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.
Under the Affordable Care Act, churches didn’t have to provide employees with birth control they (wrongly) believed caused abortion but other non-profit religious institutions, like Catholic hospitals and Christian colleges, were not exempt. Owners weren’t allowed to deny female employees access to comprehensive health care because of their personal religious views. That led to a number of lawsuits against the Obama administration claiming that they were violating religious freedoms. As of yesterday, though, a new set of rules would accommodate more religious organizations so that they’re under no obligation to take care of their female employees themselves. Read more
I have no doubt in my mind that a lot of atheists would be qualified to teach a course about Christianity. Many know the Bible well; many were raised in the faith; many could teach the objective facts about the religion without a problem. But what about the other way around? Can Christian schools adequately teach students about atheism? Regis College (the theological school of the University of Toronto) is giving it a shot: Read more