Matt Dillahunty
| Matt Dillahunty | |
|---|---|
Matt Dillahunty, speaking at the University of Missouri in 2014
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| Born |
March 31, 1969 Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. |
| Nationality | Military career |
| Service/branch |
 United States Navy
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| Years of service | 1987–1995 |
| Known for | Atheism and secular activism |
| Spouse(s) | Beth Presswood |
Matt Dillahunty (born March 31, 1969) is an American public speaker and Internet personality, and was the president of the Atheist Community of Austin from 2006 to 2013. He has hosted the Austin-based webcast and cable-access television show The Atheist Experience since c. 2005, and formerly hosted the live internet radio show Non-Prophets Radio. He is also the founder and contributor of the counter-apologetics encyclopedia Iron Chariots and its subsidiary sites.
He is regularly engaged in formal debates and travels the United States speaking to local secular organizations and university groups as part of the Secular Student Alliance's Speakers Bureau. Alongside fellow activists Seth Andrews and Aron Ra, he traveled to Australia in March 2015 as a member of the Unholy Trinity Tour. In April 2015 he was an invited speaker at the Merseyside Skeptics Society QEDCon in the United Kingdom.
Raised Southern Baptist, Dillahunty sought to become a minister. His religious studies, instead of bolstering his faith as he intended, led him to no longer believe in Christianity and, eventually, all religions. Dillahunty spent eight years in the US Navy, before leaving to work in the field of computer software design. In 2011, he married The Atheist Experience colleague and co-host of the Godless Bitches podcast Beth Presswood. Dillahunty is an outspoken feminist.
Dillahunty is one of the subjects of the 2014 documentary film My Week in Atheism by director John Christy.
Dillahunty has spoken at atheist and freethought conferences around the country and debated numerous Christian apologists, including Ray Comfort (on The Atheist Experience) and with David Robertson on Premier Christian Radio's Unbelievable. At the 2014 American Atheists Convention in Salt Lake City, he gave a workshop that outlined some key ideas in effective debating: "Take the opponent seriously: 'The audience has to sense that I can perfectly understand their views, and have rejected them.' Use logic: 'I tell them that I can write a better book than the Bible. Simple: I copy it word for word, except the parts about slavery.' And don't forget emotion: 'It is theater. That is my advantage with a Baptist background over someone like Richard Dawkins, although he knows more about science.'" He has also stated that he is willing to say "I don't know" in a debate, a "scary concept" to some of his audience.
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