Famed biologist Richard Dawkins resigned from the board of a prominent American atheist organization last week after it censored an article claiming that gender is linked to biology.
The British newspaper The Telegraph reported on Monday that the Freedom From Religion Foundation pulled the article “Biology is not bigotry” from its site after a strong backlash from pro-trans people. In return, Dawkins resigned.
In his resignation letter to the foundation, Dawkins called the removal of the article “an act of unseemly panic” and accused the foundation of “bowing to hysterical squeals from predictable quarters and retrospectively censoring that excellent rebuttal.”
Famous atheist Richard Dawkins recently resigned from a prominent atheist foundation after it “censored” an article on its website claiming that gender is determined by biology. (Photo by Fox News/Joshua Comins)
Biologist and fellow FFRF member Jerry Coyne compiled the “censored” article as a rebuttal to author and FFRF contributor Kat Grant’s non-binary November article titled “What is a Woman?”
The biologist’s article claims that “every attempt to define femininity biologically inadequate.”
Coyne’s follow-up directly challenged Grant’s point, arguing that “the biological definition of ‘female'” is based on gamete type.
Shortly after FFRF published Coyne’s article, board co-chairs Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor unpublished it and released a statement explaining their decision.
“Publishing this post was an error of judgment and we have decided to remove it because it does not reflect our values and principles. We are sorry for any distress caused by this post and are committed to making sure it does not happen again,” they wrote. .
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After the move, both Coyne and the American-Canadian psychologist Prof. Steven Pinker resigned from the foundation. Pinker condemned the group, saying it was “no longer the defender of freedom from religion, but the enforcer of a new religion, full of dogma, blasphemy and heresy.”
In an email to FFRF leadership, Coyne wrote: “This is censorious behavior that I cannot stand. I was simply promoting a biological rather than a psychological definition of gender, and I don’t understand why you would find that ‘disturbing’ and also an attempt to offend LGBTQIA+ people, which I would never do.”
He added: “The gender ideology for which you removed my article is itself quasi-religious, it has many aspects of religions and cults, including dogma, blasphemy, belief in what is palpably untrue (‘a woman is what she says she is’), apostasy and a tendency to ignore science when it contradicts a preferred ideology.”
Coyne also shared the entire text Dawkins’ resignation letter on his website. In it, the atheist addressed the co-presidents of the foundation. “It is with genuine sadness that, due to my personal respect for you both, I feel obliged to resign from the FFRF Honorary Board.
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A protester waves a transgender pride flag during a protest against an anti-transgender guest speaker Tuesday, April 4, 2023, outside the Corbett Center Student Union at New Mexico State University (Meg Potter/Sun-News/USA TODAY NETWORK)
After ripping, move for speleology to pro-trans activists, he criticized them for their handling of Coyne, saying, “to summarily terminate him, without even informing the author of your intention, was an act of deplorable discourtesy to a member of your own Honorary Committee. A Committee which I now regret to leave. “
Dawkins ended the letter amicably, though, writing, “Although I am formally resigning, I would like to remain on friendly terms with you and look forward to working with you in the future.”
Co-chairman Taylor responded to the resignations, The Telegraph reported, indicating that the foundation had no intention of reversing its decision. “We don’t see supporting LGBTQ rights against religious resistance in the United States as a mission,” she said, adding, “This growing difference of opinion probably made such a split inevitable.”
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Dawkins has criticized transgender ideology in recent years. During the episode of his podcast in 2023, Dawkins stated, “Sex is really binary. You’re either male or female, and it’s quite clear that you can do that based on gamete size. You can do that on chromosomes. To me, as a biologist, that’s extremely strange people can simply declare, ‘I’m a woman even though I have a penis.'”
Dawkins declined Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
