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.
When it comes to church/state separation, the #1 rule is (usually) pretty simple: If you’re getting taxpayer money, you can’t discriminate against a group for their race/gender/orientation/etc. for any reason. If you’re paying for everything on your own, go do what you want. That’s overly simplified, I know, but it’s the gist of the law. In Illinois, Catholic adoption agencies used to be given taxpayer money to run their businesses. In the process, they wouldn’t allow gay couples to adopt… Read more
My friend Danielle and a couple of her colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania are working on a neat project called Resolution12. The idea is simple: Instead (or in addition to) making a resolution for yourself — lose weight, get healthier, etc. — make a resolution that’s more outwardly focused and that’s going to help people besides yourself: There are a lot of Christians posting there so let’s add some atheists to the mix. I’ve already posted mine: What’s yours? Read more
Two decades ago, Herb Silverman ran for Governor of South Carolina in order to challenge the state law which said atheists could not hold public office. He may have lost the race but succeeded in raising people’s consciousness about that issue. (Technically, the law is still in the books, but it can’t be enforced.) Today, he is the Founder and President of the Secular Coalition for America. Those two events may bookend his public life as an activist, but his… Read more
The New York Times has an article in today’s paper about the recent proliferation of incidents in which public school teachers/administrators are proselytizing to students — or letting others do it on their behalf. It’s not enough that they can teacher children about Christianity. They want to convert the kids, often against the wishes of their parents. One anecdote regarding rapper B-SHOC was covered on this blog before: At a school assembly here in South Carolina on Sept. 1, a… Read more