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.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is no friend of science educators. Last year, he passed a voucher plan that would give more than $11,000,000 of taxpayer money to private schools that teach Creationism. But I can’t remember him ever supporting the teaching of Creationism as openly as he did in a recent interview with Hoda Kotb (the relevant portion begins at the 9:00 mark): [Click headline for more…] Read more
We’re used to seeing letters-to-the-editor and random conservative bloggers and pundits defend the Boy Scouts of America and their decision to ban gays (and atheists) from being members of their organization. Now that the BSA is reconsidering their decision, those people are urging them to stick with their current policy. What we’re not used to seeing is editorial boards of newspapers defending the old policy. They’re supposed to be the voices of reason leading the way forward. So you have to wonder why the staffers at the Kingsport Times-News (Tennessee) believe that separate but equal is the best way to go. (The article is behind a paywall… maybe they thought it’d be best if only local residents saw this piece): [Click headline for more…] Read more
Today marks the release of a new academic (and expensive) book called There Is No God: Atheists in America by David A. Williamson and George Yancey: It’s a look at atheists from a sociological perspective — not an argument for it or against it — but I’m already put off by the title, which suggests that atheists have this absolute certainty that God doesn’t exist… instead of what most of us really live by, which is probable certainty. We might live like God doesn’t exist but we’re open to evidence to the contrary. [Click headline for more…] Read more