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.
There’s a Supreme Court case that will be heard this October involving prayer at government meetings and I plan to post something far more thorough about it very soon. But one update really needs to be mentioned now. The Obama administration, on Thursday, weighed in on the case with an amicus brief (PDF), intended to urge the Supreme Court to act in a certain way. The brief says very clearly that the administration, led by Solicitor General Don Verrilli, is on the side of allowing invocation prayers: [Click headline for more…] Read more
Dr. Michael Burgess (R-TX) — the guy who believes fetuses can masturbate — is one of the representatives who voted (twice) to deny non-religious people like Jason Heap from joining the military chaplaincy. Daniel Moran attended a town hall event with Burgess yesterday and asked him about those votes. Instead of offering a rational explanation as to why he voted that way, Burgess essentially dismissed the idea of non-religious chaplains, showing in the process a complete lack of understanding as to why they’re needed: [Click headline for more…] Read more
Alison Green runs a website called Ask a Manager. It’s pretty self-explanatory — she gets a lot of questions from all sorts of employers and employees and she answers them as best she can. She recently responded to this dilemma from someone looking for a job: I’m a job-hunting recent grad, and I’m applying for jobs all over the place. One of the more interesting openings I’ve seen is at a science museum working as an educator. I’m a communications major, not a scientist, but I think I’d do well at the job and I’m hoping I’ll get an interview. The problem comes from my educational background. I’m a graduate of a decently-sized Christian university that puts heavy emphasis on a literal 6-day creation week. These are the sorts of folks who believe that the earth is no more than 8,000 years old, that fossils are the result of a catastrophic world-wide flood, and that evolution only happened on a small scale — like wolves and dogs, but no further than that. The fact that all their professors agree to teach this is a big selling point for the school, and it’s advertised quite prominently. Anyone who googles my university will realize this within about three minutes. My high school and elementary school (the application asked for those as well) are much the same. [Click headline for more…] Read more
This is a guest post by Emily. A native Texan, Emily writes on issues of atheism, Humanism, state secularism, egalitarianism, and free-expression. She is an aspiring speaker, avid reader, and strives to spread awareness of these issues, online and in person. … This past weekend in Houston, Answers in Genesis founder Ken Ham was the keynote speaker at the Texas Home School Coalition’s convention, pandering the hogwash of dinosaurs and humans living at the same time. After many refused attempts… Read more
