Jessica has always been a sensitive person. She cried in class when learning about slavery in the antebellum South. She cried in class when she learned about how the Third Reich massacred Jews. One might think that with what she’s experienced in the past two years, a river of tears would now stretch from Cranston to Providence. But that’s not the case; she says she feels more confident than ever.

Jessica Ahlquist Courage in Cranston

There are surely fewer greater cultural contrasts in the English-speaking world than that between Melbourne, Australia and rural Kansas. Jason Ball ventured from his relaxed hometown to the American heartland at age 17. What he experienced there would change the direction of his life. Kansas was full of surprises. The Midwestern hospitality was very real and incredibly endearing. The religious lessons were also noteworthy he was taught that the Earth is 6,000 years old, that evolution is a myth, and that gay marriage should be opposed with strident...

Jason Ball - You're Not in Australia Anymore

Irish Catholics tend to be both gregarious and feisty, like Ed Beck. Ed’s journey to atheism and secular activism was a gradual one. An Iraq war veteran, he was never particularly religious -- Ed identifies himself as a former cultural Catholic. His life experience changed him from viewing religion first as harmless, then as an intellectual and cultural barrier to progress, and finally as downright dangerous and destructive.

Ed Beck - Greeks, God, and the Marine Corps

Lucy Gubbins - Becoming a Happy Atheist

If a prize were awarded to the happiest atheist on the planet, Lucy Gubbins would be a frontrunner. Raised in Tennessee, Lucy had a childhood fascination with Japanese culture and all things religious. She drifted from Christianity to Wicca before advice from her brother began to lead her down a more secular life route. In college, she co-founded the Alliance of Happy Atheists (AHA!) at the University of Oregon.

Shy youth from Arkansas don’t generally jumpstart their professional careers by attacking religion in the Bible Belt. But that’s just what JT Eberhard did, and he’s damn happy he did so. After a proselytizing high school teacher convinced him to commit himself to evangelical Christianity, in his mid-teens, JT finally read the Bible. He was an atheist by the time he was finished

JT Eberhardm -- Evangelical Activism

Fitting in as an atheist in Iowa can be a challenge. During her upbringing in a mostly white, Christian state, Stef McGraw knew many young people who discussed how God was influencing their lives. Most of her peers were involved in youth group. Raised in the Unitarian Universalist Church, which, more than anything, emphasizes respect for people and the environment, she had the freedom to educate herself and decide which religious -- or nonreligious -- perspective would work best for her.

Stef McGraw - An Atheist in Iowa

Lucy Gubbins - Becoming a Happy Atheist

If a prize were awarded to the happiest atheist on the planet, Lucy Gubbins would be a frontrunner. Raised in Tennessee, Lucy had a childhood fascination with Japanese culture and all things religious. She drifted from Christianity to Wicca before advice from her brother began to lead her down a more secular life route. In college, she co-founded the Alliance of Happy Atheists (AHA!) at the University of Oregon. The group became one of the most widely-known organizations on campus within its first few years.When she was a child, she believed that the bliss that she felt while walking...

Fitting in as an atheist in Iowa can be a challenge. During her upbringing in a mostly white, Christian state, Stef McGraw knew many young people who discussed how God was influencing their lives. Most of her peers were involved in youth group. Raised in the Unitarian Universalist Church, which, more than anything, emphasizes respect for people and the environment, she had the freedom to educate herself and decide which religious -- or nonreligious -- perspective would work best for her.

The group that she joined as a freshman in college, the University of Northern Iowa Freethinkers and Inquirers, provided a...

Stef McGraw - An Atheist in Iowa

Shy youth from Arkansas don’t generally jumpstart their professional careers by attacking religion in the Bible Belt. But that’s just what JT Eberhard did, and he’s damn happy he did so. After a proselytizing high school teacher convinced him to commit himself to evangelical Christianity, in his mid-teens, JT finally read the Bible. He was an atheist by the time he was finished. Shortly thereafter, he read Sam Harris’s The End of Faith, which convinced him of the dangers of religion and that activism against its influence was necessary to create the kind of world in which he wants to live.

JT Eberhardm -- Evangelical Activism