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.
What do 50 of the most renowned academic minds have to say about God? Dr. Jonathan Pararajasingham put together a film with their responses. It’s over 30 minutes long, so if there are any particular parts you think we should pay special attention to, please leave the timestamp in the comments! Someone at 3quarksdaily pointed out that the roster includes 47 white guys, 1 Indian guy (Partha Dasgupta), 1 black guy (Neil deGrasse Tyson), and 1 woman (Rebecca Goldstein). (Those… Read more
This is a depressing video, but it’s one you’ll want to watch. It’s about how American society has no problem treating atheists like shit. As it says, we’re the “least violent, most tolerant, most intelligent, most progressive” group out there… but we’re also the most hated and mistrusted. There’s discrimination and outright bigotry against us. But there’s also hope. More and more people — famous people — are going public with their non-belief. Some have even made a career out… Read more
Anders Behring Breivik, the man responsible for the recent terror in Norway, says he’s a Christian — some of his writings point to him being only a cultural Christian while several media sources have called him a “Fundamentalist Christian.” At the very least, the speculation brings up a thought experiment that I find interesting regardless of what we eventually learn about his beliefs. If he were really a Christian (even in name only), he would likely accept the divinity of… Read more
I’ve never watched (or cared to watch) a NASCAR race in my life, and I couldn’t care less about a pre-race prayer… but somehow, when Pastor Joe Nelms said the invocation before the Nationwide Federated Auto Parts 300, I couldn’t help but smile: Heavenly Father, we thank you tonight for all your blessings. You said in all things, give thanks. So we want to thank you tonight for these mighty machines that you’ve brought before us. Thank you for the… Read more
This is another interview I was really looking forward to in anticipation of The Amazing Meeting 9 in Las Vegas last week. As a math teacher, who better to talk to than Jennifer Ouellette, author of The Calculus Diaries, a book about math for people who… well… tend to fear math. Excerpts from our conversation are below. The remarks are entirely those of Ms. Ouellette, except for my own, which are [marked off in brackets]. I’ve edited our remarks for… Read more
