Robert Boston (born December 7, 1962) is Senior Adviser for

Americans United for Separation of Church and State Americans United for Separation of Church and State (Americans United or AU for short) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that advocates for the disassociation of religion and religious organizations from government. The separation of church ...

and Editor of ''Church & State'' magazine. He has worked at Americans United since 1987, and formerly served as Assistant Director of Communications and Assistant Editor of ''Church & State'' as well as Director of Communications. Boston is an advocate of

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 ...

and has authored four books on the subject. He frequently appears on television and radio. Prominent media appearances include CNN, ''

NBC Nightly News ''NBC Nightly News'' (titled as ''NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt'' for its weeknight broadcasts since June 22, 2015) is the flagship daily evening News broadcasting#Television, television news program for NBC News, the news division of the NB ...

'',

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's ''

The O'Reilly Factor ''The O'Reilly Factor'' (originally titled ''The O'Reilly Report'' and also known as ''The Factor'') is an American cable television news and talk show. ''The O'Reilly Factor'' first aired in the United States on Fox News Channel on October 7 ...

'' and

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's ''

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''. In addition to his monthly contributions to ''Church & State'' magazine, Boston has written articles for ''

Free Inquiry ''Free Inquiry'' is a bimonthly journal of secular humanist opinion and commentary published by the Council for Secular Humanism, a program of the Center for Inquiry. Philosopher Paul Kurtz was the editor-in-chief from its inception in 1980 until ...

'', ''The Humanist'', ''Public Eye'', ''

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

'', ''Jewish Monthly'' and other publications. He is frequently quoted in the print media on church-state topics, and often delivers public lectures before various audiences. Boston serves on the Advisory Board of

Secular Coalition for America The Secular Coalition for America is an advocacy group located in Washington D.C. It describes itself as "representing the interests of atheists, humanists, freethinkers, agnostics, and other nontheistic Americans." The Secular Coalition has chap ...

and offers advice to the coalition on the acceptance and inclusion of

nontheism Nontheism or non-theism is a range of both religious and nonreligious attitudes characterized by the absence of espoused belief in the existence of god or gods. Nontheism has generally been used to describe apathy or silence towards the subject o ...

in American life. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the American Humanist Association.

Biography

Boston was born into a large family in

Altoona, Pennsylvania Altoona is a city in Blair County, Pennsylvania. It is the principal city of the Altoona Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The population was 43,963 at the time of the 2020 Census, making it the eighteenth most populous city in Pennsylvania. T ...

, and graduated from

Altoona Area High School Altoona Area High School (AAHS) is the public high school for the Altoona Area School District in Altoona, Pennsylvania. The high school serves the communities of Altoona, Logan Township, and a small portion of Tyrone Township. The school dis ...

in 1980. He received his journalism degree from

Indiana University of Pennsylvania Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) is a public research university in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. As of fall 2021, the university enrolled 7,044 undergraduates and 1,865 postgraduates, for a total enrollment of 9,009 students. The uni ...

, graduating in 1985. He and his wife live in Maryland. They have two children.

Bibliography

*''Why the Religious Right Is Wrong About Separation of Church & State'' ( Prometheus Books, 1993), revised second edition ( Prometheus Books, 2003) *''The Most Dangerous Man in America? Pat Robertson and the Rise of the Christian Coalition'' ( Prometheus Books, 1996) *''Close Encounters with the Religious Right: Journeys Into the Twilight Zone of Religion and Politics'' ( Prometheus Books, 2000) *''Taking Liberties: Why Religious Freedom Doesn't Give You The Right To Tell Other People What To Do'' ( Prometheus Books, 2014)

References

External links

Articles by Rob Boston
TheFreeLibrary.com
Wall of Separation: Rob Boston entries
'' Americans United blog'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Boston, Rob 1962 births Living people People from Altoona, Pennsylvania Activists from Pennsylvania