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’ve said before that atheists could put up a billboard saying, “We exist,” and Christians would find a way to get offended. Case in point: The Center For Inquiry recently put this billboard up in several cities: “You don’t need God — to hope, to care, to love, to live.” Pretty mild, right? Now, check out how the local NBC affiliate in Niagara Falls, New York reacted to it: Really?! *That* billboard is too “anti-god” for you? The message isn’t… Read more
Beth Moore is a Christian evangelist. Fairly popular. John Piper is a Christian preacher/author. Also popular. Last week, someone asked Piper for his advice: I’m a guy. Is it wrong for me to listen to Beth Moore? (No, really, someone wanted advice about that. Because that’s a source of conflict in this guy’s mind.) Piper responded with the obvious answer: No, of course it’s not wrong. Listen to what she says. And if the advice is good, think about how… Read more
On Friday, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 (PDF) that public high schools holding graduation ceremonies inside churches were not violating the Establishment Clause and church/state separation. “There is no realistic endorsement of religion by the mere act of renting a building belonging to a religious group,” Judge Kenneth R. Ripple wrote for the majority. … … Graduates weren’t forced to participate in any religious exercise, Ripple wrote. As for the religious environment, the U.S. Constitution doesn’t shield… Read more
Sean Faircloth, the Executive Director of the Secular Coalition for America, has resigned from his position. He will be joining the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science (RDFRS) as their new Director of Strategy and Policy. Dawkins explained it this way: “[Faircloth] has a proven ability to strategize, organize, and energize — qualities essential to making secularism a successful social movement. Sean wrote the Secular Decade plan while Executive Director of Secular Coalition for America and led the early… Read more
