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.— 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.

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.— The Church of England will finally bless same-sex marriages. But don't cheer just yet. (0:50)— The Pope called for the decriminalization of homosexuality. Does it matter? (5:44)— Stop praising Pastor Andy Stanley for pretending to care about gay people. (12:50)— Former NFL coach and current commentator Tony Dungy hid behind his faith during an acknowledgment that he lied to people about kitty litter boxes in classrooms. (37:48)— After a Mormon man murdered his family, why was his obituary so positive? (44:30) — During a right-wing rally, former SNL cast member Jim Breuer mocked flu shots, vaccines, and NFL player Damar Hamlin. (51:27)— Anti-abortion activist Nathaniel Darnell celebrated the death of the former Speaker of the Georgia House. (56:52)— 13 clergy members have filed a lawsuit "challenging Missouri's abortion ban and several related abortion restrictions." (1:00:45)— Who allowed controversial "influencer" Woah Vicky to preach to kids at a Georgia high school? (1:04:55) 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.— Please join our Discord server!— A Mississippi Democrat filed a "trigger" bill to bring Christian prayers back to public schools. (1:00) — Idaho's "faith-healing" exemption has led to more children's deaths, and one Republican told me he wants to fix that. (15:53)— If Iowa passes a controversial voucher bill to funnel hundreds of millions of dollars to private religious schools, one atheist plans to open up a Satanic school. (28:58)— Judge Alfred T. Goodwin, a church/state separation hero, died at 99. (39:00) — Atheist activist Chaz Stevens wants Fort Lauderdale, Florida to respect religious freedom by honoring the Shinto "Festival of the Steel Phallus. (42:02)— The ARISE Church in New Zealand hired an investigator to look into allegations against it‚Ķ and now they're punishing the investigator. (57:52)— The Decatur County Sheriff's Department in Greensburg, Indiana has been pushing Christianity on inmates in the county jail. (1:11:28) 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.— Please join our Discord server!— An art history professor at Hamline University in Minnesota was fired after showing students an ancient depiction of the Prophet Muhammad in class. (0:40)— The Catholic Church in Kansas was home to 188 predators, according to a four-year investigation. (19:05) — When it comes to contraception, most Catholics in the U.S. completely ignore the Church's position. (27:40)— The Christians behind a viral "Eye of the Tiger" cover see all your comments calling them "cringy." (37:00)— The legislature of New Brunswick rejected an invocation request from a Hindu activist because lawmakers insisted the prayer could only come from a fellow Christian. (50:50)— Church attendance among young people has suffered a major decline since the pandemic. (57:05) — A pastor was given a short jail sentence after subjecting homeless people to forced labor. (1:04:45) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.