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.
A couple of days ago, I posted about the Christian cross at the Port Neches RiverFront Park in Texas. The symbol is obviously religious and has no business being there. And just because it went up several decades ago is no reason to keep it in place. That’s why the Freedom From Religion Foundation got involved. Yesterday, there was a vigil held in the park by those who want the cross to remain in place. That’s fine. They have a right to parade their ignorance. But it’s appalling that the town’s mayor, Glenn Johnson, showed up to defend government promotion of Christianity: Read more
The Jehovah’s Witnesses have a rule requiring political neutrality. That means they “do not lobby, vote for political parties or candidates, run for government office, or participate in any action to change governments.” Okay, fine, whatever. But in the wake of the Paris terror attacks, a lot of people on Facebook have been France-ifying their profile pictures, overlaying vertical blue, white, and red stripes on their images. One pro-JW group on Facebook (though not an official one) is torn apart by this. As if showing solidarity with the victims by using the French flag violates their random religious rule: Read more
Writing for Salon, which is always a scary way to begin a sentence, Sophia A. McClennen praises Bill Maher for posing provocative questions on Real Time that few people on TV dare to ask. It’s not that he’s always right — he’s not — but he’s willing to call out injustice as he sees it, even when it’s coming from his own side: Read more
