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.
Suppose you and your partner had a disagreement about how to raise your child. It would be wise to ask advice from others who have been through the same situation. Now suppose you’re opposed to vaccinating your child. Your partner is adamantly on the side of science. Neither of you is willing to budge. And then you ask Reddit for advice. That’s what one very foolish pregnant mother did… Read more
The Jehovah’s Witnesses have an obvious problem with child abuse in their church, one that is exacerbated by the Church insistence on secrecy. There are the ridiculous ways they internally handle accusations. Like the “Two Witness rule,” which says your account of abuse is only taken seriously by Church elders if another person witnessed it… even though the only other person around may be the abuser himself. There’s one loophole to that rule: if a second victim comes forth, that counts as another witness. But, as Lloyd Evans points out in his very thorough video on abuse within the Church, that’s like letting an alleged murderer off the hook until he murders again. The whole 90-minute video exposes the problem within the JW Church and how its leaders have done a horrible job of addressing it: Read more
Cristin Padgett decided she wanted to run for the Texas State House when her district’s current representative, Republican Scott Turner announced last summer that he would not be running for re-election. Padgett figured the best strategy when running in House District 33 (which includes the cities of Frisco and Rockwall) would be honesty about who she was and what she believed. So before anyone could “out” her, she came right out and let everyone know she was an atheist: Read more
Juan Mendez is the State Representative from Tempe, Arizona who was first elected in 2012. He made headlines in our community in 2013 when he delivered the first of two invocations honoring his Secular Humanism. He has also encouraged others to do the same and been a champion of other atheist candidates. Now, Mendez is preparing to challenge Christian privilege in a new way. Read more
