Friendly Atheist Podcast

Please support the show at https://www.patreon.com/friendlyatheistpodcast. Donors now get access to a new BONUS episode.Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.— Nearly half of Gen Z, born after 1996, has no religious affiliation whatsoever. (1:17)— Maryland’s attorney general released a report on Catholic clergy abuse in Baltimore Archdiocese. (16:09)— A priest was punished for saying clergy members should report sex abuse confessions to local authorities. (27:11)— The Covenant School tragedy shows how more prayer will never stop gun violence. (36:31)— Religious jurors punish defendants who don’t swear to God to tell the truth. (42:07)— Texas lawmakers also want to replace trained school counselors with untrained chaplains. (46:30)— Atheists are suing West Virginia prison officials for forcing some inmates to profess Christianity. (55:15)— A Maine church is very upset it can’t get taxpayer money for promoting bigotry. (59:51)— A megachurch allegedly forced employees to tithe 10% of each paycheck. (1:07:08)— A Nebraska school is revamping its security protocols after an uninvited preacher evangelized in the cafeteria. (1:21:29)— SPONSOR: If you’re looking for a simpler and cost-effective supplement routine, Athletic Greens is giving you a FREE 1 year supply of Vitamin D AND 5 free travel packs with your first purchase. Go to athleticgreens.com/ATHEIST.— SPONSOR: Go to HelloFresh.com/friendly50 and use code friendly50 for 50% off, plus your first box ships free!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Suzanna Krivulskaya is an Assistant Professor of History at California State University San Marcos where she teaches courses in United States history. Her first book, Disgraced: How Sex Scandal Transformed American Protestantism, will be published in early 2024 by Oxford University Press.A specialist in the fields of U.S. religion and sexuality, Suzanna has published in both scholarly and popular outlets, like The Revealer and Religion and Politics. Her scholarly work was recognized by the 2019-2020 Virginia Ramey Mollenkott Award from the LGBTQ Religious Archives Network. In 2022, she was named a Public Research in Religion Institute Fellow in the area of Religion and LGBTQ Rights. Always interested in translating academic expertise to broader publics, she currently serves as a trainer in the Sacred Writes program, which connects students of religion with public-facing scholarship. We spoke about the Falwells, the Bakkers, the Haggards, why the wives often stand by their scandal-plagued pastor-husbands, and what these scandals reveal about evangelical Christianity.— Why do scandal-plagued pastors' wives stay by their husbands' side? (5:00)— Is the supposed shame of divorce too strong? (8:00)— Should we feel bad for these wives? (9:42)— What the heck is going on with the Falwells? (11:59)— Suzanna describes her journey from missionary to doubter (14:24)— Are younger evangelicals changing how we talk about this issue? (16:05)— How long have these scandals been going on? (18:06)— What do these scandals say about evangelical Christianity? (20:12)— How can these pastors still preach "purity"? (26:54)— Did anything in Suzanna's research surprise her? (31:30) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Please support the show at https://www.patreon.com/friendlyatheistpodcast. Donors now get access to a new BONUS episode.Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.— A Florida principal was fired after students saw an image of Michelangelo’s “David.” (0:33)— A Christian woman claimed her three amputated toes were regrown during a prayer service. (19:09)— A Colorado bill would make Catholic hospitals say what services they don't provide. (34:05)— A Christian ministry trademarked the phrase "Worship Leader," creating mass chaos. (45:23)— Citing his faith, a Texas university leader canceled a drag show fundraiser. (54:36) — The Satanic Temple is not promoting adult content to kids, no matter what this Christian ministry says. (1:04:30)— A Texas bill would cut property taxes for couples with 10 kids. (1:19:36)—SPONSOR: If you’re looking for a simpler and cost-effective supplement routine, Athletic Greens is giving you a FREE 1 year supply of Vitamin D AND 5 free travel packs with your first purchase. Go to athleticgreens.com/ATHEIST.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Please support the show at https://www.patreon.com/friendlyatheistpodcast. Donors now get access to a new BONUS episode.Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.— A Christian lawmaker used the Bible to justify the physical abuse of kids with disabilities in public schools. (0:37)— Americans still view atheists unfavorably‚Ķ but it's not all bad news. (25:42)— In a lawsuit, a teenager says a teacher assaulted her for not saying the Pledge of Allegiance. (43:37)— An editorial defending college football coach Deion Sanders' proselytizing fumbled the facts. (54:35) — The Santa Rosa Catholic Diocese in California has filed for bankruptcy. (1:13:29)— A Christian school in Vermont is banned from competing in state-sanctioned events after refusing to play a team with a trans athlete. (1:21:03) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Please support the show at https://www.patreon.com/friendlyatheistpodcast. Donors now get access to a new BONUS episode.Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.— A Christian pastor wrote the most WTF essay about Jesus penetrating the church. (0:57)— A Catholic non-profit spent millions of dollars to track the whereabouts of gay priests. (32:35)— An Arizona school board rightly ended its contract with an anti-LGBTQ Christian college. (48:25)— An employee of Catholic Charities has sued the group for its hyper-realistic active shooter drill. (58:37) — This is going to be the worst conference ever. (1:07:00)— Why is a taxpayer-funded tourism group in Kentucky promoting Creationism? (1:15:05)— The Supreme Court won't weigh in on a police-led Christian prayer vigil... yet. (1:20:35)— A Tennessee bill would let county clerks refuse to sign same-sex and interracial marriage licenses. (1:36:50) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Please support the show at https://www.patreon.com/friendlyatheistpodcast. Donors now get access to a new BONUS episode.Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.— Why was New York City Mayor Eric Adams repeating Christian Nationalist rhetoric? (0:40)— Christians who went to the Asbury "revival" may have been exposed to measles. (15:14)— Defrocked priest Frank Pavone has been accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct. (23:15) — Banning "After School Satan" clubs after anonymous threats makes things worse. (37:30)— A writer who once called out conservative Christianity has now adopted conservative Christianity. (44:20) — Attendance in religious education classes fell 99% in Victoria, Australia after the classes stopped being mandatory. (54:15)— A Montana Republican has filed a bill to stick Christian prayer in public schools. (1:00:29)— West Virginia lawmakers are still trying to push "Intelligent Design" into classrooms. (1:07:55) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Please support the show at https://www.patreon.com/friendlyatheistpodcast. Donors now get access to a new BONUS episode.Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.— I've shifted to Substack. (0:48)— Saddleback Church was kicked out of the Southern Baptist Convention for having a woman pastor. (1:56)— Arizona House Republicans passed a bill forcing kids to say the Pledge of Allegiance in schools. (14:13)— Nikki Haley, who wants to present herself as a sane Republican, got an extremist pastor to kick off her presidential campaign. (23:50)— A former member of Westboro Baptist Church is now whitewashing a different kind of hate. (30:53)— Nebraska State Sen. Megan Hunt called out her Christian colleagues for ignoring Jesus in how they vote. (40:03)— A Christian school canceled a concert after learning one of the singers is gay. (46:35) — The Feds fined the Mormon Church and its investment division for trying to hide its assets. (59:15)— A victim of the Satanic Panic, Melvin Quinney, has finally been exonerated. (1:10:59)— Don't automatically trust stories about pastors who die for bizarre religion-related reasons in Africa. (1:17:19) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, Jessica did a solo interview with Dr. Kellie Carter Jackson, an Associate Professor in the Department of Africana Studies at Wellesley College where she studies the lived experiences of Black people with a focus on slavery and abolitionism.She also co-hosts the podcasts This Day in Esoteric Political History and Oprahdemics.Jess and Dr. Carter Jackson discussed how Christianity informed opinions on slavery and abolition, why the church was (and still is) entwined with Black American culture, and the first lady of talk, Oprah. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Please support the show at https://www.patreon.com/friendlyatheistpodcast. Donors now get access to a new BONUS episode.Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.— Sam Smith's and Kim Petras' Satan-themed performance of "Unholy" at the Grammys angered conservative Christians. (0:22)— A Christian school decided to affirm LGBTQ people‚Ķ and now it will shut down because the donors left. (10:26)— White evangelical parents want their kids to have the same faith. What does that say about their parenting? (16:30)— Get ready for some Jesus-y Super Bowl ads. (28:28)— An atheist Republican (!) is back (!) in the New Hampshire legislature. (30:55)— Kent Hovind's Dinosaur Adventure Land is a cesspool of chaos and that's putting it lightly. (43:56)— The Democratic National Committee passed a resolution condemning "white religious nationalism." (51:50)— Victoria (Australia) officials want guidance from higher-up officials so they can eliminate Christian invocation prayers at meetings. (56:10) — Oklahoma Republicans want to inject Christian Nationalism into history classes. (59:35) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Please support the show at https://www.patreon.com/friendlyatheistpodcast. Donors now get access to a new BONUS episode.Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.— Nebraska Sen. Megan Hunt responded to an anti-drag bill with an amendment to protect children from religious indoctrination. (0:49)— The Satanic Temple is about to launch "The Samuel Alito's Mom's Satanic Abortion Clinic," named in honor of someone whose lack of options in 1950 forced the rest of us to pay the price. (10:35)— The Pope wants you to remember that the middle finger represents honesty. (17:00)— Let's talk about unhealthy relationships between minor celebrities and their wonderful fans. (19:10)— Montana Sen. Daniel Emrich wants to ban everything but "scientific fact" from public school classrooms. (40:45)— Christian hate-group leader Mat Staver wants Christian schools to expel children of gay parents before they convince other kids same-sex families are perfectly fine. (49:32) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.