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.
Jason Bachand at A Bright Blog has a nice interview with Jessica Ahlquist in anticipation of her upcoming trial to remove the religious banner from Cranston High School West. ABB: Let’s talk about the growing phenomenon of atheist bullying. As more young people come “out” about their atheism, there’s been a concurrent rise in hateful, often violent responses from their communities. (The case of Damon Fowler from Louisiana comes to mind.) What has been the lowest or most difficult moment… Read more
It’s reader Jessica’s birthday (Happy birthday!) and her boyfriend made her a nice mix CD of atheist-themed songs! I know, I know, you’re surprise that anyone still makes mix CDs… whatever. It’s sweet. Here’s the playlist: 1 The Great Disappointment – AFI 2 Theologians – Wilco 3 Won’t Somebody (Acoustic) – Bad Religion 4 What if No One’s Watching – Ani DiFranco 5 Evangeline – Matthew Sweet 6 Best God In Show – NoFX 7 The Answer – Bad Religion… Read more
George Clooney’s new movie The Ides of March opens this Friday. In it, he plays Mike Morris, a sitting governor who’s running for president. Ryan Gosling plays his campaign strategist: From what I can tell, the movie doesn’t make a big deal about this, but I will: Clooney is described as “an agnostic or atheist who refuses to discuss religion.” Another source points out this line of dialogue: “I am neither a Christian, nor an atheist, I’m not Jewish or… Read more
This was the cartoon published by Turkish cartoonist Bahadır Baruter in the weekly humor magazine “Penguen”: The guy on the phone is talking to God, “asking to be pardoned from the last part of the prayer because he has errands to run.” More importantly, the part circled in red is a somewhat-hidden message that says “There is no Allah, religion is a lie.” For all that, Baruter is now on trial and faces prison time: The Istanbul chief public prosecutor’s… Read more
Michael Park is an atheist who’s trying to raise money for the Special Olympics Connecticut by doing something you will never ever ever see me do: rappel down a tall building: … when my employer offered the opportunity to support Special Olympics by rappelling down a 30 story building, there was no way I could say no. I get to swing down the side of a building AND help people?!? This is about as close to being Batman as I’m… Read more
