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.
***If you want instant updates, I suggest reading the #TAM9 Twitter feed*** Thanks to @UAJamie for the great pictures! We’ll be providing updates on the conference all day while getting interviews with many of the speakers. Stick around and refresh the page for more info! You can read about the Friday Morning Session here, the Friday Afternoon Session here, the Saturday Morning Session here, the Saturday Afternoon Session here, the Sunday Morning Session here, and the Sunday Afternoon Session here…. Read more
Since popular pastor Mark Driscoll asked his followers to share stories about “the most effeminate anatomically male worship leader you’ve ever personally witnessed,” other Christians have taken note of something many atheists have known for quite some time: Christianity doesn’t make you a better, kinder, or more empathetic person. If anything, the Christianity we’re used to is hypocritical, intolerant, and the source of so much pain for so many people. It’s important to note that Driscoll didn’t say anything out… Read more
I’m taking off for The Amazing Meeting 9 today, so I can’t dig for more information right now, but can anyone find out why the city of Midland, Texas is using $50,000 of taxpayer money (PDF) to pay for Rock the Desert, an event with a mission “to reach today’s generation through contemporary Christian music and recreation so that they may hear the life changing Message of Jesus Christ”? (via Sleepless in Midland — Thanks to Brian for the link!)… Read more
Niko Alm seems thrilled that Austrian officials gave him the green light to wear a colander, the official headwear for Pastafarians, in his driver’s license picture. It’s only fair — they allow for other religious head covering as well: “Today I was able to get my new driving license, and in it you can clearly see that I’m wearing a colander on my head to demonstrate my allegiance to the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster,” Alm wrote in his… Read more
Texas Governor Rick Perry plans to hold a giant Prayer-and-Fasting-fest to fix our nation’s problems on August 6th at Reliant Stadium. He’s invited several other governors to join him, though only a couple have accepted. The event is being hosted by the American Family Association, anti-gay organization considered a “hate group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center. This is obviously a church/state violation and the Freedom From Religion Foundation filed a federal lawsuit yesterday (PDF) to put a stop to… Read more