20 years into the ministry…

Teresa MacBain spent more than two decades as a Baptist and Methodist minister under the tutelage of her father. She worked as a worship minister, an associate pastor and a senior pastor of her own church.

March of this year she finally stepped out of the religious closet and entered the world of reason. She outed herself in the national spotlight at the American Atheist convention and let the world know that you didn’t need to believe in a god to be a good person.

Fortunately for Teresa her family has stood by her side. That is not always the case and many people who come forward and allow their true religious beliefs (or rather the lack thereof) to be known as many lose family, friends, and the support of their community.

She has become the Executive Director for the Clergy Project which was started by Richard Dawkins to give former clergymembers a community of support in their process of coming out.

She has done many interviews with CNN and NPR about coming out as an atheist.

I for one am very excited to have her speaking at the Rock Beyond Belief as I came from a religious background and can empathize with her story. I’ll keep you posted on any further updates.

-Paul Loebe