On this date in 1942, mathematician and secular activist Herb Silverman was born in Philadelphia, where he lived for 21 years before he “ran oway from home to graduate school. My family consisted largely of Orthodox Jews, though my parents were more cultural Jews motivated by anti-Antisemitism.” (Canadian Atheist, Feb. 15, 2015)
“My mother was an authoritarian, who made all the family decisions. My father worked in a warehouse his entire life, packing Hershey bars that were shipped to underground subway stands. In another era, my mother would have had a job (other than cleaning house and ‘taking care’ of me), which would have made both of us happier.” (Ibid.)
In “Candidate Without a Prayer: An Autobiography of a Jewish Atheist in the Bible Belt” (2012, foreword by Richard Dawkins), she’s described as a loving, “control freak” whose attentiveness to her son included ironing his shoelaces. “My search beginning at age 12 eventually led me to a god who wasn’t there. I was thrilled and a little bit frightened. I didn’t believe there was a god, and I didn’t know if anyone else thought as I did.”
Silverman told Canadian Atheist that as a teen he decided to take from his Jewish background only what made sense: “The good works remained but not the irrelevant rituals and beliefs. Pretty soon I realized that the God I once accepted made no sense. When I read Bertrand Russell’s ‘Why I Am Not a Christian,’ I realized that there were others who thought like me. In fact, Russell might have inspired me to become a mathematician.”
What he called his “formal education” consisted of a bachelor’s degree from Temple University in 1963 and a master’s (1965) and Ph.D. (1968) in mathematics from Syracuse University. He then started teaching math at Clark University, a liberal school in Worcester, Mass. He accepted another teaching position in 1976 at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. The public university founded in 1770 is the 13th-oldest institute of higher education in the U.S.
Silverman said he was a “quiet atheist” until a colleague pointed out the South Carolina Constitution prohibited atheists from becoming governor without taking a religious oath. To challenge the prohibition, he sued after deciding in 1990 to run as the “Candidate Without a Prayer” (of winning or kneeling). He met Sharon Fratepietro, a volunteer who became his campaign manager and wife. As of this writing in 2025, they have been married 35 years.
Because Silverman lost the election, a judge ruled his lawsuit moot. Two years later he sued again when his notary public application was denied after he crossed out “so help me God” on the application. The secretary of state was forced to disclose that of the 33,471 notary applications filed from 1991-93 only Silverman’s was rejected. The state Supreme Court ruled in 1997 that the rejection was unconstitutional, giving Silverman a victory.
He recalled later: “I wasn’t out to my own family until 1990, when I got a call from a distressed woman in Philadelphia — my mother! The Associated Press picked up a story about me, and I had to admit that the Philadelphia Inquirer was not the best way to learn that her only child was a gubernatorial candidate, and an atheist. I knew my mother would be upset because she always wanted me to appear ‘respectable.’ ” (Charleston Post and Courier, April 30, 2017)
In 1994 he started the Secular Humanists of the Lowcountry in Charleston. Four years later he agreed to be the faculty adviser for the Atheist/Humanist Alliance, a student group at the College of Charleston. In 2002, after participating in the Godless Americans March in Washington, he helped form the Secular Coalition for America. After serving two presidential terms, he assumed emeritus status in 2017.
Silverman is the antithesis of the stereotypical “angry atheist” and adeptly uses humor to counter that: “I always wanted to be a preacher, but the god part got in the way. That’s why I chose the next best calling and became a professor, so I could profess — if only mathematics. I told my wife … that one sign to pull the plug on me would be if I said I believed in God.” (Herb’s Corner blog, Dec. 4, 2024)
Silverman gave the welcoming address at FFRF’s 2025 national convention in Myrtle Beach, S.C., where he received the Freethinker of the Year Award (video here). He is a recipient of Lifetime Achievement Awards from the American Humanist Association and the Secular Coalition.
Placing value on deeds instead of creeds is essential, he said. “Our goal is to change stereotypes and increase the visibility of and respect for atheists. I hope we reach a point in this secular country where candidates are judged by the content of their character and their political positions, not by their professed religious beliefs.” (Ibid., Charleston Post)
