In this deeply revealing and engaging autobiography, Herb Silverman tells his iconoclastic life story. He takes the reader from his childhood as an Orthodox Jew in Philadelphia, where he stopped fasting on Yom Kippur to test God's existence, to his adult life in the heart of the Bible Belt, where he became a legendary figure within America's secular activist community and remains one of its most beloved leaders. Never one to shy from controversy, Silverman relates many of his high-profile battles with the Religious Right, including his decision to run for governor of South Carolina to challenge the state's constitutional provision that prohibited atheists from holding public office. Candidate Without a Prayer offers an intimate portrait of a central player in today's increasingly heated culture wars. It will be sure to charm both believers and nonbelievers alike, and will lead all those who care about the separation of church and state to give thanks.
Candidate Without a Prayer
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"Herb Silverman's autobiography is not an anti-theological treatise. It is, however, a warm, deeply personal, and inspiring tale of one atheist's travels through life in one of America's most religion-drenched regions. Silverman 'plays well' with believers and nonbelievers who share this core belief: no government official dare treat a person as a second-class citizen because of what she or he believes about God, gods, or the nonexistence of them." --Reverend Barry Lynn, Executive Director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State
"An entertaining and informative look at America's culture war from a writer who has been embedded in the front lines." --Steven Pinker, Harvard College Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of The Better Angels of our Nature
"Herb Silverman's lively history of an atheist raised as an Orthodox Jew fills a real gap in the literature of the 'New Atheism,' in that it describes the emergence of a creed based on human goodness without godliness in highly personal rather than abstract philosophical terms. In an account that will resonate with people raised in all faith traditions who have made the same journey, Silverman captures the essence of what it means to realize that you think differently from those around you--including the people who brought you into this world." --Susan Jacoby, author of Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism
"It isn't often that inveterate honesty and inviolable reasonableness are combined with such a sweet disposition and a wonderful sense of humor. Those who don't yet know Herb will find in this wonderfully entertaining tale of how he became a fighting atheist a man of true wit, true warmth, and true wisdom." --Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, author of 36 Arguments for the Existence of God: A Work of Fiction
"Herb Silverman has long been one of the most important secularist activists in the United States. With this book, you'll find he is a wonderful storyteller as well. Herb's warm and thoughtful self-portrait shows what it can mean to be both Jewish and a Humanist. And his story of running for governor of South Carolina as an open atheist is laugh-out-loud funny and worth reading for anyone who ever loved and/or hated the bizarre but hopeful theater that is American political life." --Greg Epstein, Harvard Humanist Chaplain and author of Good Without God
"Dr. Silverman is certainly unique for Charleston, maybe even unique for anywhere. When he came down here as a fine math professor but a cultural fish out of water, he simply created a flood of reason in which his newly discovered fellow infidels could swim. Herb presents a rational and persuasive alternative to those of faith, both with his words and his behavior." --Judge Alex Sanders, Former President of the College of Charleston and Founder and President of the Charleston School of Law
"Iconoclastic atheist, humorist, and mathematician Herb Silverman takes you on an entertaining tour of his irreverent life, so far." --Wendy Kaminer, lawyer, social critic, and author of seven books
About the Author
Herb Silverman is founder and president of the Secular Coalition for America, and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of mathematics at the College of Charleston. He ran for governor of South Carolina in the 1990s to challenge a state law that required religious belief to hold public office. After an eight-year battle, he won a unanimous decision in the South Carolina Supreme Court, which struck down this religious test requirement.
Richard Dawkins is a scientist and author of numerous best sellers, including The Magic of Reality, The Greatest Show on Earth, and The God Delusion.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
By Louis Altman
Format:Hardcover
First things first: don't spoil your enjoyment of this book by starting with the Foreword, which gives away some of the author's best punch lines. This is a book which grew out of Herb Silverman's clear, rational and humorous perception of the human condition, so the bon mots (which are plentiful) are best enjoyed in the context of the author's journey. I will try to convey to you the joy of reading it without stealing his material in the process.
And another thing you need to know: full disclosure; I am a personal friend of Herb's and therefore am biased in his favor. But I'll try to be objective.
As depicted in this book, Herb's journey is divided into three distinct phases. Phase 1 is a boyhood trapped in an insular Jewish community in Philadelphia (and you know what W.C. Fields said about Philadelphia). His family was isolated from mainstream American life not so much by religiosity as by ethnic clanishness, a deep suspicion of "goyim" and a refusal to recognize our common humanity. Herb was a quiet kid, not one (yet) to stir any revolutions, lest he risk the ire of his dominant mother, who tolerated no dissent. So he kept his own counsel throughout phase 1.
As far as I can tell, the only significant initiative Herb displayed during the mother-dominated phase of his life was during his career as a teenage "hustler" selling refreshments to patrons at sporting events. There he fomented a minor labor rebellion, and also seized on an almost legal way to make extra money by upgrading spectators to better seats. No, I won't tell you how he did it; you'll have to read the book.
But despite his silence, in young Herb's breast beat the heart of a rebel (and still does). He was apparently born with a built-in B.S. detector. He knew when something did not make sense, and he refused to buy the conventional wisdom he saw around him when he was growing up. He developed an uncompromising ability to see things as they really are. Then at some point in his life, away from home ("Free at last, free at last") he released his powers of expression, and began to say exactly what he believed: that there is no god and that it's OK to say so.
The liberation from his nuclear family was the beginning of phase 2: college, graduate school, teaching, writing a couple of textbooks on mathematics (complex variables), and a professorship at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. That is where Herb had his rendezvous with the humanist hall of fame, challenging the state constitutional prohibition against office-holding by atheists. He famously ran for governor, then, thwarted by an uncooperative judge, for the exalted office of notary public, finally winning a legal decision that the state of South Carolina could not flout the U.S. Constitution by requiring a religious test for any office.
Herb tells the story of his Quixotic quest with his characteristic sense of humor. If a book can have a twinkle in its eye, this one does. Every punch line is unexpected, a little sly, and right on target as it punctures conventional wisdom with gentle humor, clarity and irrefutable logic. He has the gift of making every issue he tackles seem clear-cut and simple, without insulting anyone. I'd vote for him for governor of any state.
But something was missing from Herb's life during his college, graduate school and professor days (phase 2): love. He did some dating and even had some extended relationships, but experienced no emotional involvement until Sharon came along. She was Herb's reward for putting his Jewish Yankee atheist non-red-neck on the line politically in the Southern bible belt. They met when he was campaigning for governor, and she became a plaintiff in his lawsuit against the state of South Carolina. But their "relationship quickly grew beyond friendship" and the two of them "were beginning to think of staying together forever." Now you're talking my language, Herb. In the book he says: "I had never thought about anyone that way before."
Herb, there is life beyond complex variables. Of maybe love IS a complex variable, and it just took a while for the solution to appear.
See the wedding picture on p. 105, of Sharon, with Herb dressed in his formal T-shirt and shorts. This is his invariable attire even in the coldest weather. Herb does own a jacket, but the only time I ever saw him wear one was at the White House.
Sharon is not only charming, but she has more common sense than Herb does. On pp. 119-20 read about how Herb was tempted to become the candidate of the Natural Law Party whose platform purported to be science-based; but he was dissuaded when Sharon pointed out the party's decidedly unscientific roots in mysticism, and told him she "would not vote or campaign for any NLP candidate, including" him!
Phase 3, and the reason why Herb is now a public figure whose autobiography commands our attention, tells how his atheism and activism took on an organizational form. He helped form the Secular Humanists of the Low Country (the Low Country is the South Carolina seaboard). Imagine how important it is for the secular minority in that area to know that they are not alone, and to have a social group within which they can speak freely. Thank you, Herb. See Herb in his SHLC t-shirt on p. 112.
He became a director of the American Humanist Association. Then he joined with the leaders of that and several other humanist and atheist organizations to form the Coalition for the Community of Reason, which later evolved into the Secular Coalition for America. (Full disclosure: I am president of the Society for Humanistic Judaism, a member organization of the Secular Coalition, and a director of a couple of other member organizations.)
Herb became, and still is, the president of the Secular Coalition, which to my knowledge is the only lobbying organization for the atheist/humanist viewpoint on the national stage. But Herb's special brand of humor comes through even when he is running Secular Coalition meetings or writing about his role in the Secular Coalition in this book.
I liked this book a lot, but the next time I see Herb I am going to play a trick on him. I'm going to ask him if he will autograph his book for me, and when he says "yes" I will hand him a copy of his earlier book "Complex Variables."
And another thing you need to know: full disclosure; I am a personal friend of Herb's and therefore am biased in his favor. But I'll try to be objective.
As depicted in this book, Herb's journey is divided into three distinct phases. Phase 1 is a boyhood trapped in an insular Jewish community in Philadelphia (and you know what W.C. Fields said about Philadelphia). His family was isolated from mainstream American life not so much by religiosity as by ethnic clanishness, a deep suspicion of "goyim" and a refusal to recognize our common humanity. Herb was a quiet kid, not one (yet) to stir any revolutions, lest he risk the ire of his dominant mother, who tolerated no dissent. So he kept his own counsel throughout phase 1.
As far as I can tell, the only significant initiative Herb displayed during the mother-dominated phase of his life was during his career as a teenage "hustler" selling refreshments to patrons at sporting events. There he fomented a minor labor rebellion, and also seized on an almost legal way to make extra money by upgrading spectators to better seats. No, I won't tell you how he did it; you'll have to read the book.
But despite his silence, in young Herb's breast beat the heart of a rebel (and still does). He was apparently born with a built-in B.S. detector. He knew when something did not make sense, and he refused to buy the conventional wisdom he saw around him when he was growing up. He developed an uncompromising ability to see things as they really are. Then at some point in his life, away from home ("Free at last, free at last") he released his powers of expression, and began to say exactly what he believed: that there is no god and that it's OK to say so.
The liberation from his nuclear family was the beginning of phase 2: college, graduate school, teaching, writing a couple of textbooks on mathematics (complex variables), and a professorship at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. That is where Herb had his rendezvous with the humanist hall of fame, challenging the state constitutional prohibition against office-holding by atheists. He famously ran for governor, then, thwarted by an uncooperative judge, for the exalted office of notary public, finally winning a legal decision that the state of South Carolina could not flout the U.S. Constitution by requiring a religious test for any office.
Herb tells the story of his Quixotic quest with his characteristic sense of humor. If a book can have a twinkle in its eye, this one does. Every punch line is unexpected, a little sly, and right on target as it punctures conventional wisdom with gentle humor, clarity and irrefutable logic. He has the gift of making every issue he tackles seem clear-cut and simple, without insulting anyone. I'd vote for him for governor of any state.
But something was missing from Herb's life during his college, graduate school and professor days (phase 2): love. He did some dating and even had some extended relationships, but experienced no emotional involvement until Sharon came along. She was Herb's reward for putting his Jewish Yankee atheist non-red-neck on the line politically in the Southern bible belt. They met when he was campaigning for governor, and she became a plaintiff in his lawsuit against the state of South Carolina. But their "relationship quickly grew beyond friendship" and the two of them "were beginning to think of staying together forever." Now you're talking my language, Herb. In the book he says: "I had never thought about anyone that way before."
Herb, there is life beyond complex variables. Of maybe love IS a complex variable, and it just took a while for the solution to appear.
See the wedding picture on p. 105, of Sharon, with Herb dressed in his formal T-shirt and shorts. This is his invariable attire even in the coldest weather. Herb does own a jacket, but the only time I ever saw him wear one was at the White House.
Sharon is not only charming, but she has more common sense than Herb does. On pp. 119-20 read about how Herb was tempted to become the candidate of the Natural Law Party whose platform purported to be science-based; but he was dissuaded when Sharon pointed out the party's decidedly unscientific roots in mysticism, and told him she "would not vote or campaign for any NLP candidate, including" him!
Phase 3, and the reason why Herb is now a public figure whose autobiography commands our attention, tells how his atheism and activism took on an organizational form. He helped form the Secular Humanists of the Low Country (the Low Country is the South Carolina seaboard). Imagine how important it is for the secular minority in that area to know that they are not alone, and to have a social group within which they can speak freely. Thank you, Herb. See Herb in his SHLC t-shirt on p. 112.
He became a director of the American Humanist Association. Then he joined with the leaders of that and several other humanist and atheist organizations to form the Coalition for the Community of Reason, which later evolved into the Secular Coalition for America. (Full disclosure: I am president of the Society for Humanistic Judaism, a member organization of the Secular Coalition, and a director of a couple of other member organizations.)
Herb became, and still is, the president of the Secular Coalition, which to my knowledge is the only lobbying organization for the atheist/humanist viewpoint on the national stage. But Herb's special brand of humor comes through even when he is running Secular Coalition meetings or writing about his role in the Secular Coalition in this book.
I liked this book a lot, but the next time I see Herb I am going to play a trick on him. I'm going to ask him if he will autograph his book for me, and when he says "yes" I will hand him a copy of his earlier book "Complex Variables."
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By Dror Kahn
Format:Hardcover
In many parts of the United States there are laws that you need to believe in God to hold office. Herb Silverman found that out when he moved to teach in South Carolina. In this entertaining book he tells of his election campaign to be Governor of South Carolina as the first step in what has become an ongoing campaign for Secular Rights.
This is a book that I think Bill Maher, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and other Reason Movement people would enjoy.
This book is about humanism, politics, civil rights, religion, first amendment, separation of church and state, all with humor.
Candidate Without A Prayer: An Autobiography of a Jewish Atheist in the Bible Belt
This is a book that I think Bill Maher, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and other Reason Movement people would enjoy.
This book is about humanism, politics, civil rights, religion, first amendment, separation of church and state, all with humor.
Candidate Without A Prayer: An Autobiography of a Jewish Atheist in the Bible Belt
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By Daniel Estes
Format:Hardcover
From a young age Herb Silverman was a freethinker waiting to happen. Being raised by an overprotective mother and an indifferent father, it was only a matter of time before he developed his own critical view of the world. His upbringing certainly helped shape his lifelong pursuit of logic and mathematics. I would describe Herb as someone I would share a beer with, but not an apartment. He's an eccentric man who was lucky enough to find a wife who compliments his quirkiness.
I've read quite a bit on arguing against religious belief, and this book is similar in many ways because much of it is devoted to introducing atheism to a reader who is "on the fence" regarding belief while persuading them away from supernatural thinking. Too often though these books read like textbooks and they all start sounding the same. Candidate Without a Prayer sets itself apart because Herb crafts the conventional arguments in the framework of his autobiography. Some highlights are when he attends a twelve-week Bible study class and ends up teaching as much as he learns, writing a joint newspaper column with a former religion news editor where they both set aside their differences and craft an inspiring piece on the views they have in common, and his critical essay on the hypocrisy of the Catholic Church where he makes a mostly-tongue-in-cheek case for why he should be elected the next Pope.
Herb Silverman's greatest strength is his willingness, even eagerness, to engage those who disagree with him. He may not always change his mind, but one can tell he's genuinely listening.
I've read quite a bit on arguing against religious belief, and this book is similar in many ways because much of it is devoted to introducing atheism to a reader who is "on the fence" regarding belief while persuading them away from supernatural thinking. Too often though these books read like textbooks and they all start sounding the same. Candidate Without a Prayer sets itself apart because Herb crafts the conventional arguments in the framework of his autobiography. Some highlights are when he attends a twelve-week Bible study class and ends up teaching as much as he learns, writing a joint newspaper column with a former religion news editor where they both set aside their differences and craft an inspiring piece on the views they have in common, and his critical essay on the hypocrisy of the Catholic Church where he makes a mostly-tongue-in-cheek case for why he should be elected the next Pope.
Herb Silverman's greatest strength is his willingness, even eagerness, to engage those who disagree with him. He may not always change his mind, but one can tell he's genuinely listening.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Signed by author
The book came as ordered!! It was listed as "very good" and I must admit that was a good description -- As a bonus, it was signed by the author !!
Published 2 days ago by Roger P. Plotkin
5.0 out of 5 stars
Must read
I came upon this book by accident and am so glad I did. I have read (and enjoyed) everything written by the "four horsemen" ie Hitchens, Harris, Dawkins and Dennett, but this is... Read more
Published 8 days ago by Pen Name
5.0 out of 5 stars
This was a hoot!
This is a good story how a sensible and caring person can find comfort, happiness, and purpose while becoming a confirmed atheist. Read more
Published 25 days ago by Yvonne Michel
4.0 out of 5 stars
First half of the book was especially good.
Very funny at the beginning. Loved the way the author made meaning of how others received him. Good way to think and be in the world.
Published 2 months ago by J. M. Lukin
5.0 out of 5 stars
With humor and without a prayer
The style and story of this book is both insightful and funny. I extend my congratulations to the author for taking a secular stance and encourage readers to take the time to... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Diane Uhl
5.0 out of 5 stars
I Lived every moment with Herb
I could not wait to read this book.
Did not read it on my wife's Nook.
Herb Silverman's clever as can be.
A Jewish atheist, just like me. Read more
Did not read it on my wife's Nook.
Herb Silverman's clever as can be.
A Jewish atheist, just like me. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Harold Saferstein
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fabulous
Engaging, funny and a quick read this book is the author at his best! I will be gifting this during the upcoming holiday season and expect rave reviews.
Published 5 months ago by Theresa Evans
5.0 out of 5 stars
The wacky world of politics and religion in the US
Australians are generally not very religious. Our current Prime Minister is an acknowledged atheist. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Steve
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful story of a man's travel through life.
If you like a good story of a man's life, this book is for you. As for his strong convictions about religion, Herb Silverman sheds light on many of the issues which have troubled... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mason R. Chrisman
2.0 out of 5 stars
Was looking for something different
I was looking for something different and I didn't find this author funny or informative. Factually, I found him dry and demeaning.
Published 6 months ago by FRB LCSW
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