Paul Kurtz isn't quite finished preaching the gospel of secular humanism.

The retired University at Buffalo philosophy professor built a mini-empire in Amherst

— two magazines, a publishing house and an internationally recognized nonprofit known as

the Center for Inquiry — around the premise that secularism and skepticism are good for

society.

All of it, in addition to his writing and editing of more than 50 books, has made Kurtz a

household name in a splintered community of atheists, agnostics and other nonbelieving types.

But at age 84, Kurtz has arrived at an awkward crossroads.

He was removed last year as chairman of the Center for Inquiry in a showdown with his

successor as chief executive officer, Ronald A. Lindsay.

Kurtz remains on the center's board, holds the honorary title of chair emeritus and

continues to serve as editor in chief of Free Inquiry magazine. Still, he described his

removal as chairman as "a shattering blow," and his supporters are questioning how the center

— a small island of unbelief in heavily religious Western New York — will fare

under its current leadership.

Kurtz worries that, even worse, the momentum he helped build toward a less faith-bound

world is now overly focused on attacking religion, at the expense of other goals.

"It's become fixated in recent years on atheism, the criticism of religion," he said. "And

I think that's a strategic blunder. Not just a strategic blunder, but a philosophical and

ethical one, as well."

Don't misunderstand Kurtz, who hasn't had a change of heart in his advanced years. He has

always viewed religions skeptically. "They were spawned during an agricultural, rural time,"

he said. "They don't apply to the modern world."

He still doesn't believe in a god or an afterlife, because "there's no evidence for that."

At the same time, he sees a place for believers in the broad spectrum of secular humanism

— in large part because, without them, any movement toward societies based on principles

of humanism, rather than faith, will go nowhere.

"Let's say the atheists are successful, and religion continues to decline, so what do you

have, a vacuum?" he said. "That's really the burning issue in America today: How shall I live?

What should I strive for?"

Atheism "not enough'

By force of personality and a seemingly endless supply of energy, Kurtz has for decades

carried the torch for a movement that appealed largely to a niche crowd of academics and

intellectuals.

In the world of unbelief, Kurtz set himself apart from other activists, most notably the

tough-talking Madalyn Murray O'Hair, who founded American Atheists in 1963 as an outpost for

anyone averse to religion.

"Atheism, by itself, is not enough," Kurtz said. "The fact that you do believe in [a] god

is not enough. The fact that you don't believe in [a] god is not enough."

He has sounded many of the same notes for more than 30 years, when he began the Council for

Secular Humanism, helping overcome a national reluctance to say anything critical of religion.

Nowadays, criticism of religion in the United States has become far more accepted —

as evidenced by a recent spate of best-selling books by atheist authors taking faith and

organized belief to task.

The new generation of atheist writers and thinkers appears to be reaching a broader

audience than Kurtz ever did, if book sales and media attention are any indication.

Kurtz appreciates the no-punches-pulled approach of writers such as Sam Harris and Richard

Dawkins, firebrands of what has been dubbed the "new atheism," an especially uncompromising

critique of religion.

But it's not what secular humanism and the Center for Inquiry that Kurtz envisioned are all

about, he added.

Kurtz and his supporters cited the center's "Blasphemy Day" last fall as evidence that it

is headed in a direction more in line with the new atheism.

The event included contests calling for cartoons and slogans that illustrated the best

forms of blasphemy — a gimmick that Kurtz termed "sophomoric."

"That's his greatest fear, that it's becoming an outright atheist organization," said

Kurtz's son, Jonathan, who runs the publishing company, Prometheus Books, that Kurtz founded

in 1969. "There's plenty of atheist organizations out there. There doesn't need to be another

one."

The younger Kurtz, who served on the center's board until last year, was also critical of

Blasphemy Day and has some doubts about how the organization will carry on with his father

playing a diminished role.

"I'm concerned about where they're going and the kind of name recognition or lack thereof

to try and raise money and grow the organization," Jonathan Kurtz said.

Lindsay defended the contest as a way to generate interest and enthusiasm among supporters

of the center, and he said Blasphemy Day was part of a larger effort called the Campaign for

Free Expression.

The mission of the center hasn't changed at all, said Richard Schroeder, the board chairman

who succeeded Kurtz.

"There's been no change in our direction, focus or anything," Schroeder said. "I know he's

been upset, and I think some of it is just the difficulty of stepping back."

Clash over direction

Schroeder noted that Kurtz handpicked all of the current board members and hired staff for

the center. Kurtz even recommended that Lindsay take over the day-to-day operations.

But the two men clashed over how the organization ought to be run, and the board ultimately

sided with Lindsay, moving last June to make Kurtz chair emeritus and designate the

chairmanship as a non-executive post.

"Everybody would have been happier if it could have worked out with Paul as chairman,"

Schroeder said.

Nonetheless, the organization's growth over the years — it now has about 40 employees

— made it impossible for one man to do everything on Kurtz's agenda, anyway, according

to leaders of the organization.

The move gives Kurtz time to concentrate on writing, speaking and being Paul Kurtz.

Being an administrator is "not the appropriate role for somebody with the mind of Paul

Kurtz," Schroeder said. "He's our public face. He's a leading philosopher, and he's got books

to write and speeches to give."

And Kurtz has certainly been doing that. His latest book, "Multi-Secularism: A New Agenda,"

was published in March, and he has another one coming out soon. He gave a talk earlier this

month at the most recent national conference of the American Atheists.

Also in March, he sent out on his own a 10-page "Neo-Humanist Statement of Secular Values

and Principles" to confront what he termed "a new brand of acerbic atheism."

Some days, Kurtz will sit down and write for as long as 15 hours. "It's an addiction," he

said, "but it's not a bad addiction."

Despite his disagreements with center leadership and disappointment over the direction of

the humanist effort, Kurtz has shown no signs of slowing down. "His intellectual capacities

certainly haven't dulled," said Lee Nisbet, a longtime friend who is professor of humanities

at Medaille College.

"A very sharp mind'

No one at the center has questioned Kurtz's acuity, Lindsay said.

"I think he still has a very sharp mind," Lindsay said. "He still writes well, speaks well.

He's clear in his reasoning."

Kurtz often sleeps for only a few hours a night and sometimes wakes up early to scribble

down thoughts racing through his head. He takes daily walks, when he can often be seen

flapping his arms like a bird to work out his upper body.

His friends hope that the rift with the center can be healed quickly, as much for the

organization's sake as his.

"He knows the who's who of the world's intelligentsia," Nisbet said. "He's always managed

to bring in, in terms of the scientific community, the top people in the world."

Kurtz also has been an accomplished fundraiser.

Fallout over the rift has included the suspension of giving from a handful of smaller

donors, and the center is weathering the recession in the same way as most nonprofit

organizations, Lindsay said.

The difficulties between Kurtz and the center have become well-known in atheist and

humanist circles — with Kurtz sometimes trading barbed e-mails on blogs with Lindsay and

others.

But Schroeder insists it's much ado about nothing.

Besides himself, Schroeder said, Kurtz remains the most active member of the board.

"He's still very engaged in the important things," Schroeder said. "I don't think there is

a problem. I think it's just difficult to make the transition. ... He's built an organization

that's one of a kind. We are recognized as a leader, and that's all due to his work."

Current leadership, he added, wants to make sure that work continues at least 100 years

from now.

One thing's for certain: Paul Kurtz isn't done preaching.

"I always felt he's trying to change the world," Jonathan Kurtz said. "Until everybody has

listened, I don't think he's going to stop."