Tom Flynn (author)

For other people named Thomas Flynn, see Thomas Flynn (disambiguation).

Tom Flynn
Speaking at the 2011 Humanist Film Festival
Born
Thomas W. Flynn

(1955-08-18)August 18, 1955
Erie, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedAugust 23, 2021(2021-08-23) (aged 66)
Alma materXavier University
Occupation(s)Director of the Robert Green Ingersoll Birthplace Museum
Executive Director of the Council for Secular Humanism
Editor of Free Inquiry magazine.
Notable workThe Trouble With Christmas
The New Encyclopedia of Unbelief
Tom Flynn's voice
recorded October 2016 at CSICon
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WebsiteCFI profile

Thomas W. Flynn (August 18, 1955 – August 23, 2021)[1] was an American author, journalist, novelist, executive director of the Council for Secular Humanism, and editor of its journal Free Inquiry.[2][3] He was also director of the Robert Green Ingersoll Birthplace Museum and the Freethought Trail.[4]

Much of Flynn's work addressed church-state issues, including his 1993 book The Trouble with Christmas, in connection with which he made hundreds of radio and TV appearances in his role as the curmudgeonly "anti-Claus", calling attention to what he viewed as unfair treatment of the nonreligious during the year-end holiday season.[5] He edited The New Encyclopedia of Unbelief, a comprehensive reference work on the history, beliefs, and thinking of men and women who live without religion. He contributed a new Introduction to A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom by Andrew Dickson White[6] and blogged on The Washington Post's On Faith site during 2010 and 2011.[7] He blogged regularly on the Center for Inquiry's blog Free Thinking. He was also the author of several anti-religious, black comedy, science fiction novels.

  1. ^ Flynn, Tom (1993). The Trouble with Christmas. Prometheus Books. pp. 26. ISBN 9780879758486.
  2. ^ FI Editorial Staff Archived March 5, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, Secularhumanism.org
  3. ^ FI. "FI Editorial Staff". Free Inquiry. 28 (1): 4.
  4. ^ Flynn, Tom. "The Freethought Trail". Council for Secular Humanism. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
  5. ^ "Tom Flynn". CFI Speakers. Center For Inquiry. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
  6. ^ White, Andrew Dickson. "A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom: From Creation to the Victory of Scientific and Literary Methods - Volume 1". LA Transaction. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
  7. ^ Flynn, Tom. "On Faith". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 17, 2010. Retrieved March 31, 2012.