaturalism, and superstition as the basis of morality ...

opinion and commentary published by the Council for Secular Humanism, a program of the

Center for Inquiry The Center for Inquiry (CFI) is a US nonprofit organization that works to mitigate belief in pseudoscience and the paranormal, as well as to fight the influence of religion in government. History The Center for Inquiry was established in 19 ...

. Philosopher

Paul Kurtz Paul Kurtz (December 21, 1925 – October 20, 2012) was an American scientific skeptic and secular humanist. He has been called "the father of secular humanism". He was Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the State University of New York at B ...

was the

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

from its inception in 1980 until stepping down in 2010. Kurtz was succeeded by

Tom Flynn Thomas, Tom or Tommy Flynn may refer to: Sportspeople * Thomas Flynn (English footballer) (born 1990), English football goalkeeper * Tom Flynn (Gaelic footballer) (born 1992), inter-county Gaelic footballer for Galway * Tom Flynn (American footbal ...

who worked as Editor in Chief until 2021. Paul Fidalgo was named editor in 2022, beginning with the October/November issue. Feature articles cover a wide range of topics from a

freethinking Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and that beliefs should instead be reached by other method ...

perspective. Common themes are

separation of church and state The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular s ...

, science and religion, dissemination of freethought, and applied philosophy. Regular contributors include well-known scholars in the fields of science and philosophy.

Controversy

In Free Inquiry's April–May 2006 issue, the magazine published four of the cartoons that had originally appeared in the Danish newspaper ''

Jyllands-Posten ''Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten'' (; English: ''The Morning Newspaper "The Jutland Post"''), commonly shortened to ''Jyllands-Posten'' or ''JP'', is a Danish daily broadsheet newspaper. It is based in Aarhus C, Jutland, and with a weekday circula ...

'' and that had sparked violent worldwide Muslim protests. Kurtz, editor-in-chief of Free Inquiry said, "What is at stake is the precious right of freedom of expression". The

Borders Group Borders Group, Inc. (former NYSE ticker symbol BGP) was an American multinational book and music retailer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. In its final year, the company employed about 19,500 people throughout the U.S., primarily ...

refused to carry this issue in their Borders and

Waldenbooks Waldenbooks, operated by the Walden Book Company, Inc., was an American shopping mall-based bookstore chain, from 1995 as a subsidiary of Borders Group. The chain also ran a video game and software chain under the name Waldensoftware, as well as a ...

stores because of the cartoons. The reason given by Borders for their decision was not sensitivity to religion but fear of violence. The story made national and international news and the implications of this

self-censorship Self-censorship is the act of censoring or classifying one's own discourse. This is done out of fear of, or deference to, the sensibilities or preferences (actual or perceived) of others and without overt pressure from any specific party or insti ...

were widely discussed, including by

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the '' CBS Evening News'', '' CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 4 ...

, ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'', and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. The "blogosphere" widely condemned the decision of Borders to ban the magazine and columnist

Christopher Hitchens Christopher Eric Hitchens (13 April 1949 – 15 December 2011) was a British-American author and journalist who wrote or edited over 30 books (including five essay collections) on culture, politics, and literature. Born and educated in England, ...

lamented the action in an article.

Columnists

Regular columnists include: * Ophelia Benson – Author and blogger *

Russell Blackford Russell Blackford (born 1954) is an Australian writer, philosopher, and literary critic. Early life and education Blackford was born in Sydney, and grew up in the city of Lake Macquarie, near Newcastle, New South Wales. After graduating with ...

– Author and philosopher *

Greta Christina Greta Christina (born 1961) is an American atheist, blogger, speaker, and author. Early life Christina was born in Chicago in 1961. She graduated from Reed College in 1983. She legally changed her name in her twenties, dropping her family name ...

– Author and blogger * Shadia Drury – Professor of Philosophy and Political Science *

Tibor Machan Tibor Richard Machan (; 18 March 1939 – 24 March 2016) was a Hungarian-American philosopher. A professor emeritus in the department of philosophy at Auburn University, Machan held the R. C. Hoiles Chair of Business Ethics and Free Enterpris ...

– Professor of Philosophy *

Mark Rubinstein Mark Edward Rubinstein (June 8, 1944 – May 9, 2019) was a leading financial economist and financial engineer. He was ''Paul Stephens Professor of Applied Investment Analysis'' at the Haas School of Business of the University of California, Be ...

– Economist * Faisal Saeed Al Mutar – Commentator and social critic

Editorial Board

* Editor in Chief:

(until May 2010) * Editor: Paul Fidalgo * Managing Editor: Nicole Scott * Assistant Editor: Julia Lavarnway * Senior Editors: Bill Cooke,

Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biologist and author. He is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford and was Professor for Public Understanding of Science in the University of Oxford from 1995 to 2008. An ...

, Ed Doerr (deceased), James Haught, Jim Herrick,

Ronald A. Lindsay Ronald A. Lindsay was president and CEO of the Center for Inquiry and of its affiliates, the Council for Secular Humanism and the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. He held this position June 2008 – 2016. Philosophical work Lindsay has a PhD in ...

Taslima Nasrin Taslima Nasrin (born 25 August 1962) is a Bangladeshi-Swedish writer, physician, feminist, secular humanist, and activist. She is known for her writing on women's oppression and criticism of religion. Some of her books are banned in Bangladesh ...

KurtzGardner 1979 (cropped).jpg, Paul Kurtz - 1980 to 2010 CSICON 2011-Tom Flynn.jpg, Tom Flynn - 2011 to 2021 Paul Fidalgo CSICon 2019 Portrait.jpg, Paul Fidalgo - 2022 to present

References

External links

*
Dogma Free America podcast interview with Tom Flynn, editor of Free Inquiry
{{Skeptical magazines Bimonthly magazines published in the United States Political magazines published in the United States Freethought in the United States Magazines established in 1980 Secular humanism Scientific skepticism mass media Magazines published in New York (state) Atheism publications