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 a petition making the rounds on the White House website to remove “Under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance. It’s getting a lot of support… which, as you know, means absolutely nothing. The Pledge won’t change anytime soon. (If it ever does change back to it original form, you can bet it’ll be via the judicial system, not Congress or the President.) But there’s no reason you can’t lend your symbolic support: Odds are this won’t get an “official”… Read more
For the past decade, public prayers have been a regular part of the weekly football pre-game ritual at Arab High School in Alabama. That led the Freedom From Religion Foundation to send a notice (PDF) to the district’s superintendent: Arab City Schools must take immediate action to ensure that prayers are not scheduled at any school-sponsored events. The prayers at the football games constitute an unconstitutional government endorsement of religion. A reasonable Arab City Schools student would certainly perceive the… Read more
This is the price some students have to pay for standing up to religious forces in their public high school: Jessica Ahlquist is strong and confident — I know she can handle it. But she shouldn’t have to deal with anything like this just because she’s a vocal minority fighting against an illegal religious banner hanging in her school. Her courage is inspiring to me and (I know) a lot of you. Please support groups like the Secular Student Alliance… Read more
