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.
This is beautiful to watch. At Brave New Voices 2012 (you might have seen the competition on HBO), there was a powerful poem about Pat Robertson… I’ve attempted to transcribe the video below (feel free to correct me), but you need to watch the video for the full effect: The following begins with a quote. “God allowed Hurricane Katrina as retribution for the shedding of innocent blood and legalized abortion.” — Televangelist and religious personality Pat Robertson. Dear Mr. Robertson,… Read more
This is big: The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals just ruled that a Wisconsin school district violated the First Amendment when it held its graduation ceremonies in a church. The backstory: Elmbrook School District in Brookfield, Wisconsin held its graduation ceremonies at Elmbrook Church (an evangelical, non-denominational Christian church) from 2000 to 2009. That’s not necessarily a Constitutional violation — sometimes, it’s the only available space in a community large enough to fit a lot of people… but that… Read more
Earlier today, the NCAA issued penalties against Penn State University… what caught my eye was this comment: Instead, [NCAA president Mark] Emmert and NCAA executive committee chairman Dr. Edward J. Ray called for an immediate end to hero worship, the kind that led men in positions of authority to step out of Paterno’s way and comply to his wishes at the risk or innocent children. Watching people complain about Joe Paterno’s statue being taken down over the weekend, I was… Read more
Last week, I mentioned that the University of Louisiana at Lafayette was the first school in the state to offer an LGBT minor — and a Catholic Bishop was complaining about it. Turns out that’s only the beginning of the story. You also have the Louisiana Family Forum — you know they’re Christian because only Christians are allowed to have families — freaking out for all the wrong reasons, as Walter Pierce explains: Louisiana Family Forum, of course, got its… Read more