Michael Shermer

Michael Brant Shermer (born Michael Brant Shermer, 8 September 1954) is an American historian and science popularizer, founder of the Skeptics Society, and editor-in-chief of Skeptic magazine, which is largely devoted to investigating pseudoscientific and supernatural claims.

Since April 2001, he has also written a monthly column for Scientific American. Shermer states that he was once a Christian fundamentalist, but abandoned his faith while studying at university.

Shermer was born on 8 September 1954 and grew up in Southern California. His parents divorced when he was 4 years old. His father died of a heart attack in 1986, and his mother died of brain cancer in 2000.

Although he attended Sunday school, he says that his family was not religious and rarely discussed the subject. In 1971, under the influence of his best friend, he became a born-again Christian and spent the next seven years spreading Christianity.

In 1972, he began studying at Pepperdine University, initially in Christian theology, but later changed his major to psychology. He received a bachelor’s degree in 1976.

He then began studying experimental psychology at California State University. Conversations with professors and his study of ethology and anthropology prompted him to reconsider his religious views.