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.
If Ted Cruz frightens you, then his father Rafael Cruz should give you nightmares. He’s the mastermind(less) behind the whole operation. He’s a Christian pastor who believes every conspiracy theory he’s ever heard and makes Sarah Palin look like a Jeopardy champion. Not all children resemble their parents, especially in ideology. In this case, however, they’re practically clones. You’ll get a strong taste of what a Cruz presidency would look like in the video below: Read more
For some reason, the Chino Valley City Council in Arizona used to begin meetings with invocations delivered by elected officials (which the law doesn’t permit). So for a couple of weeks, while they decided on a legal alternative, the council members promised to skip the invocation during meetings. That was what Rabbi Adele Plotkin needed to hear. She had no desire to listen to Christian prayers at government meetings. But earlier this week, when she went to the meeting, she learned that Mayor Chris Marley (who is also a local pastor) would indeed be delivering a prayer, going back on his word. After he finished by invoking the name of Jesus, she protested what he said, and was soon led out of the chambers by a police officer: Read more
The boys’ basketball team at Pana High School in Illinois apparently prays with coaches after every game. And we know this because they post images of it on Facebook: The Freedom From Religion Foundation has now written to the Pana School District, along with a couple of other small Illinois schools, reminding them that the law forbids coaches to lead or participate in school-sponsored prayers: Read more
Rick Lanier is a Christian who’s been pretty successful at convincing local government officials to put up the words “In God We Trust” in their buildings and chambers. He says he wants to put up the country’s motto, though he really wants to promote his faith through government, even if symbolically. Everyone usually falls for it. But Lanier got a cold reception recently when he walked into the Cherokee Tribal Council (in Tennessee) and asked them to adopt the phrase…. Read more
