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.
Maryam Namazie, Spokesperson of the One Law for All campaign against Sharia Law in Britain and the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain, gave a rousing speech against religious intervention in politics. You *have* to listen to this: The enforcement of religious laws… is an attack on the rights of women, children and gay people, non-believers and people of other religions. Secularism is the only way to protect all human rights, and it is under attack from militant faith, globally. So… Read more
One of the hardest things to do when you’re a religious person is step outside the orthodoxy, but here are a couple responses to that from people inside the faith. David Hayward shows what happens when a Christian steps out of line from the rest of the congregation: It’s easy to talk the talk of diversification. It’s another thing to practice and embrace it. Especially if you are all alone. … On a somewhat similar note, Jon Acuff at Stuff… Read more
The Southern Baptist Convention has a problem. “We’ve always had a global mission and a global task and we need to seriously look at the question of does our name — ‘Southern’ — cause us to be hindered from accomplishing that global task that God has given us,” he asked. “Southern” is scary. “Baptist” is scarier. “Convention” is just unnecessary. The best part about this? They want your suggestions: SBC President Bryant Wright is seeking your input on a new… Read more
How do you get publicity for your campus atheist group when you’re brand new and very few people know you exist? If you’re the new Secular Student Alliance affiliate at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, you grab all the chalk you can find and get your messages out there: Love it! Their next meeting is Monday, October 3rd (location TBA), so if you’re in the area, check out their Facebook page for more updates. (Thanks to Mandi for… Read more
