About Me

I am commonly known and referred to as “The Barking Atheist” in the secular community. My name is Daniel Moran though.

I am a student of Political Science at the University of North Texas, specialising in American government and politics.

I am the Texas Volunteer Network Coordinator for the Secular Student Alliance.

I am the Founder and President of the Secular Student Alliance at the University of North Texas.

I am the Social Media Director for the North Texas Secular Convention, a secular conference held every year in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

I am a contributor to the A-News Reports news site and the Godless Voice blog.

If you are with the Secular Student Alliance in the state of Texas, you can request for me to come speak at one of your meetings or events through the Secular Student Alliance’s Texas Regional Speakers Bureau. However, if you are holding a secular conference, I am available to speak anywhere in the world (with enough time to plan). For example, I will be speaking at the next Global Atheist Convention in Brisbane, Australia in 2015.

Who am I?

I am Daniel. I was born in Denver, Colorado. Before I was even self-aware, my family moved to Dallas, where I have lived ever since. I am the middle child of three with an older brother and younger sister (both of whom are nonreligious but do not identify as atheists). My brother currently attends UNT along with me, and I am sure my sister will join us when she graduates high school.

How did I become an atheist?

My deconversion is a really long and sad story, so I will not go into it. It’s simply for another time.

What is my religious background?

I was raised a Jehovah’s Witness by my father, who was himself raised Lutheran. This led to a very moderately religious upbringing. I did believe in everything the Jehovah’s Witnesses taught, but I was never one to go proselytising. I do thank my upbringing and my father though, because without him and his teachings I would not know the things that I know about the Bible.

My mother went to Catholic school as a child, but does not identify with any religion or claim to have any lacking of religion, although she does believe in a god, I think. Then again, she also believes in psychics and tarot card readings.

Why am I called “The Barking Atheist”?

I created the YouTube channel TheBarkingAtheist in September of 2010. This was a few months after Lola, my dog, died. This is the same dog one will see in most of my profile pictures. I named my channel this in memory of the dog who was my best friend when I had no one else. She also barked incessantly. I thought it was funny at the time.

The views expressed in this blog are mine and mine alone. They do not reflect upon the Secular Student Alliance, its affiliates, the North Texas Secular Convention, A-News Reports, Godless Voice, or anyone else.