Here’s the yearly countdown of the most popular posts on this site:

10) The Atheist Daughter of a Notable Christian Apologist Shares Her Story (July 15)

9) After High School Student Blows Whistle on Christian Abstinence Speaker, She’s Told She Can’t Speak at Graduation (May 16)

8) Gimme That Old-Time Religion: A Growing Number of Greeks Bow To Zeus, Apollo, and Hera (June 23)

7) Pastor Refuses to Marry Couple an Hour Before Ceremony Because Bride’s Dress is Too Sexy (September 10)

6) Christian Pastor: ‘I Believe That the Government Should Use the Death Penalty’ on Homosexuals (July 6)

5) Girl Slaves of Catholic Magdalene Asylums to Receive Compensation, but Not from the Church (June 27)

4) TIME Cover Story Wrongly Attacks Atheists for Not Helping Out Victims of Oklahoma Tornadoes (June 23)

3) One-Eyed Teen With Cancer Is Told Her Appearance Is ‘A Slap in the Face to God’ (November 21)

2) Remembering the UpStairs Lounge: The U.S.A.’s Largest LGBT Massacre Happened 40 Years Ago Today (June 24)

1) Arizona Republicans Propose Bill That Would Not Allow Atheists To Graduate High School (January 25)

Looking at an extended list of the top posts, I don’t think I could have predicted which posts would’ve gone viral. It’s a mix of mostly current-events-related posts mixed in with a couple of essays that could’ve been published at anytime. Only a few of the posts covered topics virtually no one else online was writing about — even though I’d like to post more things like that in the future.

One story that I thought would get more attention but didn’t even crack the top 500 posts on this site was my profile of Anne Nicol Gaylor. I’m okay with that. That was a story I wanted to tell for a while and I finally had a chance to do it. There are a few more stories like that I’d like to work on next year.

In any case, thanks to all of you for reading and giving us the motivation to continue bringing you these stories. And a special thank you to everyone who sent us tips! A lot of our best posts came from your suggestions and our readers often pointed us to local stories that weren’t being covered anywhere else.

Here’s to another great year!

(Image via Shutterstock)



