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.
Our latest podcast guest is Jocelyn Floyd, an attorney working with the Thomas More Society, a non-profit group that usually defends religious liberty cases. As a frame of reference, they’re usually on the other side of the Freedom From Religion Foundation on the issues. She also serves as a board member for the Northern Illinois chapter of the Christian Legal Society. I spoke with Floyd about Nativity scenes on government property, the need for anonymity in lawsuits, and Kim Davis. Read more
A few months ago, we had a guest post on this site about the problem with Brigham Young University’s honor code. Here’s what it boils down to: Mormons get cheaper tuition at BYU than non-Mormons. (It’s a private school. They can do that.) If you’re a non-Mormon who changes your faith while you attend school there, no big deal. But if you’re a Mormon who changes your faith, you could be expelled, evicted, fired from any university job, etc. It’s really harsh. And it sends the message that Mormons who stop believing while at BYU are better off lying than openly discussing their thoughts. Now, a student who’s been affected by that policy has written about what happened after he told a school official about his de-conversion. It’s heartbreaking. The Student Review (an independent publication) has the story: Read more
