Above Us, OnlySky: A Media Platform for the Non-Religious

January saw the debut of OnlySky Media. Based in San Francisco and funded by Silicon Valley venture capital, the new media outlet offers news, commentary, criticism, podcasts, video, and more, all from what it describes as “a secular perspective.” Taking its name from John Lennon’s song Imagine, OnlySky Media wants to “give faces and voices to the nonreligious generations who will inherit the earth.” But can it attract this famously diverse and independent group? Will it live up to its pledge to highlight diverse voices when non-religious persons of color traditionally face more challenges to “coming out” as non-believers?

A Post-Religious Space: OnlySky Editor Phil Zuckerman
Phil Zuckerman, a professor of secular studies at Pitzer College, is the new editor of OnlySky, and oversees a stable of 50 writers. He outlines the goals of OnlySky, one of which is to erase the stereotype of atheists and other non-believers as angry white men. How will OnlySky attract voices of color?

What is a Secular Media Platform?: OnlySky Founder Shawn Hardin
Founder Shawn Hardin, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist with a background in film, believes OnlySky will be a one-of-a-kind media platform because of its secular orientation. He says “99.4 percent of all those who’ve come to the site believe that explicitly secular non-religious perspectives are not well-represented in American society and culture or politics.” Is that true?

Diversity and Non-Belief: Sociologist Juhem Navarro-Rivera on OnlySky
As a demographer at the helm of SocioAlalytica, Dr. Juhem Navarro-Rivera studies people like him – atheists, agnostics, “Nones” and other non-believers of color. He says non-believers of color have extra challenges in “coming out” and that OnlySky can provide them with a much-needed “counterpublic” – a place to find each other and share their own narratives.


Share This Episode