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.
Because their city hall had a Nativity scene out front, the Orange County Atheists of Texas decided it was only fair to request a display of their own. It was a simple banner that said “Happy Holidays” (regardless of what anyone believed): Turns out that peace coexistence was out of the question. Instead of letting the banner go up, perhaps giving the atheists a sort of symbolic victory, city officials decided they’d rather just take down the Nativity. Read more
Four years after his death, the loss of Christopher Hitchens is still felt by many atheists. In a time when Republican candidates will say damn near anything to get support from the toxic Religious Right, when fundamentalist Islam is creating havoc on an international scale, and when critical thinking is severely underrated, Hitchens’ take-no-prisoners approach to religion that seemed so radical at one time is sorely missed today. Read more
It was more than a year ago that David Lane, the founder of the American Renewal Project, said he wanted to recruit 1,000 Christian pastors to run for public office (each with hundreds of Christian volunteers). If he succeeded, it would be a way to roll back LGBT rights, women’s rights, and many other progressive victories. His unbelievable reason for doing this was that “For too many decades the Church has accepted the outlandish idea that it is not to be involved in politics.” Which is news to all of us who see a Congress that’s 92% Christian and 0% atheist. How’s his plan shaping up? The recruiting is well underway and the pastors are making sure their congregations are *wink wink* registered to vote. Read more
