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.
Over the past couple of years, what began as a personal blog has turned into a hub with several contributors and multiple posts per day. As always, I’d like to continue expanding the reach of this site. That entails bringing on additional contributors with different voices, including more guest posts from people who can offer interesting and different perspectives, creating more YouTube videos, and making the podcasts sound more professional. In order to facilitate all of this, I’ve created a page at Patreon. (You can now see on that page a list of things I’ve been able to do thanks to your contributions.) Read more
Last November, the Portland Public Schools announced that choirs would no longer perform at The Grotto — a Catholic shrine — during its Festival of Lights because it was a religious venue. That changed took place due to pressure from the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Now, Cleveland High School (in the same District) has announced that the winter choir concert will no longer end with teachers and staff members singing Handel’s “Messiah” (the “Hallelujah” song) because it’s overtly religious. Read more
Arizona law makes clear that trespassing on someone’s property is illegal with varying punishments depending on the severity of the crime. If someone makes it clear they don’t want you to knock on their door, you can’t do it. It’s that simple. That’s what a cop wanted to explain to Christian hate-Pastor Steven Anderson, after a resident complained that members of his church had trespassed on his property while proselytizing door to door. Anderson wasn’t having any of it, though. In a taped conversation which he posted on YouTube, he explained to the cop that the Bible trumped any law created by man, so he was going to knock on every door he wanted to, “No Trespassing” signs be damned. It’s apparent that Anderson gets off on the idea of being a Christian martyr, to the point where he was even daring the cop to arrest him. Read more
If you were to walk into the Itawamba County Courthouse in Mississippi anytime before last week, you’d see this sign hanging front and center: It’s not part of some historical display. It’s just a giant sign that says non-Christians aren’t going to get a fair shake under the law. That’s why the Freedom From Religion Foundation recently pointed out the illegality of the sign, and they announced yesterday that the courthouse would be removing the sign. But they’re replacing it with a banner that reads “In God We Trust.” Which is *totally* not religious in any way, shape, or form. Read more
