Richard Wade is a retired licensed Marriage and Family Therapist living in southern California. At Hemant’s suggestion, in 2009 he began writing an advice column called “Ask Richard.” He publishes his responses to email letters from people of all viewpoints, not just atheists. These usually deal with challenges or conflicts stemming from believers and nonbelievers living or working together. He tries to reduce unnecessary conflict and suffering on all sides.
He has spoken as a “guest atheist” at several churches to dispel the misconceptions and false stereotypes about atheism and atheists. His goal is to prevent the same unnecessary strife and hardship in families and friendships that he has dealt with in hundreds of “Ask Richard” letters. With accurate information, loving and respectful relationships do not have to be ruined by this difference in beliefs.
He is the President of the Santa Clarita Atheists and Freethinkers, who provide a safe haven and support for non-believers in the area as well as participate in several community outreach activities, charity work, interfaith events, and political activism.
Note: Letter writers’ names are changed to protect their privacy. Hi Richard, I’ve got a bit of a problem with my family. I’m only 16 and I’m currently enrolled in college but due to my age I’m living with my mother. Most of my family lives out here in the bible belt and I’m a non-believer. I’m the only one in my family who does not have any shred of faith left, and everyone else is deeply religious. I went… Read more
over a year ago i moved into a new department at work and became friends with a cool guy who shared my nerdy interests. he talked about gaming and his wife and kids and i talked about gaming and my cats. he’s smart, funny, and we’ve commiserated over work together. very recently, indirectly, i found out that he is a Creationist. it was in a Facebook post of a mutual friend referring to a local event where a Creationist had… Read more
Note to readers: “Faithful Reader,” who wrote last week’s letter wants to respond to your comments, which were wonderfully caring, encouraging, and full of helpful practical suggestions. Here she offers an update on her situation, and answers a question about the way I had used the term “Muslima.” She also asks another question about protecting her privacy while using the internet. I’m publishing it here as a new post rather than as a comment on the original post because very… Read more
Note to readers: I usually don’t publish letters that are this long, but this letter is so poignant, so articulate, and so thorough that I couldn’t bring myself to shorten or paraphrase it. It depicts dilemmas similar to those that young atheists from devout families face in the U.S, but the main difference is the severity of what is at stake. Dear Richard, I’m writing to you from Europe where my family came to live before I was born. While… Read more
Note: Letter writers’ names are changed to protect their privacy. Richard, I have not been an Atheist for long, just a few years. To give a little history, I was raised in a very loving Southern Baptist home. I was very serious about my relationship with god, it was to me (as I’m sure it is to most Christians) a very special and personal relationship. It was not until college that I really began to question all that I had… Read more
