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.
We already know Alcoholics Anonymous is not a program designed for atheists. 6 of the famed “12 Steps” refer to a Higher Power/God. There are secular alternatives, but nothing with the size and scope of AA. Author Marya Hornbacher knew she needed help battling her addiction but, as an atheist, AA didn’t seem like the right place for her. Instead of attending a meeting of a secular alternative, though, she went through AA’s program, finding her own ways to get… Read more
Of all the atheist billboards to get rejected by advertising companies, this one will amaze you: “You don’t need God — to hope, to care, to love, to live.” What’s wrong with that? You don’t need a god for any of those things. And if you feel you do need god in your life, well, this billboard isn’t directed at you. Still, that harmless message has been deemed “too controversial” in Knoxville, Tennessee. First, some background: The Center for Inquiry’s… Read more
There’s an article by Kimberly Winston of Religion News Service making the rounds about how 9/11 was a major spark for the New Atheism movement. It’s the event that led Sam Harris to write The End of Faith, and that book was followed by several others: Published in 2004, Harris’s “The End of Faith” launched the so-called “New Atheist” movement, a make-no-apologies ideology that maintains that religion is not just flawed, but evil, and must be rejected. … Within two… Read more
There’s an update on Jerry Buell, the anti-gay high school teacher who was reassigned from the classroom because of things he posted on his Facebook page, but allowed back into his classroom on Thursday. A couple days ago, I defended his right to free speech, arguing that he should be able to post his thoughts — bigoted as they are — on his private Facebook page without it affecting his employment. If his classroom was kept free of judgment, and… Read more
We all know there’s an awful relationship between Christian schools and LGBT students. At some schools, the mere mention that you like someone of the same sex will cause the Christian Police to come after you (reparative therapy, anyone?)… At some schools, like Harding University in Arkansas, anonymous gay students put out an ezine with their stories. Even at evangelical stronghold Wheaton College, there’s now a community of LGBTQ and ally students. Still, these students have to remain anonymous or… Read more
