Hemant Mehta
@friendlyatheist.com
Jeopardy! champ everywhere but Canada. Writer. YouTuber. Podcaster. Mpromptu@gmail.com. (Send me story tips!) http://linktr.ee/HemantMehta
Articles at https://friendlyatheist.com
Articles at https://friendlyatheist.com
A Colorado megachurch pastor linked LGBTQ people to child traffickers before pressuring congregants to sign anti-trans ballot petitions.
"You’re a traitor" to Jesus if you don't sign them, he said.
This is spiritual blackmail.
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/colorado-p...
"You’re a traitor" to Jesus if you don't sign them, he said.
This is spiritual blackmail.
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/colorado-p...
Colorado pastor: Sign these anti-trans ballot petitions or "you're a traitor" to Jesus
Jim Burgen's recent sermon to Flatirons Community Church exposes how fear and lies drive anti-trans Christian politics
www.friendlyatheist.com
December 26, 2025 at 2:24 PM
A Colorado megachurch pastor linked LGBTQ people to child traffickers before pressuring congregants to sign anti-trans ballot petitions.
"You’re a traitor" to Jesus if you don't sign them, he said.
This is spiritual blackmail.
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/colorado-p...
"You’re a traitor" to Jesus if you don't sign them, he said.
This is spiritual blackmail.
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/colorado-p...
Reposted by Hemant Mehta
This quote is from a piece that’s 8 years old now.
Thinking about that time I got quoted in the National Review about Bari Weiss
December 26, 2025 at 2:51 AM
This quote is from a piece that’s 8 years old now.
Reposted by Hemant Mehta
“If you have insurance for your home in case of a fire, but then you actively do things that make a fire in your home more likely, the insurance company may not have to pay out the costs if your home burns down because that was your fault.”
The Archdiocese of New York says its insurer owes it hundreds of millions of dollars to pay off sexual abuse settlements.
The insurer says you don't get coverage for crimes you knowingly enabled.
No wonder the Catholic Church is furious.
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/insurer-to...
The insurer says you don't get coverage for crimes you knowingly enabled.
No wonder the Catholic Church is furious.
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/insurer-to...
Insurer to Catholic Archdiocese of New York: We don’t cover cover-ups
Decades of concealed clergy abuse are coming back to haunt the Archdiocese of New York
www.friendlyatheist.com
December 25, 2025 at 4:48 PM
“If you have insurance for your home in case of a fire, but then you actively do things that make a fire in your home more likely, the insurance company may not have to pay out the costs if your home burns down because that was your fault.”
Reposted by Hemant Mehta
In what sounds like a joke, but very much isn’t, the Archdiocese of New York says its insurance company won’t give it the money it needs to pay victims of child sexual abuse because the Catholic group has supposedly allowed “a pattern of abuse to persist for many years.”
The Archdiocese of New York says its insurer owes it hundreds of millions of dollars to pay off sexual abuse settlements.
The insurer says you don't get coverage for crimes you knowingly enabled.
No wonder the Catholic Church is furious.
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/insurer-to...
The insurer says you don't get coverage for crimes you knowingly enabled.
No wonder the Catholic Church is furious.
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/insurer-to...
Insurer to Catholic Archdiocese of New York: We don’t cover cover-ups
Decades of concealed clergy abuse are coming back to haunt the Archdiocese of New York
www.friendlyatheist.com
December 25, 2025 at 2:41 PM
In what sounds like a joke, but very much isn’t, the Archdiocese of New York says its insurance company won’t give it the money it needs to pay victims of child sexual abuse because the Catholic group has supposedly allowed “a pattern of abuse to persist for many years.”
Reposted by Hemant Mehta
Reposted by Hemant Mehta
Merry Christian Nationalism Day
December 25, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Merry Christian Nationalism Day
The Archdiocese of New York says its insurer owes it hundreds of millions of dollars to pay off sexual abuse settlements.
The insurer says you don't get coverage for crimes you knowingly enabled.
No wonder the Catholic Church is furious.
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/insurer-to...
The insurer says you don't get coverage for crimes you knowingly enabled.
No wonder the Catholic Church is furious.
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/insurer-to...
Insurer to Catholic Archdiocese of New York: We don’t cover cover-ups
Decades of concealed clergy abuse are coming back to haunt the Archdiocese of New York
www.friendlyatheist.com
December 25, 2025 at 2:38 PM
The Archdiocese of New York says its insurer owes it hundreds of millions of dollars to pay off sexual abuse settlements.
The insurer says you don't get coverage for crimes you knowingly enabled.
No wonder the Catholic Church is furious.
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/insurer-to...
The insurer says you don't get coverage for crimes you knowingly enabled.
No wonder the Catholic Church is furious.
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/insurer-to...
Reposted by Hemant Mehta
Or you might call them "camps" where people are to be "concentrated" until they are deported.
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
ICE documents reveal plan to hold 80,000 immigrants in warehouses
The Trump administration wants to build seven large-scale deportation hubs to speed up deportations, internal ICE documents show.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 24, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Or you might call them "camps" where people are to be "concentrated" until they are deported.
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
I'll be going live this afternoon to talk about the past week in church/state separation!
We'll be talking about the University of Oklahoma’s blunder, Sarah Huckabee Sanders' attempt to convert people, homeschooling, and so much more...
youtube.com/live/a6K_KGa...
We'll be talking about the University of Oklahoma’s blunder, Sarah Huckabee Sanders' attempt to convert people, homeschooling, and so much more...
youtube.com/live/a6K_KGa...
LIVE: Friendly Atheist News Roundup 12/24/2025
YouTube video by Friendly Atheist
youtube.com
December 24, 2025 at 3:30 PM
I'll be going live this afternoon to talk about the past week in church/state separation!
We'll be talking about the University of Oklahoma’s blunder, Sarah Huckabee Sanders' attempt to convert people, homeschooling, and so much more...
youtube.com/live/a6K_KGa...
We'll be talking about the University of Oklahoma’s blunder, Sarah Huckabee Sanders' attempt to convert people, homeschooling, and so much more...
youtube.com/live/a6K_KGa...
If a med school taught students how to cast healing spells, we’d call it malpractice.
So why is a legit California pharmacy school promoting a homeopathy course to students, even though it's pseudoscience?
(Spoiler: Guess who's funding it?)
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/homeopathy...
So why is a legit California pharmacy school promoting a homeopathy course to students, even though it's pseudoscience?
(Spoiler: Guess who's funding it?)
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/homeopathy...
Homeopathy isn’t medicine. Why is this pharmacy school pretending it is?
The University of the Pacific’s Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy is embracing 18th-century nonsense, funded by the very people who profit from it.
www.friendlyatheist.com
December 24, 2025 at 2:19 PM
If a med school taught students how to cast healing spells, we’d call it malpractice.
So why is a legit California pharmacy school promoting a homeopathy course to students, even though it's pseudoscience?
(Spoiler: Guess who's funding it?)
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/homeopathy...
So why is a legit California pharmacy school promoting a homeopathy course to students, even though it's pseudoscience?
(Spoiler: Guess who's funding it?)
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/homeopathy...
Reposted by Hemant Mehta
Is it really so hard to give state employees time off for the holidays without using government power to preach your personal religious beliefs?
Apparently it is.
Apparently it is.
A governor is not a preacher.
A proclamation is not a sermon.
So why is Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders telling state employees to spend the holidays "giving thanks for Christ’s birth"?
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/arkansas-g...
A proclamation is not a sermon.
So why is Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders telling state employees to spend the holidays "giving thanks for Christ’s birth"?
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/arkansas-g...
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders turned a holiday email to state employees into a Christian sermon
Sanders' proclamation violated the idea of church/state separation by treating Christian doctrine as state policy
www.friendlyatheist.com
December 23, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Is it really so hard to give state employees time off for the holidays without using government power to preach your personal religious beliefs?
Apparently it is.
Apparently it is.
A governor is not a preacher.
A proclamation is not a sermon.
So why is Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders telling state employees to spend the holidays "giving thanks for Christ’s birth"?
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/arkansas-g...
A proclamation is not a sermon.
So why is Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders telling state employees to spend the holidays "giving thanks for Christ’s birth"?
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/arkansas-g...
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders turned a holiday email to state employees into a Christian sermon
Sanders' proclamation violated the idea of church/state separation by treating Christian doctrine as state policy
www.friendlyatheist.com
December 23, 2025 at 2:44 PM
A governor is not a preacher.
A proclamation is not a sermon.
So why is Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders telling state employees to spend the holidays "giving thanks for Christ’s birth"?
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/arkansas-g...
A proclamation is not a sermon.
So why is Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders telling state employees to spend the holidays "giving thanks for Christ’s birth"?
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/arkansas-g...
Reposted by Hemant Mehta
DOJ briefly uploaded this letter from Jeff Epstein to serial child molester Larry Nassar:
"Our president shares our love of young, nubile girls. When a young beauty walked by he loved to 'grab snatch,' whereas we ended up snatching grub in the mess halls of the system."
"Our president shares our love of young, nubile girls. When a young beauty walked by he loved to 'grab snatch,' whereas we ended up snatching grub in the mess halls of the system."
December 23, 2025 at 6:03 AM
DOJ briefly uploaded this letter from Jeff Epstein to serial child molester Larry Nassar:
"Our president shares our love of young, nubile girls. When a young beauty walked by he loved to 'grab snatch,' whereas we ended up snatching grub in the mess halls of the system."
"Our president shares our love of young, nubile girls. When a young beauty walked by he loved to 'grab snatch,' whereas we ended up snatching grub in the mess halls of the system."
Reposted by Hemant Mehta
Hideous. The University of Oklahoma has betrayed their students, their staff, and their very mission as a university.
Samantha Fulnecky didn’t do the assignment.
She failed.
She cried discrimination and whined to right-wing media personalities.
The University of Oklahoma has now erased the grade and punished the instructor.
This is what academic cowardice looks like.
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/univ-of-ok...
She failed.
She cried discrimination and whined to right-wing media personalities.
The University of Oklahoma has now erased the grade and punished the instructor.
This is what academic cowardice looks like.
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/univ-of-ok...
Univ. of Oklahoma punishes instructor for failing Christian student who didn't do the assignment
Samantha Fulnecky didn’t do the work, and the university punished the only person who noticed
www.friendlyatheist.com
December 23, 2025 at 1:26 AM
Hideous. The University of Oklahoma has betrayed their students, their staff, and their very mission as a university.
Reposted by Hemant Mehta
The Olivia Nuzzi story and the Bari Weiss at CBS story are the same story, which is that the upper echelons of legacy media are absolutely rife with people who worship power and don't feel burdened by any sense of responsibility to their profession or the public.
December 22, 2025 at 6:35 PM
The Olivia Nuzzi story and the Bari Weiss at CBS story are the same story, which is that the upper echelons of legacy media are absolutely rife with people who worship power and don't feel burdened by any sense of responsibility to their profession or the public.
Samantha Fulnecky didn’t do the assignment.
She failed.
She cried discrimination and whined to right-wing media personalities.
The University of Oklahoma has now erased the grade and punished the instructor.
This is what academic cowardice looks like.
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/univ-of-ok...
She failed.
She cried discrimination and whined to right-wing media personalities.
The University of Oklahoma has now erased the grade and punished the instructor.
This is what academic cowardice looks like.
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/univ-of-ok...
Univ. of Oklahoma punishes instructor for failing Christian student who didn't do the assignment
Samantha Fulnecky didn’t do the work, and the university punished the only person who noticed
www.friendlyatheist.com
December 23, 2025 at 1:15 AM
Samantha Fulnecky didn’t do the assignment.
She failed.
She cried discrimination and whined to right-wing media personalities.
The University of Oklahoma has now erased the grade and punished the instructor.
This is what academic cowardice looks like.
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/univ-of-ok...
She failed.
She cried discrimination and whined to right-wing media personalities.
The University of Oklahoma has now erased the grade and punished the instructor.
This is what academic cowardice looks like.
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/univ-of-ok...
Reposted by Hemant Mehta
Oh look, invocations being used to enforce an ideological litmus test instead of serving any useful purpose.
This is just one of the many reasons why these performative rituals don’t belong in government meetings.
This is just one of the many reasons why these performative rituals don’t belong in government meetings.
Texas city officials lied about a scheduling error to prevent a pro-LGBTQ pastor from delivering an invocation.
The mayor later admitted it was because the pastor's values "offended a large majority of our residents."
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/texas-city...
The mayor later admitted it was because the pastor's values "offended a large majority of our residents."
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/texas-city...
Texas city blocks Christian pastor's invocation after his open support for a Pride event
Keller officials booted Reverend Alan Bentrup from giving an invocation because he “offended” conservatives. They may have broken the law doing it.
www.friendlyatheist.com
December 22, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Oh look, invocations being used to enforce an ideological litmus test instead of serving any useful purpose.
This is just one of the many reasons why these performative rituals don’t belong in government meetings.
This is just one of the many reasons why these performative rituals don’t belong in government meetings.
Texas city officials lied about a scheduling error to prevent a pro-LGBTQ pastor from delivering an invocation.
The mayor later admitted it was because the pastor's values "offended a large majority of our residents."
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/texas-city...
The mayor later admitted it was because the pastor's values "offended a large majority of our residents."
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/texas-city...
Texas city blocks Christian pastor's invocation after his open support for a Pride event
Keller officials booted Reverend Alan Bentrup from giving an invocation because he “offended” conservatives. They may have broken the law doing it.
www.friendlyatheist.com
December 22, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Texas city officials lied about a scheduling error to prevent a pro-LGBTQ pastor from delivering an invocation.
The mayor later admitted it was because the pastor's values "offended a large majority of our residents."
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/texas-city...
The mayor later admitted it was because the pastor's values "offended a large majority of our residents."
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/texas-city...
Can’t have any accuracies sneaking in there.
December 22, 2025 at 3:31 AM
Can’t have any accuracies sneaking in there.
Reposted by Hemant Mehta
Now seems like a swell time to point out that Frontline just released this excellent 11-minute mini-documentary about what happened inside CECOT.
Surviving CECOT (full documentary) | Deported to a Maximum-Security Prison | FRONTLINE + ProPublica
YouTube video by FRONTLINE PBS | Official
m.youtube.com
December 21, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Now seems like a swell time to point out that Frontline just released this excellent 11-minute mini-documentary about what happened inside CECOT.
Churches always ask how to bring young people into the fold.
Well, now we know what's keeping them out: Irrational beliefs, bigotry, sexism, abuse, and so much more.
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/the-real-r...
Well, now we know what's keeping them out: Irrational beliefs, bigotry, sexism, abuse, and so much more.
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/the-real-r...
The real reasons Americans continue walking away from organized religion
From anti-LGBTQ teachings to clergy abuse scandals, new research explains the collapse of religious loyalty in the U.S.
www.friendlyatheist.com
December 20, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Churches always ask how to bring young people into the fold.
Well, now we know what's keeping them out: Irrational beliefs, bigotry, sexism, abuse, and so much more.
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/the-real-r...
Well, now we know what's keeping them out: Irrational beliefs, bigotry, sexism, abuse, and so much more.
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/the-real-r...
Reposted by Hemant Mehta
Everything that Pete Hegseth is doing to impose his personal religious beliefs on our servicemembers should worry anyone who cares about our military.
The Army’s "Spiritual Fitness Guide" mentions "God" once in 112 pages—and that apparently broke Pete Hegseth’s brain.
He's now targeting the Chaplain Corps.
His baseless complaints should worry anyone who cares about our military.
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/pete-hegse...
He's now targeting the Chaplain Corps.
His baseless complaints should worry anyone who cares about our military.
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/pete-hegse...
Pete Hegseth is waging a pointless and damaging war on military chaplains
Hegseth’s crusade against the Chaplain Corps undermines readiness, trust, and pluralism
www.friendlyatheist.com
December 19, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Everything that Pete Hegseth is doing to impose his personal religious beliefs on our servicemembers should worry anyone who cares about our military.
The Army’s "Spiritual Fitness Guide" mentions "God" once in 112 pages—and that apparently broke Pete Hegseth’s brain.
He's now targeting the Chaplain Corps.
His baseless complaints should worry anyone who cares about our military.
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/pete-hegse...
He's now targeting the Chaplain Corps.
His baseless complaints should worry anyone who cares about our military.
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/pete-hegse...
Pete Hegseth is waging a pointless and damaging war on military chaplains
Hegseth’s crusade against the Chaplain Corps undermines readiness, trust, and pluralism
www.friendlyatheist.com
December 19, 2025 at 2:22 PM
The Army’s "Spiritual Fitness Guide" mentions "God" once in 112 pages—and that apparently broke Pete Hegseth’s brain.
He's now targeting the Chaplain Corps.
His baseless complaints should worry anyone who cares about our military.
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/pete-hegse...
He's now targeting the Chaplain Corps.
His baseless complaints should worry anyone who cares about our military.
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/pete-hegse...
I'm back in the New York Times with the Friday crossword!
There are 10 debut entries (including a few I've been trying to cram in for a while), with 54-Across being my favorite. See if you can solve it 😃
There are 10 debut entries (including a few I've been trying to cram in for a while), with 54-Across being my favorite. See if you can solve it 😃
December 19, 2025 at 4:07 AM
I'm back in the New York Times with the Friday crossword!
There are 10 debut entries (including a few I've been trying to cram in for a while), with 54-Across being my favorite. See if you can solve it 😃
There are 10 debut entries (including a few I've been trying to cram in for a while), with 54-Across being my favorite. See if you can solve it 😃
I'll be going live tonight to talk about the past week in church/state separation!
We'll be talking about Pete Hegseth, Ryan Walters’ latest loss, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and so much more...
youtube.com/live/J-naDMj...
We'll be talking about Pete Hegseth, Ryan Walters’ latest loss, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and so much more...
youtube.com/live/J-naDMj...
LIVE: Friendly Atheist News Roundup 12/18/2025
YouTube video by Friendly Atheist
youtube.com
December 18, 2025 at 9:18 PM
I'll be going live tonight to talk about the past week in church/state separation!
We'll be talking about Pete Hegseth, Ryan Walters’ latest loss, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and so much more...
youtube.com/live/J-naDMj...
We'll be talking about Pete Hegseth, Ryan Walters’ latest loss, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and so much more...
youtube.com/live/J-naDMj...