After Richard Dawkins' success with the book The God Delusion, he created the foundation with its headquarters in the United States to work toward a world in which religion no longer interferes with the advance of science and in which people use their critical thinking skills to evaluate theist claims about the nature of reality.

Dawkins complained of the difficulty he faced in gaining tax-free status, which he attributes to the secular nature of the organization.

In a TED talk prior to writing The God Delusion, Dawkins had called for the need for an "anti-Templeton" to step up, saying that if his books sold better, he would take the initiative himself.

My foundation promotes respect for people who hold critical thinking as a cherished personal value and use it in day-to-day life.

Making secular views and people welcome in politics and policy-making will advance human safety, security, health, achievement, prosperity and most of all, science.

And if they can't give you a good answer, I hope you'll think very carefully before you believe a word they say.RDFRS also invests in creating, producing and influencing the development of entertainment products for general audiences that support secularism and fight scientific illiteracy.

[13][14] In March 2011, the RDFRS along with the Freedom From Religion Foundation began The Clergy Project which is a confidential on-line community that supports members as they move from their faith.

Videos have been posted by Penn & Teller, Bill Maher, NFL star Arian Foster, Julia Sweeney, John Davidson and others.