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.
In Oregon, one of the few states where Democrats control the legislature and governorship, there’s an odd situation where committee hearings at the Capitol require those testifying to swear an oath that includes the phrase “So help me God.” That’s obviously a problem for atheists. It’s also a problem for religious people whose faith prevents them from taking oaths mentioning God. Senate Bill 1595 is a way to fix that. It puts forth a very simple change, really just adding two words to existing law: Read more
The Washington Post’s Emma Brown has a really interesting article about a Christian organization training public school teachers on how to express their faith while on the clock. Obviously, they’re not telling them to proselytize in class, since that’s illegal, but the Christian Educators Association International shows them how to promote Jesus in subtle ways that won’t get them in trouble: Read more
Last night, Neil deGrasse Tyson — King of Nerds, Defender of Science, First of His Name — surprised a lot of his fans when he tweeted out what appeared to be a sort-of defense of Donald Trump. It came a day after Trump canceled a rally in Chicago after thousands of protesters came out in a show of solidarity against him. Read more
Last September, we learned that Pope Francis, during his *totally* non-political trip to the U.S., managed to squeeze in some time to meet Kim Davis, the Kentucky bigot who believed her Christian faith trumped the rights of gay couples to get married. The man who arranged that meeting is finally “retiring.” Read more