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.
Our latest podcast guest is Linda Wertheimer, author of Faith Ed: Teaching About Religion in an Age of Intolerance. Wertheimer is a former education editor of the Boston Globe and a reporter at the Dallas Morning News and Orlando Sentinel. We spoke with her about groups that oppose the teaching of basic Islamic beliefs in public schools; whether teachers are properly equipped to objectively discuss religion in the classroom; and why atheists, Mormons, and Jews tend to know more about religion than larger faith groups. Read more
Last month, I posted an interview with Conor Robinson, who began the Humanist Service Corps (a project of Foundation Beyond Belief). It’s sort of like a non-proselytizing, secular mission trip. Conor is currently leading a team in Ghana for his second stint overseas, doing a lot of incredible work over there. One of the questions that popped up after that interview was one we really should have addressed up front: How is the Humanist Service Corps different from something like the Peace Corps? Writing at Applied Sentience, he answers that question in detail: Read more
For prisoners who are granted parole or finish their sentences, it can be very tough to assimilate back into society. If they’re lucky, they’ll have the help of individuals or organizations that can serve as a sort of training area from the moment they leave prison, teaching them vital skills, helping them obtain necessary paperwork, offering useful social programs, and showing them how to get food and apply for housing. Florida works with several groups that provide these services, but two of them — Prisoners of Christ and Lamb of God Ministries — are explicitly Christian organizations. They’re voluntary, but there’s a question of whether the state should be using taxpayer money to support any faith-based group that does this sort of work. Now, a judge has answered that question with a disturbing “Yes.” Read more
