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.
I have an unbelievable update about the money we raised for the people of Morton Grove, Illinois near the bottom of this post. Really, you won’t believe how this thing is shaking out. In case you want the full story, though, I’m going to repost much of what I’ve written before: … Back in October, I posted about how the American Legion Post 134 was financially boycotting the Morton Grove Park District because its Commissioner Dan Ashta wouldn’t stand for the Pledge of Allegiance at board meetings. Ashta’s sitting down for the Pledge cost the district $2,600 that the American Legion group had been giving them each year. Read more
In case you needed more evidence that Catholic school students are often kinder, more decent people than Church officials, just look at what happened at Eastside Catholic High School (in Seattle, Washington) today. On Tuesday, Assistant Principal Mark Zmuda was forced to resign from his position after school officials confronted him about his sexual orientation and summer wedding. Tomorrow will be his last day at school thanks to the “loving,” “grace-filled” nature of the Catholic Church. But the students at the school weren’t taking that decision lightly. Today, they staged protests online, on Twitter, in the cafeteria, and outside the school: Read more
Seriously, atheists, I don’t know which one of you did this, but it looks like you did this and it’s unacceptable. Yesterday, we learned about an anonymous note sent to a family telling them they should reconsider their “flagrant display” of Christian beliefs… because there was a Nativity scene on their front lawn. (Which, I should point out, is perfectly legal and fine.) Now, Paul Cox of the Sacramento Freethinkers, Atheists and Nonbelievers posted on the group’s Facebook page images of signs that appeared in front of (and across the street from) his Christian father’s front-lawn display: Read more
You knew there would be problems when Oklahoma state officials approved a Ten Commandments monument outside the building in 2012. Two weeks ago, the Satanic Temple made nationwide headlines when they said they wanted to donate a monument to be placed in the same area. A week later, a Hindu group followed, saying they wanted to donate a monument of Lord Hanuman: You *know* more applications were in the pipelines, too — I mean, atheists hadn’t even offered anything yet! — which must be why the Oklahoma Capitol Preservation Commission voted unanimously today to declare a moratorium on monuments: Read more
