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.
Virginia is one of a handful of states that hasn’t refused Syrian refugees and we can thank Governor Terry McAuliffe for that. But his decision hasn’t been without pushback. State Senator Bill Carrico (below) is one of the Republicans in the state asking McAuliffe to reconsider his decision. Carrico has a history of putting his beliefs ahead of the law, previously pushing through an unnecessary student prayer bill as well as legislation allowing adoption agencies to discriminate against gay parents. He’s also opposed to Medicaid expansion that could provide care to approximately 400,000 residents in the state. Because that’s what Christ would do. But his letter to the Governor urging him to ban Syrian refugees is a new low. Now, Matt Skeens, a resident of Virginia, has written a letter to Carrico urging him to reconsider his Medicaid opposition using the exact same language that Carrico used in his letter to McAuliffe. I’ve bold-faced the parts that match up verbatim. Read more
The city of La Crescent, Minnesota has this dual cross/star structure sitting on government property. On Christmas, they light up the star. On Easter, they light up the cross. How do they get away with that promotion of Christianity? Simple. No one ever called them out on it… until this past summer. Read more
It won’t surprise you that religion is baked right into schools in Ireland — religious education is a mandatory subject and there’s a special emphasis on Christianity: The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment says Religious Education for the Junior Certificate allows pupils to “explore how many religions, particularly Christian religions, have shaped the Ireland you live in today” and that at least one of the major world religions will be studied in detail as well as “how different communities of faith organise themselves”. I’m all for religious education, since it’s important to understand one of the primary motivators for so much conflict in the world, but there’s a difference between education and promotion that’s lost in many of these schools. Paul Drury, a non-religious parent, has been fighting Castletroy College in Limerick to let them exempt his daughter from taking those classes. Until this week, the school insisted she remain enrolled because it was an all-inclusive course required for graduation. It’s a weird position for the school to take since the Irish Constitution says parents may opt their children out of any classes they deem contrary to their conscience. School officials finally came to their senses Monday night: Read more
Several days ago, I posted about how the city of Stockton, California held a prayer rally after a local tragedy. Mayor Anthony Silva promoted that rally on the city’s website and Facebook page, and also city resources to host the event. Finally, he gave God a “key to the city”: This wasn’t the first time Silva had promoted religion while on the job. He also “organized Town Hall meetings, co-sponsored by Christian organizations, at Calvary First Assembly of God and at Christian Life Center.” And he told reporters that the locations wouldn’t change: Read more
