Editor-in-chief Tom Flynn Frequency Bi-monthly | Categories Secularism Year founded 1980 | |
Circulation 17306 (2013)
(U.S. and International) Publisher Council for Secular Humanism | ||
Free Inquiry is a bi-monthly journal of secular humanist opinion and commentary published by the Council for Secular Humanism, which is a program of the Center for Inquiry. Philosopher Paul Kurtz was the editor-in-chief until he stepped down in 2010, [1] and Tom Flynn (author) is the current editor. Feature articles cover a wide range of topics from a freethinking perspective. Common themes are separation of church and state, science and religion, dissemination of freethought, and applied philosophy. Regular contributors include well-known scholars in the fields of science and philosophy.
Contents
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 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 refused to carry this issue in their Borders and Waldenbooks 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 were widely discussed, including by CBS News, the Washington Post, and the New York Times. The "blogosphere" widely condemned the decision of Borders to ban the magazine and columnist Christopher Hitchens lamented the action in an article. News of the affair spread as widely as The Times of India.
Columnists
Regular columnists include: