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.
If you’re a student who really wants to proselytize to your classmates, there are plenty of opportunities to do it: On weekends, outside of school, during lunch, etc. But a lot of Christians aren’t satisfied with that — they want to talk about Jesus in a way so that students are forced to listen. The courts have said they can’t do that over the loudspeakers during morning announcements or over the loudspeakers at athletic events. So many student speakers have tried to use their platform at graduation ceremonies to invoke the name of God. That’s what happened in one particular case in 2009. Read more
There doesn’t have to be a lawsuit over this. Money that should be spent on the children can still be spent on the children. Instead of thinking about them, though, the board members are selfishly putting up a fight about something that has nothing to do with education just so they can show everyone they’re True ChristiansTM. Read more
In an interview airing at halftime of the Super Bowl, President Obama tells Scott Pelley that he thinks gays should be allowed in the Boy Scouts of America: In general, he says the Scouts are a great group and there’s no reason to deny gay scouts (or troop leaders) access to the opportunities the BSA provides: It’s the last line that gets me: The Scouts are a great institution that are promoting young people and… exposing them to opportunities and leadership that will serve people for the rest of their lives, and I think that nobody should be barred from that. Read more