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.
On Friday night, I had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to photograph a presidential hopeful and represent atheists at the same time. Bernie Sanders was making an appearance at the historic Adler Theater in Davenport, Iowa for an event called “Rockin the Bern” and I had the chance to photograph him. How did that happen? A friend of mine is running for the Democratic nomination in Iowa’s 1st District and was invited to introduce Mr. Sanders, so I acquired a media pass to photograph my friend and the event. (I wasn’t representing any media outlet and — full disclosure — I’m making my images available to both my friend’s campaign and the Sanders campaign.) As I drove the two hours from my house to Davenport, I began thinking about what I would say or ask Sanders if I had the opportunity at some point in the night. My mind immediately went to religion. Read more
Pat Robertson told viewers of The 700 Club yesterday that Supreme Court rulings don’t really matter if state legislators or members of Congress don’t pass laws saying the same thing. At least, that seems to be his reasoning for why the Obergefell decision (that legalized marriage equality nationwide) doesn’t really apply to everyone. Rather, he said, it only counts for the people who filed the lawsuit. Read more
Since 1956, the U.S. motto has been “In God We Trust”… which is silly, since it doesn’t even apply to a large swath of the country. That’s why a group of activists recently began the Original Motto Project, hoping to remind everyone that the original (though unofficial) motto of the country was once “E pluribus unum” (out of many, one). To that end, they just compiled a map of all the police departments and sheriff’s offices in America that have put “In God We Trust” decals on all vehicles. The leaders of those agencies always claim it’s “just the motto,” concealing their true intention of pushing Christianity onto everyone else. Read more
