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.
The American Family Association has released its annual “Naughty or Nice” list, sorting out which national chains celebrate Christmas and which ones don’t deserve your business because they ruin everything by acknowledging the existence of other human beings. While most of it is just a holdover from last year, a few interesting things pop out: Read more
When nursing students at Colorado Mesa University graduate this December, they will go through a ceremonial “pinning” ceremony where they are welcomed into the profession. And after they step off the stage, they will be handed a Gideons Bible. This wasn’t something the students asked for (and it wouldn’t be legal even if they wanted it). It makes no sense for a public school to hand graduates the Christian holy book, just as it would make no sense to give them a copy of the Qur’an or The God Delusion. That’s why the Western Colorado Atheists and Freethinkers sent a letter to the school this week telling them how to move forward: Read more
Last week, after voters chose to repeal the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO), an anti-discrimination bill, Mayor Annise Parker was very blunt about the possible consequences. She said she feared “a direct economic backlash as a result of this ordinance going into defeat and that’s sad for Houston.” She wasn’t kidding. There was at least discussion about whether the 2016 Super Bowl and NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament would still be held there. Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel — one of the Christian groups pushing for discrimination — heard Parker’s comments and compared her to a traitor who roots against her own team. Then, on his “Faith and Freedom” radio show, he told co-host Matt Barber the most stunning and hypocritical thing I’ve heard in a while: Read more
It’s common knowledge that singer Katy Perry, before becoming a pop star, was a gospel singer. It’s less well known that her parents are still preachers. Keith Hudson, her dad, recently did an interview with a Christian radio station in Phoenix. As he left he studio, he was accosted by Christine Weick, the lady known for protesting outside a Luciferian Church and claiming that Monster energy drinks are the work of Satan. Read more
