Background
Hayes was born on November 3, 1945, in Lakewood, Ohio, United States. She moved with her family to Oakland, California as a child in the early 1950s.
Berkeley, CA, United States
Judith Hayes attended the University of California, Berkeley.
Berkeley, CA, United States
Judith Hayes attended the University of California, Berkeley.
https://www.amazon.com/God-We-Trust-But-Which/dp/1877733113/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=Judith+Hayes&qid=1577087549&sr=8-3
1996
(This irreverent romp over the sacred cows of religion is ...)
This irreverent romp over the sacred cows of religion is a humorous and refreshingly down-to-earth call for common sense. Judith Hayes, the Erma Bombeck of the secular humanist community, has the unique ability to raise serious points while making us laugh as she throws buckets of cold water on the irrational beliefs and maddening inconsistencies that often characterize popular religion.
https://www.amazon.com/Happy-Heretic-Judith-Hayes-ebook/dp/B003XU6AEY/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=Judith+Hayes&qid=1577087549&sr=8-6
2000
Hayes was born on November 3, 1945, in Lakewood, Ohio, United States. She moved with her family to Oakland, California as a child in the early 1950s.
Judith Hayes attended the University of California, Berkeley.
Judith Hayes was a writer. From 1975 to 1982 she worked as a marketing representative at the Pacific Bell, San Francisco, California, United States. She was the author of a monthly column in "Freethought Today," in 1994-1996; author of a monthly online column at the Internet Web site "Happy Heretic." She was a senior writer to "American Rationalist," (1996-1997), a contributor to periodicals, including "Humanist in Canada," "Free Inquiry," "Skeptical Review," "Canadian Humanist News," "Atlanta Freethought News," "Greater Philadelphia Story," and "Skeptical Inquirer." Also, she was a contributing editor, "Secular Humanist Bulletin."
(This irreverent romp over the sacred cows of religion is ...)
2000Judith Hayes was raised in the Missouri Synod German Lutheran family, but through her life, her religious beliefs changed. Once in the interview, she said: "I knew I was destined for Heaven. But when I was around twelve and I formed a close friendship with a Japanese girl, I discovered to my horror that she was Buddhist! Can you imagine? And I could not figure out how she was ever going to get into Heaven, where I, of course, was going. Since I could not bear the thought of my best friend, Susan, spending eternity in Hell, I asked my religious leaders about this, and never received any satisfactory answer.
So I decided to read the entire Bible, and thereby shore up my faith and answer all of my nagging questions. I couldn't have been more wrong. The further my studies took me, the less certain I became of ANY of my beliefs, and I finally arrived at some inescapable conclusions. My own logical mind proved to be my undoing. I literally reasoned my faith out of existence.
Such a metamorphosis is not to be taken lightly and does not happen easily when your faith is very strong, to begin with. I understand now why the Catholic Church fought so hard to keep the Bible in Latin. If no one knows what it says, no one can question what it says. And almost anything sounds pretty in Latin. But if you read the entire Bible, not just prized snippets, you realize that it is a primitive, brutally violent, bigoted book. It stinks.
After my eye-opening reading of the Bible I naturally went on to read other books about religion, and these other books finished the process that the Bible had started. These other books, written by nonbelievers, simply rang out with logic and clarity. My faith tottered and then collapsed. The battle was over.
Although I was confused for quite a while after my faith left, I finally realized that there was a big, beautiful world out there, filled with promise, without a vengeful god or a pitchforked devil insight. I saw that the possibilities for happiness were far-ranging and exhilarating. I seldom look back now; instead, I celebrate the fact that I am no longer hamstrung by the oppressive ties of religion. It was a long and arduous journey, but I can finally say, with a joyous certainty, that I am well and truly free. I feel, finally, at home in this world."
"On a personal level, there can be nothing more inimical to self-esteem than being told that you are an unworthy wretch, deserving only eternal agony. On a larger scale, religion has been the cause of countless murders and atrocities in the form of the Crusades, the Inquisition, witch-hunts, and holy wars. Throw in the fact that no two religions agree with each other, and I am forced to the conclusion that religion as we’ve known it has outlived its usefulness if ever there was any, and the time is long overdue to abandon such self-destructive beliefs and move on to something more compassionate - secular humanism."
Heyes described herself as a “very liberal.”
In the interview to "Contemporary Authors," Heyes said: "Recognizing the difficulty of reading many scholarly works on humanism, I decided to add a new voice that addressed serious religious issues in plain old English. I also felt the need to offer comfort to fence-sitting True Believers and closet atheists, which I learned through my Internet domain are out there in great numbers. They convey a sharp sense of isolation and ostracism. Having been a closet atheist myself for many years, I know how unpleasant, and how full, that closet is. According to my Internet readers, who exist in more than forty countries, I am reaching a most appreciative audience. My work has also appeared in dozens of secular humanist publications."
Quotations: "When people ask me why I write what I write, I usually answer, 'To nudge people.' This is literally the truth. I try to nudge people into thinking about things they might otherwise never give a passing thought to. I try to make it easier for them to do so by using satire, vivid imagery, and a sprinkling of merry nonsense."
Judith Hayes was a member of Wallace Lakes Literary Society and Friends of the Library.
Judith Hayes had two children Deborah and Robert from her first marriage in 1962. In 1973 Hayes married Mercer P. Hayes. They were together until his death in 2010.
