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 always a bad sign when a medical doctor decides to diagnose people he’s never met, much less people he doesn’t understand. But when you’re the former Republican frontrunner yet you have to settle for a fourth place finish in Iowa, what do you have to lose? At a speech last night, Dr. Ben Carson used his final plea to voters to bash advocates of church/state separation, saying they suffered from “schizophrenia” since God is everywhere in our politics. Read more
As many of you are probably aware, Brigham Young University is a private school that, while known for being operated and attended by Mormons, also admits students who are outside the faith. That means even if you don’t agree with Mormon theology, you’re still playing by Mormon rules. All students, for example, are required to abide by BYU’s “Honor Code” — that means no alcohol, coffee, or pre-marital sex. (Homosexual sex? Don’t even try.) You might recoil at all that, but again, this is a private school. They have every right to lay out the rules as they see fit. Here’s where it gets weird: If you are Mormon, and you decide to leave the church (because you stopped believing in God), your life is practically over. You’ll be expelled and possibly evicted. Your transcript won’t even be released in some cases, making it tougher to transfer. The pressure is there to keep you in the Mormon faith. Your options at that point are to lie to everybody… or be honest and suffer. But if you’re not a Mormon and you change your mind, no big deal. They don’t care. A group called FreeBYU made the case last year that all of this went far beyond what a private religious school ought to be doing. They made the perfectly reasonable case that Mormons who changed their mind about religion should simply have to pay a higher tuition (like all non-Mormon students) and that would be the end of the punishments. While BYU hasn’t announced any changes to their policies, the American Bar Association is now saying they will investigate FreeBYU’s complaints. Read more
Reader Justin Scott, an Iowan who takes his politics seriously, has been going to meet-and-greets with a number of candidates to ask why atheists should consider supporting them. He asked John Kasich about his faith, separation of church and state, and whether government employees like Kim Davis should be allowed to discriminate against others on the basis of religion. The event took place at the Czech Museum in Cedar Rapids. Kasich gave an honest answer that probably represents the least frightening form of Republican religiosity we’ve seen this election cycle. Read more