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.
David Hayward is on a roll with his list of reasons to be scared of atheists: 4. There are some atheists out there who would challenge your beliefs and question your assumptions, even respectfully, which can make for a very difficult conversation. … 6. There are some atheists who are actually good people and because of this will really complicate your tidy categories of who’s in and who’s out. … 8. There are some atheists who, because of their quality of intelligence and character, will upset your faith and make you wonder why your God should punish such a person. Turns out we’re scary because we’re not scary at all. Read more
Just a quick reminder that I’ll be speaking in North and South Carolina this weekend! All the events are free (donations accepted!), kids are welcome to attend, and I might dance at one of the talks. Maybe. Details are below: Group: Charlotte Atheists City: Charlotte, NC Location: University of North Carolina at Charlotte main campus, Cone Center, 3rd floor, Lucas Room Date: Saturday, June 15 Time: 3:00p Group: Secular Humanists of the Lowcountry City: Charleston, SC Location: Gage Hall, 4 Archdale Street Date: Sunday, June 16 Time: 4:00p Group: Triangle Freethought Society City: Raleigh, NC Location: Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Raleigh, Founders Hall, 3313 Wade Avenue, Raleigh, NC 27607 Date: Monday, June 17 Time: 6:30p Read more
Mary Elizabeth Williams, writing for Salon, thinks that atheists are “just as obnoxious as Christians.” She lowers us to their level because atheists recently fought to be treated like Christians in a Florida school district. Atheists aren’t being “obnoxious” when we force government officials to treat us like they do Christians — we’re being strategic under the rules of the law. And it works. [Click headline for more…] Read more
Earlier this week, Rep. Rob Andrews (D-NJ) put forth an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would allow for non-religious military chaplains: The Secretary of Defense shall provide for the appointment, as officers in the Chaplain Corps of the Armed Forces, of persons who are certified or ordained by non-theistic organizations and institutions, such as humanist, ethical culturalist, or atheist. Republicans (and some Democrats) in the House Armed Services Committee voted against the amendment 43-18 so it didn’t leave the committee. That didn’t mean the end of the legislation, though. Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) tried to get the amendment through without the support of the Committee: [Click headline for more…] Read more
Laurie Higgins of the Illinois Family Institute can’t believe that the Glen Ellyn Elementary District 41 school board voted 6-1 to overturn the ban on The Perks of Being a Wallflower earlier this week, so she’s griping about how kids reading things she finds indecent is bad for society and how teachers who encourage students to read these challenging books are political activists “masquerading as ‘educators'” and how the sky is falling. She doesn’t like the “stronger” parental notification compromise, either, where the note that goes home to parents each year will explain that students may choose to read books with “mature content” but parents have a right to say no to those selections: [Click headline for more…] Read more