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 support stem-cell research. And I oppose killing animals for food when alternatives are readily available (even if they’re “humanely killed”). I’m 28 and I’ve still never (purposely) eaten beef or fried chicken or turkey on Thanksgiving or fish or… you get the point. It used to be for religious reasons, but for most of my life now, it’s been for personal ones. Here’s a hypothetical scenario I’ve never considered until now: What if you took stem cells from a… Read more
***Update***: This story is from 2000, just FYI. Thanks to everyone who pointed that out. … Just read the headline: The gist of that particular article is that Unity Truth Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba created a food bank to help feed the hungry — a wonderful gesture by any group of people — but they’re shutting it down for a couple different reasons. 1) It’s attracting unpleasant clientele: … The church’s board of trustees made the decision to cancel the… Read more
Some exciting news from the home office! Patheos.com, the web’s premier destination for dialogue on religion and spirituality, announced that its site traffic has surpassed 1 million monthly unique visitors. … In just over two years, Patheos has vaulted into the No. 3 position globally among websites focused on discussion of religion and spirituality. An impressive accomplishment in its own right, what makes this more impressive is that Patheos has been able to accomplish this at a fraction of the… Read more
While the East Coast was dealing with Hurricane Irene over the weekend, there was an apartment fire not far from me in Boystown (the “gay neighborhood” in Chicago). A lot of people are homeless right now (thankfully, though, it doesn’t look like any lives were lost). About 100 people were displaced by the blaze, since about 60 units were affected, according to the American Red Cross. Most of the residents who were displaced have been able to find temporary shelter… Read more
This is the ad that just went up on 11 buses in Spokane, Washington, just in time for the Spokane County Interstate Fair: The Spokane Coalition of Reason put up the ad (thanks to the United Coalition of Reason footing the $4,516 bill). Reaching out to the like minded isn’t the only goal of the effort: “We want people to understand that we are a legitimate part of the community,” said Ray Ideus, a former Lutheran minister-turned-atheist who now directs… Read more
