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.
There’s good news in Illinois for those of us who support church/state separation. After our state passed the recent Civil Unions bill, state-funded adoption agencies (including religious ones) had to allow gay and lesbian couples to adopt children. Since Catholic Charities was more interested in advancing their form of bigotry instead of put children in safe, loving homes, they were eventually forced to comply with the law or shut down their services. They chose to shut down. That’s what their… Read more
Comedian Bill Maher appeared on The Rachel Maddow Show tonight. While Occupy Wall Street was the more important topic, they (not surprisingly) got into religion — specifically, Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith — in the second segment: Highlights: [Speaking as Romney] “Yes, I’m a Mormon. That’s different than a Christian. But what’s important is that we all believe in nonsense.” … [Speaking as himself] “All religion is nuts. But Mormonism just takes it to a different level. I mean, all religion… Read more
You all saw the front page of the Providence Journal today, right? Because it’s pretty freakin’ amazing (PDF): Paul Davis’ cover story highlights Jessica Ahlquist’s legal battle against Cranston High School West and how its leaders have stubbornly refused to obey the law and take down the unconstitutional Christian banner hanging in the auditorium: In March, the School Committee voted to keep the prayer because it is a historic document created more than 50 years ago — along with a… Read more
This is a guest post by readers Heather and Rod. Along with their respective partners, both attended a recent “Marriage Symposium” (PDF) sponsored by the Illinois Family Institute and Patriots United — undercover, on my behalf. Their reports are below, with Heather in regular font and Rod in red font. … When I heard that the Illinois Family Institute and Patriots United were going to host a Marriage Symposium I was excited to go check it out. I knew that… Read more
