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.
Despite their best efforts, Jehovah’s Witnesses often leave the faith. That’s why, in order to ensure the faithful stay faithful, the Watchtower Society maintains a policy of shunning dissenting members in a process called disfellowshipping. Here’s how it began and what it looks like in practice. Read more
Back in June, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that a Ten Commandments monument on the grounds of the State Capitol was unconstitutional: The Governor ordered the monument to stay put while the state appealed the decision any way it could. That led Attorney General Scott Pruitt to file a request for a rehearing of the case. Read more
The other day, I posted about how a pastor from First Baptist Villa Rica church (in Georgia) conducted a mass baptism before Villa Rica High School’s football practice. It was on school property and it involved players and a coach. Already, you should be able to spot multiple violations of the law. The Freedom From Religion Foundation sent the Carroll County School System a letter telling them to stop this immediately and the District said they’re looking into this. In the meantime, the pastor who conducted the baptisms, Kevin Williams, is showing off just how ignorant he is by asking some incredibly idiotic questions, each one dumber than the last: Read more
If you’re in seventh grade, the Tennessee Board of Education says your social studies class must include discussion about what Islam teaches, how it spread throughout world history, and how Muslims have contributed to mathematics, art, literature, etc. Pretty basic stuff. But a Christian group plans to hold a silent protest outside Vance Middle School in the city of Bristol today, because they don’t want their children to be indoctrinated in any of this “education” bullshit. Read more
