Hemant Mehta is the founder and editor of FriendlyAtheist.com, a YouTube creator, and podcast co-host. He is a former National Board Certified math teacher in the suburbs of Chicago. He has appeared on CNN and FOX News and served on the board of directors for Foundation Beyond Belief and the Secular Student Alliance. He has written multiple books, including I Sold My Soul on eBay and The Young Atheist's Survival Guide. He also edited the book Queer Disbelief.
Among the financial reforms Pope Francis is undertaking within the Church and Vatican Bank, this one may be the most interesting: This week, [Pope Francis] took another, less controversial step in that direction, calling for a “spending review” that includes settling on a cap for expenses tied to the canonization causes of would-be saints. In the past, critics charged that figures backed by well-financed supporters usually became saints more quickly than their more meagerly financed counterparts. Two miracles, my ass. Who knew canonization was like the run-up to the Academy Awards? Turns out your friends just needed to slip a few Euros to the powers that be and voila! Sainthood. Read more
Up until November of last year, the Mesa Public Schools Governing Board in Arizona began every one of their meetings with a prayer. Not just run-of-the-mill generic prayers to “God,” but sectarian prayers uttered by “assistants and associate superintendents” that included Christian phrases like “Heavenly Father” and “In Your Name, Amen.” It was illegal, pure and simple, so the Freedom From Religion Foundation sent them a letter warning them that a lawsuit could be imminent if the practice didn’t stop: Read more
Over the weekend, I read the fascinating and ultimately tragic story of Dr. Essay Anne Vanderbilt. It’s one of those pieces that elucidates just how badly our society mishandles and misunderstands transgender issues, even when the intent isn’t malicious. Reading the criticism of the piece (and Grantland’s responses to it) have given me a hell of a lot to think about, in any case. My friend Stephanie Drury, who runs the popular Stuff Christian Culture Likes website, just announced that a couple of transgender members of her community will be hosting an online Q&A session later this week for anyone who “wants to better understand trans* issues, has questions about the trans* community, or wants to learn ways to better support those in the SCCL community and trans* people in general”: Read more
