Biography:Aron Ra

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Short description: American atheist activist, science communicator and podcaster
Aron Ra
Aron Ra (3).jpg
Ra speaking at De Vrije Gedachte in Utrecht, Netherlands in 2015[1]
Born (1962-10-15) October 15, 1962 (age 61)
Kingman, Arizona
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater
OccupationPublic speaker, video producer, vlogger, podcaster
OrganizationAmerican Atheists, Atheist Alliance of America, Democratic Party of Texas, The Satanic Temple
Known forAnti-theist activism, evolution education
Spouse(s)Lilandra Ra (2009–present)
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 and education

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

A vocal critic of theism and creationism and an advocate for 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.[16][1][9][17] As a member of the Unholy Trinity, he toured the United States and Australia with fellow atheist activists Seth Andrews of The Thinking Atheist and Matt Dillahunty 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.[23] He published his first book, Foundational Falsehoods of Creationism, in 2016.[24][25]

Political candidacy and views

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][26][27] 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.[28]

Books

  • Foundational Falsehoods of Creationism (2016)[29]
  • We Are All Apes (2022)[30]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 de Vries, Hans (May 2015). "AronRa: "Religie is het kostuum dat je draagt"" (in nl). De Vrijdenker 46 (5): 17. 
  2. ↑ "The Ra-Men Podcast". http://www.thera-men.com/. 
  3. ↑ Richter, Kathryn (April 19, 2012). "A Night of Reason: Society presents guest speaker". http://www.dailyeasternnews.com/2012/04/19/a-night-of-reason-society-presents-guest-speaker/. 
  4. ↑ Anna Merlan (December 6, 2012). "THE RISE OF THE TEXAS ATHEIST". Texas Observer. http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/the-rise-of-the-texas-atheist-6428288. 
  5. ↑ "Board of Directors" (in en-US). https://www.atheists.org/about/board/. 
  6. ↑ Brown, C.W. (March 14, 2017). "Aron Ra Resigns as President of Atheist Alliance of America, Focuses on State Senate Run"[yes|permanent dead link|dead link}}]. Philosophical Atheism.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Ra, Aron (March 11, 2017). "I am Resigned to Run for State Senate". Patheos.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Aron Ra Resigns as President of Atheist Alliance of America | News" (in en-US). Atheist Alliance of America. March 14, 2017. https://www.atheistallianceamerica.org/aron-ra-resigns-as-president-of-atheist-alliance-of-america-focuses-on-state-senate-run/. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 van Elst, René (June 2015). "Aron Ra, een Amerikaanse atheïst in Utrecht" (in nl). De Vrijdenker 46 (6): 10–12. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Evolution debate experiences resurgence in Texas". Chron. April 13, 2005. http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/archives/evolution-debate-experiences-resurgence-in-texas/article_bb897707-3056-5d98-8757-a11a467e6bae.html. 
  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. https://twitter.com/Aron_Ra/status/1532867230618112000. 
  12. ↑ "Who's Who Among the State Board of Education Hearing". Texas Monthly. September 18, 2015. http://www.texasmonthly.com/the-daily-post/whos-who-among-the-state-board-of-education-hearing/. "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. http://tfninsider.org/2013/09/17/live-blogging-the-texas-science-textbook-hearing-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. http://ncse.com/blog/2013/09/there-they-go-again-necessity-0015047. 
  15. ↑ "AronRa VS Ray Comfort RPRR 9-17-2012". YouTube. September 17, 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ9OyxAiehk. 
  16. ↑ "Panel: Every Cloud-based Video Service has a Silver Lining". Lanyrd. http://lanyrd.com/2015/qedcon/sdmfww/. 
  17. ↑ "AronRa på puben – OBS! Nytt sted!". Heyevent. Skepsis Norge. May 8, 2015. http://heyevent.com/event/baa7zzdtco5pka/aronra-pa-puben-obs-nytt-sted. 
  18. ↑ "The Unholy Trinity Tour – United CoR" (in en-US). United CoR. https://unitedcor.org/the-unholy-trinity-tour/. 
  19. ↑ "The Unholy Trinity Tour visits WTAMU". The Prairie (West Texas A&M University). March 25, 2014. 
  20. ↑ "Unholy Trinity Tour Australia". http://www.unholytrinitydownunder.com/. 
  21. ↑ Korb, Melanie (February 20, 2014), "Christian, Atheist Display Complicated Friendship in New Documentary", Charisma, http://www.charismanews.com/culture/42871-christian-atheist-display-complicated-friendship-in-new-documentary 
  22. ↑ Anugrah Kumar (February 18, 2014), "Christian Filmmaker, Atheist Activist Release Their New Film 'My Week in Atheism'", The Christian Post, http://www.christianpost.com/news/christian-filmmaker-atheist-activist-release-their-new-film-my-week-in-atheism---114739/ 
  23. ↑ Batman & Jesus (2017), https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5070262/, retrieved 2017-02-06 
  24. ↑ Hemant Mehta (November 29, 2016). "Aron Ra's New Book Tackles the Foundational Falsehoods of Creationism". Patheos. http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2016/11/29/aron-ras-new-book-tackles-foundational-falsehoods-creationism/. 
  25. ↑ Sanya Mansoor (April 18, 2017). "Texas education board nears compromise on evolution standards". Herald Democrat. http://www.heralddemocrat.com/news/20170418/texas-education-board-nears-compromise-on-evolution-standards. 
  26. ↑ RA (March 11, 2017). "I am Resigned to Run for State Senate". http://www.patheos.com/blogs/reasonadvocates/2017/03/11/resigned-run-state-senate/. 
  27. ↑ "About". Aron Ra. http://aronra.org/node/6. 
  28. ↑ RA (November 18, 2017). "Ending My State Senate Run" (in en-US). RA. http://www.patheos.com/blogs/reasonadvocates/2017/11/18/ending-state-senate-run/. 
  29. ↑ Ra, Aron (2016). Foundational falsehoods of creationism. Durham, North Carolina: Pitchstone Publishing. ISBN 978-1-63431-080-2. OCLC 957739244. https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/957739244. 
  30. ↑ Ra, Aron (2021). We Are All Apes. Barcelona, Spain: Thule Ediciones. ISBN 978-84-18702-12-9. OCLC 1285273644. https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1285273644. 

External links



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