Dan Barker Height, Weight, Age, Wife, Family

Dan Barker is an American atheist activist, author, and musician who is best known as the co-founder of The Clergy Project, a nonprofit organization that provides peer support to current and former religious leaders who no longer believe in a god or other supernatural elements. He and his wife, Annie Laurie Gaylor, have served as the co-presidents of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, an American nonprofit organization (co-founded by Annie in 1976) that advocates for atheists, agnostics, and nontheists; and challenges the legitimacy of many federal and state programs that are faith-based. Dan has also authored numerous books including Maybe Yes, Maybe No: A Guide for Young Skeptics (1990), Maybe Right, Maybe Wrong: A Guide for Young Thinkers (1992), Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher to Atheist (1992), Godless: How an Evangelical Preacher Became One of America’s Leading Atheist (2008), Life Driven Purpose: How an Atheist Finds Meaning (2015), and Free Will Explained: How Science and Philosophy Converge To Create a Beautiful Illusion (2018).

Born Name

Daniel Edwin Barker

Nick Name

Dan, Danny

Sun Sign

Cancer

Born Place

Santa Monica, Los Angeles County, California, United States

Residence

Madison, Dane County, Wisconsin, United States

Nationality

Education

Dan earned a degree in religion from the Azusa Pacific University (APU), a private, evangelical Christian university in Azusa, a city in Los Angeles County, California.

Occupation

Atheist Activist, Author, Musician

Family

• Father – Norman Barker (Police Officer, Musician) (d. May 2016)
• Mother – Patricia ‘Patsy’ Barker (née Swenson) (School Teacher) (d. March 2004)
• Siblings – Tommy Barker (Brother), Darrell Barker (Brother)
• Others – Paul Joseph Gaylor (Father-in-Law) (d. 2011), Anne Nicol Gaylor (Mother-in-Law) (Reproductive Rights Advocate, Author, Co-Founder of the Freedom From Religion Foundation) (d. June 14, 2015), Andy Gaylor (Brother-in-Law), Ian Gaylor (Brother-in-Law), Jamie Gaylor (Brother-in-Law)

Build

Slim

Height

5 ft 7 in or 170 cm

Weight

70 kg or 154.5 lbs

Girlfriend / Spouse

Dan has dated –

1. Carol Wilda Finefrock – Through his past marriage to a woman named Carol Wilda Finefrock, Dan has 4 children – Rebecca Dawn Barker (b. 1973), Kristina Joy Barker (b. 1975), Andrea Danielle Barker (b. 1977), and Daniel Timothy Barker (b. 1979).
2. Annie Laurie Gaylor (1984-Present) – Dan first met American atheist, secularist, author, and women’s rights activist Annie Laurie Gaylor when both were guests on AM Chicago, a show hosted by Oprah Winfrey, in 1984. They began dating about 6 months later and eventually got married in May 1987. They have a daughter together named Sabrina Delata Gaylor (b. 1989).

Race / Ethnicity

White

He is of American descent.

Hair Color

Gray

Eye Color

Green

Sexual Orientation

Straight

Distinctive Features

• Slender frame
• Side-parted, receding hair
• Cheerful smile
• Clean-shaven look

Religion

Atheism

Dan Barker Facts

1. Dan was ordained (the process by which individuals are elevated to the clergy, who are thus then authorized to perform various religious rites and ceremonies) to the ministry by the Standard Community Church, California, in 1975 – a few years after attaining a degree in religion from the Azusa Pacific University.
2. He then served as an associate pastor at several churches. He later also produced and published popular children’s Christian musicals – Mary Had a Little Lamb (1977) and His Fleece Was White as Snow (1978). In 1984, Dan announced that he had left Christianity and become an atheist.
3. He is a member of several high-IQ societies, including the Prometheus Society – a highly restrictive club whose entry criterion, achievable by several tests, is designed to be passable by 1 in 30,000 of the population.
4. Dan and his wife have served as the co-hosts of Freethought Radio, a weekly one-hour radio program (that began in 2006) for atheists, agnostics, and other freethinkers.
5. He has also published some music albums titled Friendly Neighborhood Atheist (2002), Beware of Dogma (2004), and Adrift On A Star (2013).
6. Dan is a member of the speakers bureau of the Secular Student Alliance, an American nonprofit organization whose purpose is to educate high school and college students about the value of scientific reason and the intellectual basis of secularism in its atheistic and humanistic manifestations.

Featured Image by The Christian Post / Instagram