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.
DarkMatter2525 takes a swipe at Texas Governor Rick Perry’s recent signing of the “Merry Christmas Law”, which allows teachers and students in public schools to say Merry Christmas… something that was already perfectly legal. At the signing, Perry added: “Religious freedom does not mean freedom from religion.” (Thanks to Ed for the link!) Read more
Over the weekend, the third annual Robert G. Ingersoll Oratory Contest was held in Washington, D.C. Competitors recite excerpts from the Great Agnostic’s speeches and a panel of judges vote on the best speakers — who receive hundreds of dollars in prizes. I’m thrilled to say that this year’s winner was Sarah Henry, a high-schooler from Indiana, a camper at Camp Quest Ohio, and a contributor to this site: [Click headline for more…] Read more
We know the percentage of people who are non-religious (although some of them might be “spiritual”) is on the rise, and has been for a number of years now, as indicated in this graphic by NPR’s Matt Stiles: The Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, knowing the trends, asked people if they thought the rise of the “Nones” was a good thing. Specifically, they asked (PDF): Please tell me if you think each of the following trends is generally a good thing for American society, a bad thing for American society, or doesn’t make much difference? [Item C] More people who are not religious Turns out people aren’t thrilled about it: [Click headline for more…] Read more
Frederic C. Rich had written a fascinating new novel in which he considers what would have happened if Barack Obama had lost the 2008 election, leaving our country in the hands of John McCain and, eventually, Sarah Palin. And then we suffer another terrorist attack (7/22) As you might expect, there’s chaos everywhere, for a number of reasons. The book is called Christian Nation: A Novel: An excerpt from the book is below — and keep reading for your chance to win a copy of the book: [Click headline for more…] Read more