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.
I’ve posted several times about the group “Austin Atheists Helping the Homeless” and their various giveaways over the years. It’s a wonderful, local, volunteer-led effort to help those less fortunate, and it’s amazing how far they can stretch their donations. Over the years, they’ve expanded to different cities. And now, after looking at the kind of work they’re doing and the kind of people they’re helping, they’ve decided to do a little rebranding. They’re now called “Austin Humanists at Work.” Read more
Given the reputation Mississippi already had for being a backwards state, the new law allowing faith-based discrimination somehow made it worse. But Mitchell Moore, a Christian baker in the state, spoke with NPR’s Renee Montagne about how the new law isn’t for people like him. He’s ashamed at what’s being done in the name of his religion. Read more
Given all the talk about religion and politics on this site, here’s a fair question: What percent of Republicans are evangelical Christians? The correct answer is about 34.3%, but odds are you said something much higher. According to a new study by Douglas J. Ahler (of UC Berkeley) and Gaurav Sood, pretty much everyone is wrong about everything when it comes to estimating how large certain demographics are within political parties. And that includes when Republicans guess what percent of Democrats are atheist or Agnostic. Read more
Today, Pope Francis released his long-awaited Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love) — his take on many of the social issues currently dividing Catholics. When it comes down to it, it sounds like he co-wrote the document with Joel Osteen. It’s full of suggestions to make your life better but lacks anything resembling substance. And if you were hoping for the “Who am I to judge?” Pope, he’s missing from these pages. While much of the language is ambiguous enough to suggest movement towards a more progressive Church, he sticks to the Catholic script by not endorsing gay marriages. He pays lip service to same-sex couples while reminding the world that their relationships should not be considered real marriages in the eyes of God. Read more
One of the biggest complaints critics have of God’s Not Dead and its sequel is that both films suggest a kind of Christian persecution that just doesn’t exist in real life. No philosophy professor would ever force you to say God doesn’t exist, just like no atheist group would sue a teacher over a harmless mention of Jesus in the classroom. But the filmmakers insist this sort of anti-Christian discrimination happens all the time. Just to prove it, in both films, the closing credits include a list of court cases supposedly documenting this very thing. It’s time to debunk this myth that Christian persecution is real. Read more