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.
Michigan Rep. Cindy Gamrat is the Christian anti-gay legislator who was kicked out of office after her affair with fellow bigot Rep. Todd Courser came to light. She has since announced that she will run for her old seat in the upcoming special election. To that end, with a headline that reads “On expelled Rep. Cindy Gamrat’s re-election bid,” the Grand Rapids Press and Kalamazoo Gazette editorial boards issued a joint statement that’s about as devastating as they get: Read more
There’s a lie a lot of Christians tell themselves regarding sexual orientation: “Love the sinner, hate the sin.” It sounds fine in theory. It rarely works in practice. The latest example involves Franklin Graham, demonizing LGBT people attending President Obama’s welcome event for Pope Francis on Wednesday. He’s angry, not because the LGBT individuals in question did anything wrong, but because they have the nerve to exist in Graham’s world. Read more
Washington State’s Bremerton High School has been in the news over the past week because assistant football coach Joe Kennedy was leading his team in prayer after games until he finally got called out on it: This sort of religious promotion tends to go unchecked in districts where Christianity is already rampant. Usually, a football coach who thinks he can lead kids in prayer is just the tip of the iceberg. If you look more closely, you’ll find more church/state violations. Jennifer Chamberlain is an employee of that high school and has a son in the District. In an essay that must have taken a lot of courage to write, she documents her own upbringing in the local schools and makes a plea to the people in the community: Read more
There’s been an education crisis in Tennessee lately because the state’s Board of Education says that the seventh grade curriculum must include lessons on what Islam teaches, how it spread throughout world history, and how Muslims have contributed to mathematics, art, literature, etc. I’m not sure why it’s a crisis, but that’s what conservatives are telling me. The latest person to whine about kids learning about other major world religions is Pastor Greg Locke of Global Vision Bible Church who offers a solution to the non-existent problem. He says parents should tell their kids to fail the class on purpose: Read more
After beating Aaron Rodgers and his Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship last year despite a really horrible performance, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson told reporters after the game, “That’s God setting it up, to make it so dramatic, so rewarding, so special.” Rodgers responded by saying God had nothing to do with it: “I don’t think God cares a whole lot about the outcome. He cares about the people involved, but I don’t think he’s a big football fan.” (Wilson later threw an interception that cost his team the Super Bowl, a mistake that he later said was just God testing him.) So last night, after the Packers beat the Seahawks, Rodgers threw a bit of shade right back at his Christian nemesis: Read more
