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Aron Ra

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Aron Ra
Ra speaking at De Vrije Gedachte in Utrecht, Netherlands in 2015[1]
Born (1962-10-15) October 15, 1962 (age 62)
Kingman, Arizona
CitizenshipUSA
Alma mater
Occupation(s)Public speaker, video producer, vlogger, podcaster
Organization(s)American Atheists, Atheist Alliance of America, Democratic Party of Texas, The Satanic Temple
Known forAnti-theist activism, evolution education
SpouseLilandra Ra (2009–present)
Ra's voice
On worldviews
Websitearonra.com

Aron Ra (formerly L. Aron Nelson, born October 15, 1962) is an atheist activist. Ra is the host of the Ra-Men Podcast[2][3][4] and a member of the American Atheists board of directors.[5] He had previously served as president of the Atheist Alliance of America[6][7] and ran as a Democratic candidate for Texas' District 2 Senate seat.[8]

Early life

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Aron Ra was born in Kingman, Arizona, and baptized as a Mormon. Despite his religious upbringing, he states that he has been a skeptic from a young age.[9]

He studied paleontology at the University of Texas in Dallas.[10] He holds an Associate's degree from Dallas College and, in 2022, earned a Bachelor of Science in Anthropology from the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University.[11]

Career

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A vocal critic of theism and creationism and an advocate of the inclusion of evolution in science curricula,[10][12][13][14] Ra produces YouTube videos on the topics of skepticism, free thought, and atheism.

He has engaged in live debates with young Earth creationists, including Ray Comfort,[15] and presented at skepticism conferences in Europe.[1][9][16][17] As a member of the Unholy Trinity, he toured the United States and Australia with two fellow atheist activists—Seth Andrews of The Thinking Atheist, and Matt Dillahunty formerly of The Atheist Experience.[18][19][20]

He appeared in the documentary films My Week in Atheism, directed by John Christy,[21][22] and Batman & Jesus, directed by Jozef K. Richards. He published his first book, Foundational Falsehoods of Creationism, in 2016.[23][24]

Political candidacy and views

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In March 2017, Ra resigned from his position as president of the Atheist Alliance of America to run for the Texas State Senate against Republican incumbent Bob Hall.[7][25][26] The first Democratic candidate to run for the District 2 seat since 2002,[8] he dropped out of the race after failing to secure the Democratic Party endorsement.[27]

Books

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  • Foundational Falsehoods of Creationism (2016)[28]
  • We Are All Apes (2022)[29]

References

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  1. ^ a b de Vries, Hans (May 2015). "AronRa: "Religie is het kostuum dat je draagt"". De Vrijdenker (in Dutch). 46 (5): 17.
  2. ^ "The Ra-Men Podcast". Archived from the original on November 11, 2016. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  3. ^ Richter, Kathryn (April 19, 2012). "A Night of Reason: Society presents guest speaker". Daily Eastern News. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  4. ^ Anna Merlan (December 6, 2012). "THE RISE OF THE TEXAS ATHEIST". Texas Observer.
  5. ^ "Board of Directors". American Atheists. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
  6. ^ Brown, C.W. (March 14, 2017). "Aron Ra Resigns as President of Atheist Alliance of America, Focuses on State Senate Run"[permanent dead link]. Philosophical Atheism.
  7. ^ a b Ra, Aron (March 11, 2017). "I am Resigned to Run for State Senate". Patheos.
  8. ^ a b "Aron Ra Resigns as President of Atheist Alliance of America | News". Atheist Alliance of America. March 14, 2017. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  9. ^ a b van Elst, René (June 2015). "Aron Ra, een Amerikaanse atheïst in Utrecht". De Vrijdenker (in Dutch). 46 (6): 10–12.
  10. ^ a b "Evolution debate experiences resurgence in Texas". Chron. April 13, 2005.
  11. ^ Aron Ra (June 4, 2022). "After much investment, I have finally been awarded a Bachelor of Science in Anthropology from the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University's Institute of Human Origins". Twitter. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
  12. ^ "Who's Who Among the State Board of Education Hearing". Texas Monthly. September 18, 2015. Aron Ra is a prominent opponent of the teaching of creationism. The 27 videos in his YouTube series, "Foundational Falsehoods of Creationism," have combined for more than four million views on the site. He also serves as the Texas director of the American Atheists
  13. ^ "Live-Blogging the Texas Science Textbook Hearing (2013)". Texas Freedom Network. September 17, 2013. Now the board hears from science defender (and YouTube sensation) Aron Ra, who attempts a 2-minute science lesson. No questions from the class.
  14. ^ Eugenie Scott (September 18, 2013). "There They Go Again (Of Necessity)". National Center for Science Education.
  15. ^ "AronRa VS Ray Comfort RPRR 9-17-2012". YouTube. September 17, 2012. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  16. ^ "Panel: Every Cloud-based Video Service has a Silver Lining". Lanyrd. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  17. ^ "AronRa på puben – OBS! Nytt sted!". Heyevent. Skepsis Norge. May 8, 2015. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  18. ^ "The Unholy Trinity Tour – United CoR". United CoR. Archived from the original on November 7, 2018. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  19. ^ "The Unholy Trinity Tour visits WTAMU". The Prairie. West Texas A&M University. March 25, 2014.
  20. ^ "Unholy Trinity Tour Australia". Unholy Trinity Down Under website. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
  21. ^ Korb, Melanie (February 20, 2014), "Christian, Atheist Display Complicated Friendship in New Documentary", Charisma
  22. ^ Anugrah Kumar (February 18, 2014), "Christian Filmmaker, Atheist Activist Release Their New Film 'My Week in Atheism'", The Christian Post
  23. ^ Hemant Mehta (November 29, 2016). "Aron Ra's New Book Tackles the Foundational Falsehoods of Creationism". Patheos. Archived from the original on December 2, 2016. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  24. ^ Sanya Mansoor (April 18, 2017). "Texas education board nears compromise on evolution standards". Herald Democrat. Archived from the original on April 25, 2017. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  25. ^ RA (March 11, 2017). "I am Resigned to Run for State Senate". www.patheos.com. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  26. ^ "About". Aron Ra. Archived from the original on September 10, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  27. ^ RA (November 18, 2017). "Ending My State Senate Run". RA. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  28. ^ Ra, Aron (2016). Foundational falsehoods of creationism. Durham, North Carolina: Pitchstone Publishing. ISBN 978-1-63431-080-2. OCLC 957739244.
  29. ^ Ra, Aron (2021). We Are All Apes. Barcelona, Spain: Thule Ediciones. ISBN 978-84-18702-12-9. OCLC 1285273644.
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