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.
Robin Hanson wonders why atheists — lovers of truth, so we say — don’t give up fiction: A few days ago I asked why not become religious, if it will give you a better life, even if the evidence for religious beliefs is weak? Commenters eagerly declared their love of truth. Today I’ll ask: if you give up the benefits of religion, because you love… truth, why not also give up stories, to gain even more… truth? Alas, I expect… Read more
It’s hard to understand why a school would bar a same-sex couple from attending prom… maybe because dancing leads to slow dancing and slow dancing leads to not procreating and that goes against all things good and holy. But that’s what Lexington Catholic High School in Kentucky did to senior Hope Decker and her date, sophomore Tiffany Wright: In an email Sunday, Lexington Catholic president Steve Angelucci said, “As a Catholic high school, we uphold every teaching of the Catholic… Read more
This (high-quality!) video from the Reason Rally features philanthropist Todd Stiefel’s speech: My favorite part, talking about what atheists believe (starting at the 5:41 mark): We believe there is no rational basis to discriminate on the basis of race or gender. We believe our sex live are our business, not the government’s. We believe life has the meaning we give it through increasing happiness and decreasing suffering in the world. We believe healthcare is our decision and our doctors’, not… Read more
It’s not an American college town. Apparently, Eastern Germany wins the prize: The statistics are most striking among those under 28 years old: more than 71% of eastern Germans in this age group say they have never believed in the existence of God. That’s nearly as many as in the 38-47 group, of which 72.6% are non-believers. What the figures mean is that in eastern Germany, very young people are on the same wavelength as people from the middle generation… Read more