About Hemant Mehta

Hemant Mehta is the chair of Foundation Beyond Belief and a high school math teacher in the suburbs of Chicago. He began writing the Friendly Atheist blog in 2006. His latest book is called The Young Atheist's Survival Guide.

Job Interview Questions About Gay Marriage, Abortion, and Religion Lead to Lawsuit

June 19, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Back in March, Constable Bobby Gutierrez (sort of like a sheriff) retired, so the commissioners in Williamson County, Texas had to replace him.

They interviewed five candidates and asked them each a series of important, relevant questions:

Are you for or against gay marriage?

Are you pro-life or pro-choice?

Who did you vote for in the last election?

What are your religious beliefs?

Because you have to be a good conservative Christian to be a cop.

Robert Lloyd, who was interviewed for the position but didn’t get it, is now suing the commissioners (along with Williamson County Judge Dan Gattis, who was also involved in the hiring process) over the illegal line of questioning:

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Filed Under: General, Lawsuits, Politics Leave a Comment

Salafi Muslims in Egypt Are Filing More Blasphemy Cases Than Ever Before

June 19, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Ben Hubbard and Mayy El Sheikh of the New York Times have a frightening report of how charges against blasphemy — a victimless crime, as the joke goes — are increasing dramatically in Egypt under President Mohamed Morsi.

It’s a witch-hunt, pure and simple. Just take a look at what happened to this teacher who was falsely accused of insulting religion and the government:

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Atheist Alliance of America National Convention Tickets Now Available

June 18, 2013 By Leave a Comment

The annual conference for Atheist Alliance of America takes place on Labor Day Weekend in Boston this year and early bird registration is coming to a close soon. If you’re able to attend, get your tickets now! Kids are welcome, there’s a strong group of speakers, and the student discounts are terrific:

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Scouting Group Girlguiding UK Revises ‘Promise’ So That Non-Religious Girls Can Join

June 18, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Two years ago, seven-year-old Maddie Willett was told that she had to pledge an oath to god if she wanted to remain in Girlguiding UK (their version of the Girl Scouts).

The pledge reads: ‘I promise that I will do my best, to love my God, to serve the Queen and my country, to help other people and to keep the Brownie Guide law.’

Her parents, Barry and Juliette Willett, are furious the 2nd Crawley Down Brownies troop in West Sussex has refused to alter the wording so their daughter could make the promise.

‘We don’t have a belief in God and our daughter is yet to make her decision,’ Mrs Willett said.

‘It’s a big decision for her to make and it would be offensive for an atheist to say they love God.’

Much like the Boy Scouts of America still do today, atheists were not allowed to become members of Girlguiding UK — at least not ones who were open and honest about their non-belief.

Unlike the BSA, though, Girlguiding UK has done something wonderful: Today, they announced a revision to the Promise that will allow openly non-religious girls to join the organization without a problem.

[Click headline for more...]

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