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.
I was worried when I started reading this post by (Christian) Jennifer McGrail about a recent shopping experience and the cashier who assisted her family: And then, he said it. The thing that would cause me to roll my eyes and hurry home to write the store a scathing letter detailing exactly why I would be hereby boycotting their store forever. He said, “Happy Holidays.” In front of my children. How dare he say such a thing to me? How… Read more
Over the weekend, reader Larry Mathys’s brother and sister-in-law found something disturbing in their son’s bed: That’s a card their son signed when a group called The Real Deal of Saline County visited his public school back in February. Larry points to the logo — which not-so-subtlely resembles a cross. Notice the expiration date on that pledge: “My Wedding Night.” (Apparently, after you get married, you can have all the illegal drugs and porn you want…?) Without asking for parental… Read more
Remember when the Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted held an online poll to decide which “I voted” sticker would be given out to voters this November? Two of the stickers mentioned God, but your votes helped another sticker rise to the top! Now, Governor John Kasich is using an online poll to help decide the slogans that will appear in the background on the state’s new license plates and drivers licenses. And, wouldn’t you know it, one of the… Read more
Back in July, I promoted a contest at GiveBack.org that promised $50,000 to the person who received the most votes. An atheist named Chris McCoy asked other users on Reddit to vote for him and he quickly took over the top spot, eventually winning the money: I was partly excited because it showed how powerful atheists could be when we worked toward specific goals and partly (ok, more than partly) excited because Chris said he wanted to support several secular… Read more