Profile :: Who we are

Many people voluntarily help to promote atheism in Canada and throughout the world, which specifically includes advocacy for the rights and freedoms of all Canadians and atheists both domestically and internationally.  While atheism advocacy continues to be a mostly private affair for many atheists, some of these efforts also involve volunteering for key roles in more officially-public capacities, which are detailed hereunder.

Randolf Richardson
President
https://www.randolfrichardson.com/

Randolf Richardson is the founding President of the Canadian atheists; born and rasied in Canada, he has always been an atheist, and has a passion for the freedoms born of our history that defined key constitutionally-fortified principles of Canadian culture that emphatically protect fairness, justice, and equality for everyone.

Since the turn of the millennium, Randolf gradually became more active in preventing - or at least discrediting - the vilification of both atheism and skepticism, and promoting diversity and inclusiveness as a necessarily-better alternative to discriminatory attitudes, particularly those poised against atheists.  Randolf is also a major proponent of what he calls "the free exchange of ideas" because he believes that censorship, which removes opportunities for people to think independently, ultimately causes more problems than it solves.

Randolf's philosophy concerning atheism is that it is merely a classification of not believing in deities (gods and goddesses), and that atheism is not a position (which would require defense from a definitional standpoint if it were).  Unfortunately, atheism is misunderstood by some people in a variety of confusingly different ways, so in an effort to help combat this problem, and after much research, Randolf published a free web site at www.define-atheism.com that comprehensively documents the commonly-used and academically-supported definition of the words "atheism" and "atheist."

Despite the occasional use of a myriad of labels to sub-categorize the various reasons that people are atheists (e.g., consequence, conscious choice, no reason at all, etc.) and/or their agendas (most atheists don't have an "atheist agenda"), Randolf prefers not to use these terms because he feels that they add confusion and complexity to conversations.  He finds that additional words like "skeptic" and "anti-theist" (and others) are already more than sufficiently clear to further identify common individual characteristics on an as-needed basis.

Neil Bernstein
Community Advocate
https://www.lyfeblud.org/

Neil Bernstein, who is well-known for his atheism community activism, has produced hundreds of "deconversion story" videos where he interviews atheists about their own personal experiences when leaving religion, and how this effected their family, how their friends and co-workers reacted, and how things changed for them in their local communities.  The stories are diverse and interesting, and Neil's video series has become an important resource for others contemplating leaving religion despite pressures from family, friends, peers, etc., because it shows that atheism is a normal part of life for a lot of people.

Neil's own deconversion story is also included in his video series, which you can view along with the entire playlist of interviews by following this link.

For the organization of atheism events here in Canada, Neil is an instrumental part of making sure things run smoothly, and that the events get promoted to atheists in local, national, and international atheism communities.

In addition to being community-focused, Neil also cares about human rights and freedoms, quality education that's accessible to everyone, and a genuine concern for the well-being of everyone.  Neil also promotes blood donation efforts, and founded Lyfeblud Entertainment "In Honour of Frank Bernstein" (his father) as a Canadian Blood Services Partners for Life group that raises blood donor awareness through music concerts.

Darwin Bedford
Ambassador of Reason
https://www.ambassadorofreason.com/

Darwin Bedford, who is famous for his atheism and anti-theism activism, has been formally promoting reason, rationality, and critical thinking skills since the 1980s and for creatively educating the public on these intellectual planes.  He has participated in radio shows (including a live interview from a popular Christian radio station in the USA) and appeared on television (including CBC News) where he has discussed controversial topics including the end of tax exemptions for churches, taking religion out of schools, and his critiques of religous dogma.

Human rights and human health are both very important to Darwin, and he is known in the tobacco industry for his anti-smoking activism, especially after a few staff willingly put him in the spotlight on stage at events organized by cigarette manufacturers (their mistake was not vetting him first, but apparently they do this now) where he spoke against smoking and the tobacco industry as a whole, including consumer health problems and work conditions that exploit tobacco farmers.

Some of Darwin's most notable atheism and anti-theism activism efforts involve visibly participating in public events (most notably while holding large signage), creating and distributing t-shirts featuring catchy slogans (which can be purchased online at www.666shirts.com alongside options for buying his designs on coffee mugs, mouse pads, etc.), and visiting other countries to protest peacefully in public spaces in front of religious institutions.

One of Darwin's anti-theistic philosophies is that "if believers used reason they would no longer believe" and he cites the example of "How can a father ghost create a son in flesh for the purpose of being sacrificed, and still have him considered to be his only son?" as a logic problem that is easily realized by anyone using "reason" in their thinking.