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.
Preacher-turned-atheist Jerry DeWitt will be featured in the The New York Times Magazine this Sunday and the article by Robert F. Worth is already up: DeWitt quickly repurposed his preacherly techniques, sharing his reverse-conversion story and his thoughts on “the five stages of disbelief” to packed crowds at “Freethinker” gatherings across the Bible Belt, in places like Little Rock and Houston. As his profile rose in the movement this spring, his Facebook and Twitter accounts began to fill with earnest… Read more
This is a guest post by Michelle. Michelle was raised Lutheran, attended a Christian college, and graduated as an agnostic. She now lives in Oswego, IL. … Andrew Wommack is a Southern pastor with a worldwide ministry based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Like other televangelists, he preaches the “health and wealth” prosperity gospel. He doesn’t label himself with any denomination, but you might think of him as Pentecostal due to his emphases on healing and speaking in tongues. Also, like… Read more
The Pennsylvania Nonbelievers are hosting a statewide conference in September — students can already get in at a steep discount — but you can win free tickets! All you have to do is send your favorite freethought quotation and contact information to contest@atheistpa.org. The winner will be selected randomly and will have their name and quotation read by Dan Barker at the conference! (***Edit***: Only PA residents over 18 are eligible to enter the contest and that travel and lodging… Read more
Kacem El Ghazzali is an Arab blogger who was forced to leave Morocco and move to Switzerland to avoid persecution because of his views. He’s a Deist, but he might as well be an atheist considering what he’s up against. It was a life or death situation for him and staying silent wasn’t an option. He recently spoke on the show Qarib Jiddan about his plight: Dr. Amna Nosseir, also interviewed in the video, doesn’t get what he’s up against…. Read more
San Diego State University’s The Daily Aztec has a nice profile of Professor Roy Whitaker, who teaches classes like “Hip Hop and Religion” and “Atheism, Humanism and Secularism.” After giving a lecture talk in 2008, Whitaker began to develop the idea behind his hip-hop course, slowly integrating the issues into a world religions course. At least one week would be dedicated to pop culture and religion. Eventually, this concept became its own class, focusing on how hip-hop culture and religious… Read more