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.
The city council in Mount Vernon, Ohio just pissed off religious nuts in the region: As the May 14 meeting drew to a close, four council members spoke against the change. Afterward, on the city hall steps, voices and questions were raised: Who complained? Who made the decision? Why wasn’t prayer on the agenda anymore? … “I think it’s pathetic,” said local religious advocate Jeff Cline… “We keep kicking God out of everything.” So what exactly did they do to… Read more
Fact: Humans and apes share a common ancestor. In that sense, we are apes. Reaction from educated people: It’s awe-inspiring that all living things share common ancestors! Reaction from Creationist Ken Ham: HOW DARE YOU CALL ME AN APE?! Ham sees the whole idea as an insult and the fact that the San Diego Zoo was selling books about evolution just set him off: How would you like to have someone tell your children that they “are an ape” –… Read more
It sounds controversial: The British Secretary of Education wants to give every state school a copy of the Bible: Every state school in England is to receive a new copy of the King James Bible from the government — with a brief foreword by Michael Gove, the education secretary, to mark the 400th anniversary of its translation. In a move intended to help every pupil access Britain’s cultural heritage, every primary and secondary school will be sent a new copy… Read more
When it comes to Jehovah’s Witnesses and their religiously-motivated reasons to deny blood transfusions, the argument usually goes like this: If adults want to let themselves die for dumb reasons like that, let them. When they let their children die for the same reasons, they’ve gone too far. … A group of Amish men are currently in court because they refuse to install smoke detectors in their New York homes: [Amish resident] Andy Miller explained that it would be against… Read more