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.
It’s bad enough that public universities have Christian chaplains for their football teams, but a high school in Florida is copying the illegal practice. At Vero Beach High School, Coach Lenny Jankowski has a chaplain on staff, Pastor Joe Moore, who leads prayers before games. The Central Florida Fellowship of Christian Athletes even flaunted the partnership on Facebook: Read more
The Texas Board of Education has long been a punchline for the rest of the country. There was the time when it was led by Creationist Don McLeroy, who did all he could to dismantle the teaching of proper science in the classroom. There was the time after he left when the Board approved textbooks suggesting Moses influenced the writing of the Constitution. There was the time the Board was led by evolution-doubter Barbara Cargill. And we’re currently at a time when the Board is led by Liberty University graduate Donna Bahorich, who thinks so highly of public schools that she home-schooled her own kids before enrolling them in a private school. Thomas Ratliff is one of the more moderate Republicans on the Board, but he’s not running for re-election. That means this coming year, there will be eight vacancies on the 15-member board. And one of the candidates trying to replace him is Mary Lou Bruner. The Texas Freedom Network has the rundown on her, and it’s frightening: Read more
Usually when we talk about City Council invocation prayers, it’s because officials decided to deny atheists or Satanists a chance to speak. In San Antonio this week, the story revolved around what a Christian pastor said. When Pastor Theo Wolmarans said his prayers to open up the meeting, he used his time to throw everyone who didn’t believe as he did under the bus: Read more
