Atheism

“Fiziki i Liriki” (Scientists and Humanists), Radio Mayak, 17 June 2026. Listen → An appearance on the Radio Mayak programme “Fiziki i Liriki”, hosted by Alexander Pushnoy and Rita Mitrofanova. The conversation covered contemporary religious studies as a discipline — what researchers in the field actually study today and what the research programme of the field looks like. A substantial part of the discussion was devoted to atheism: its different varieties, its historical forms, and what distinguishes contemporary non-belief from the atheism of earlier periods. ...

Based on a video lecture. Video lecture: YouTube Today we look at one of the most important court cases in the history of American education — a case that is central for anyone seriously interested in how we draw the line between science and religion. It is usually called by the name of one of the plaintiffs: Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District. Dover is a small municipality in Pennsylvania. But the case quickly became a matter of national importance, debated on major television networks and in the press. ...

Published in April 2022 on Alexander Bydantsev’s Yandex Zen channel (“Trickster”). Read the original (Russian) → Read the interview in English→ Tell us about yourself. Where did you study? What do you do? I live in St. Petersburg — my home city. I spent four years studying for my bachelor’s degree in Moscow, which among true Petersburgers is considered a mortal sin. Better to sleep on a bench near Sennaya Square with a volume of Dostoevsky under your head than to rot in that spiritually bankrupt Moscow. I never saw it that way, and I still don’t. ...

Based on a video lecture. Video lecture: YouTube Today I want to talk about agnosticism. At first glance, it’s a simple topic: ask anyone with an interest in philosophy or religion what agnosticism is, and they will confidently tell you it is the position that one cannot know for certain whether god exists or not. Neither believer nor atheist: a person allows for some higher power without asserting either way. The answer is broadly correct, just far from complete. ...

Based on a video lecture from 2020. Atheism is a fascinating phenomenon from a sociological standpoint. It is the rejection of religion — and while in some countries this carries no particular stigma, in many others it remains a loaded word. Few people will voluntarily call themselves atheists, even if that is effectively what they are. Here I want to talk about the difficulties of counting atheists, primarily in the United States, and to work through one scientific paper with an interesting methodological finding. ...