Michael Shermer

Michael Shermer

Michael Shermer, Ph.D. is the founder of The Skeptics Society, Editor in Chief of the magazine Skeptic and a historian of science. He and his organization investigate supernatural, pseudoscientific, pseudohistorical and extraordinary claims. He is a self-described libertarian and a Fundamentalist Christian turned "agnostic," though his worldview is clearly that of naturalistic atheism.

For roughly two decades, Shermer has been spreading misinformation about the creationist movement through the Skeptic magazine and in person, in order to promote Darwinism.

In 2009, intelligent design proponents Dr. Stephen Meyer and Dr. Richard Sternberg debated Dr. Michael Shermer and Dr. Donald Prothero concerning on the topic of the origin of life. The Discovery Institute declared concerning the debate:

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To call the debate a massacre would be a discredit to Sitting Bull. The only thing I can say is that Shermer needs to add a point to his booklet on how to debate "creationists" — namely, leave Donald Prothero at home in his van by the river... Some of the best points came later in the debate, when Sternberg slammed Prothero with factual put down after factual put down, citing the current literature time and again. His command of the subject matter — from population genetics to junk DNA — was so far and above beyond Shermer and Prothero's knowledge, so far above their pay grade, that it was almost painful to watch him school them point after point. As I said before, shortly you'll be able to watch the debate for yourself. But be warned, it isn't pretty.

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An audio copy of the debate has been made available to the public. In addition, the debate is available at YouTube.

Allegations of sexual harassment against Michael Shermer

See also: Michael Shermer and sexual harassment allegations and Atheism and the Me Too Movement

In 2018, Kimberly Winston wrote in the Washington Post, "Michael Shermer, who has denied allegations of sexual harassment and assault from several women, remains editor of Skeptic magazine and a top speaker at secularist events."

The website Insider Higher Ed states:

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McIntire invited Michael Shermer, a well-known skeptic and columnist for Scientific American, to speak on campus in March about debunking beliefs about the afterlife and utopian societies. The 400-hundred seat auditorium was unusually empty for such a talk, perhaps due to what Shermer didn’t know while he was speaking. Earlier that morning, Raeanne Napoleon, chair of chemistry, shared a four-year-old BuzzFeed article with the campus, detailing sexual misconduct allegations against Shermer. “Shermer is someone who has been accused of sexual harassment and sexual assault (rape) by multiple women,” Napoleon wrote, linking to BuzzFeed. “Although the police did not bring formal charges against him, there have been many witnesses that have publicly corroborated the stories of the victims.” Napoleon wrote that while Shermer “still has the right to free speech,” she wanted “to warn the women attending the talk that they should be careful not to be alone with him or hang around late on campus after the talk is over. I am also using this platform to highlight this information to faculty and staff so that you can choose whether or not you will support this event.”

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Skeptic Michael Shermer: Google trends data from 2004 to 2020

See also: Google trends - Atheism and agnosticism terms and Internet atheism

According to Google Trends from 2004 to 2020 there has been a decline in Google web searches for the term "Michael Shermer" in the world.