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.
A nine-year-old was molested by a church leader many years ago. The church knew about it, but kept it a secret. The victim is now 26. It’s taken that long for this case to run its course. But the church leader was found guilty of the abuse and the church was found guilty of covering it up. A jury has just rewarded the victim $21,000,000 in punitive damages and $7,000,000 in compensatory damages. The church will owe $23,800,000 of that… Read more
Who knew Jesus wrote a letter to Joseph?! You were a pretty good stepdad to me over the years so I think it is time I told you the truth — the truth about my father. As you know, you’re not my father. But what you don’t know, and what none of my followers know, is that God is not my father. My mother was no more a virgin than David or Solomon’s concubines when I was conceived! And my… Read more
Remember Julea Ward? She was the graduate student in counseling at Eastern Michigan University who refused to treat a suicidal gay student because her Christianity prevented her from “helping him feel better about himself.” Thankfully, a judge dismissed her case in 2010, saying that EMU was right to kick her out of their grad school program. Michigan’s House — the one that can’t bring itself to say the word “vagina” — passed a bill on Tuesday with a 59-50 vote… Read more
Sean Faircloth, author of Attack of the Theocrats! How the Religious Right Harms Us All — and What We Can Do About It spoke at Rock Beyond Belief in March and video of his talk is now online. In it, Faircloth addresses the multimillion dollar “Spirituality Fitness Test” imposed by the U.S. Military: As always, if there are any parts you really liked, please leave the timestamp and summary in the comments! Read more
Lisa Brown (D-West Bloomfield), a member of the Michigan House, spoke out against a handful of anti-abortion bills being considered by House Republicans on Wednesday. One of the points she wanted to make was that she has religious beliefs about abortion, too, but she doesn’t pass legislation in favor of those beliefs. Republicans/Christians ought to do the same. So she said as much on the House floor on Wednesday. You’ll want to watch this video…: I’m Jewish. I keep kosher… Read more