Atheistville with Mike Smithgall
Hosted by Mike Smithgall, Atheistville explores atheism, deconversion, and secular life through open, respectful conversation. The channel features two signature shows: Mike Drop – weekly commentary on religion, politics, and culture from a reasoned, secular perspective. Breakfast with a Heathen – a relaxed Sunday Q&A that tackles listener and Reddit questions about belief, honesty, and living without faith. Together, they create a space for candid dialogue about leaving belief behind, thinking for yourself, and building a meaningful life grounded in evidence, empathy, and ethics rather than dogma. Podcast Creator Bio: Mike Smithgall Mike Smithgall is the creator and host of Atheistville, a podcast and YouTube series exploring atheism, deconversion, and secular life through real conversation instead of confrontation. Drawing on his background as a financial professional and lifelong skeptic, Mike focuses on how people think, what leads them to question faith, and how they rebuild meaning without religion. He interviews former believers, secular thinkers, and progressive voices to highlight shared values of empathy, critical thinking, and human connection. His mission is simple: belief should be personal, not political, and every story deserves to be heard. Follow his work on YouTube (@Atheistville) or at Atheistville.com.
Episodes
Headlines claim a religious revival is happening, but the data tells a different story. Today on the Mike Drop, we’re looking at the "Zombie Store" of global faith. Using new research from Nature Communications and the latest 2025 Pew Global Sweep, I break down the 3-stage P-I-B model (Participation, Importance, Belonging) that proves religion isn't bouncing back—it's just rotting from the inside o...
Mike Smithgall explores the uncomfortable reality facing moderate Christians in America. As Christian Nationalism rises, many believers try to stay "above the fray," claiming the extremists don't represent them. Mike argues that this "Glass Bottom Boat" mentality is failing.
Using the logic often applied to police misconduct ("just a few bad apples"), Mike challenges the faithful to t...
In this episode, we tackle the dark theological implications of an all-knowing God: If the outcome is already known, did God create humanity just to send most of us to hell? We also dive into the heated debate over whether churches should lose their tax-exempt status if they fail to contribute tangibly to their communities.
Later, we analyze the "Telephone Game" of history regarding the existence of Jesus com...
Gallup reports a 17% point drop in Americans who say religion is important in daily life. This is one of the largest declines recorded globally in the last decade, and it signals a massive cultural shift in America.
In this episode of the Mike Drop, Mike Smithgall analyzes the #Gallup data, breaking down why this 17% drop is happening now, what it means for American politics, and how younger generations are redefining ...
This week, we dive into the deep and often hypocritical intersections of faith, social welfare, and personal ethics. The discussion opens with the shocking findings from the viral TikTok experiment where churches denied basic aid like baby formula to the needy, contrasting this with the impending government shutdown and asking: Where is the promised Christian charity when the most vulnerable are suffering? The episode...
shared a meme of the Twin Towers asking, “Has New York forgotten?” Mike Smithgall digs into what that reaction says about us.
He opens with a story that sounds like 9/11—but isn’t—and exposes the double standard in how we label religious violence. From the Oklahoma City bombing to modern Islamophobia, this Mike Drop looks at how fear and familiarity shape our bias.
Mike explains why, as an atheist, he’s not ...
In this episode of Breakfast with a Heathen, Mike answers real questions from listeners about debating religion, losing friendships, and navigating those awkward “bless your heart” moments. From being told you’re “taking scripture out of context” to realizing you never truly believed, this discussion explores how atheists and agnostics experience conversations with the faithful.
He also unpacks the emotional side—grief...
The Republican Party once led the fight against slavery. Today, it’s home to America’s Christian nationalist movement. What happened?
In this episode, Mike breaks down how religion shaped every stage of the political party realignment, from Lincoln’s abolitionist Republicans to the rise of the evangelical right. Religion didn’t cause the switch, but it provided the moral vocabulary for both oppression and liberation.
Pour a cup and hang out with Mike Smithgall for a Sunday morning Q&A. You’ll hear my take on “I’m praying for you,” why Christian apologetics fascinates and embarrasses, and a story about a friendly young-earth creationist who pushed me to think harder. We get into belief in a god without religion, the rise of the “nones,” and why a secular state isn’t my goal. We talk through fear during deconversion, mixed-beli...
In this episode, Mike Smithgall examines the growing push to hang the Ten Commandments in public classrooms and the larger campaign to rewrite history under the banner of “heritage.” He explains how Christian nationalism turns nostalgia into propaganda, and why real heritage requires facing uncomfortable truths.
Question: How should schools teach history without whitewashing or politicizing it?
Visit us at www.At...
This Breakfast with a Heathen episode covers a range of questions from faith and politics to parenting and personal belief. We start with how religion was never out of U.S. politics—Trump only made it obvious—and look at what happens when faith becomes a tool for control rather than reflection.
We talk about the idea that atheists “believe in nothing,” the emotional damage of teaching children about hell, and the isol...
In this episode, Mike Smithgall dissects Pete Hegseth’s viral Lord’s Prayer video and its disturbing fusion of religion and state power. Using biblical analysis and historical parallels from Sinclair Lewis and Eugene Debs, he explains how Christian nationalism repackages faith as propaganda and patriotism as obedience.
This episode asks a hard question: when government officials use prayer to sanctify military imagery...
Mike Smithgall, the unelected mayor of Atheistville, sits down with coffee to answer your questions about atheism, belief, and honesty. From telling your Christian mom you’re an atheist to why arguing with believers never works, this Sunday Q&A takes on faith, comfort, family, and finding peace without religion. No sermon, no shouting, no salvation required.
Visit us at www.Atheistville.com for more content from ...
If morality comes from God, why do moral progress and religious doctrine so often collide? Mike Smithgall breaks down the myth that we need divine authority to be good.
This episode examines empathy’s evolutionary roots, the failures of fear-based morality, and the evidence that secular societies thrive without divine command. It’s a reasoned and candid look at what truly drives human ethics.
Visit www.Atheistville.com ...
A counselor in Colorado claims her “sincerely held beliefs” give her the right to counsel LGBTQ+ minors out of who they are. The state says that’s harmful pseudoscience. She says “First Amendment.” And now, the Supreme Court will decide.
Host Mike Smithgall breaks down Chiles v. Salazar, exposing the tactics behind the legal argument, the misuse of science by religious law groups, and the broader threat to professional...
In this candid conversation, Mike shares his path from a devout Lutheran youth leader and Boy Scout to an openly bisexual atheist who rebuilt his life after addiction, prison, and deep personal conflict. We discuss the pressures of growing up in a conservative religious environment, wrestling with questions about faith and morality, and the cost of living a double life.
Mike opens up about the role military service, th...
Religious faith often leans on mysteries as proof of God. But when science explains those mysteries, faith loses ground. In this episode, I trace the history of the god-of-the-gaps argument, from Zeus’s lightning to modern debates over consciousness. I show why this strategy fails, and why atheism is better framed as trust in curiosity and evidence.
-Which scientific discovery do you think most changed how humans see ...
Church attendance is plummeting, yet calls for America to be a “Christian nation” are growing louder. In this Mike Drop episode, we unpack the paradox: why Christian nationalism is gaining steam even as religion fades. It’s not about faith, it’s about identity, fear, and power. From empty pews to political pulpits, we explore how branding, nostalgia, and fear drive the movement, and what it means for democracy, atheis...
This week's failed rapture prediction joins a long list of embarrassing doomsday dates, but it reveals something deeper about human psychology and social media manipulation. We explore the 200-year history of rapture theology, the pattern of failed predictions from 1988 to today, and why TikTok has become the new frontier for apocalyptic anxiety.
From Edgar Whisenant's mathematical certainty to Harold Camping...
🎙 Podcast Description
What happens when faith unravels? In this episode, former pastors and believers reflect on the loneliness of leaving religion, the emotional toll of deconstruction, and the importance of finding community.
You’ll hear stories of loss, resilience, and the shift from magical thinking to evidence-based reality. Whether you’re questioning, deconstructing, or supporting someone who is, this conversatio...
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