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. — Please join our Discord server! — 45% of Americans say we should live in a "Christian nation." Yikes‚Ķ? (0:50) — Even Christianity Today admits public schools aren't godless. (16:50) — Christian "prophet" Robin Bullock says that Jesus was a wealthy man who owned five houses. (26:18) -‚Äì Sumner County, TN has adopted new rules acknowledging the supposed "Judeo-Christian" founding of the country. (34:23) — Christian hate-preacher Greg Locke is so loud that his county may institute a noise ordinance. (40:36) — Leaders in the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo (NY) have agreed to government oversight because they're utterly incapable of protecting kids on their own. (48:15) — A Hasidic school in New York City will have to pay back millions for defrauding the state. (55:50) 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. — Please join our Discord server! — Atheist candidate Mike Itkis made a sex tape to boost his flailing congressional campaign. (1:44) — Preaching history teacher and Christian bigot David Paszkiewicz is running for public office in Kearny, NJ. (14:35) — Christian hate-preacher Greg Locke plans to hold another book burning on Halloween. This time, Catholic symbols will be up in flames too. (25:22) — Conservative blogger Matt Walsh says anime is Satanic. (34:10) — Christians lashed out against a "satanic" mural in a middle school painted by a teenager. (38:01) — Mormon dad Matthew Watkins explained how he would disown his daughter if she were in a same-sex marriage and it did not go over well. (50:30) — "The Unbelieving," a new play about preachers who no longer believe in God yet remain in the pulpit, is premiering off-Broadway. (1:03:40) 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! — Bart Barber, the new president of the Southern Baptist Convention, was featured on 60 Minutes but revealed the bigotry underlying his faith. (1:13) — Christian hate-preacher Steven Anderson delivered a very explicit and homophobic sermon. (26:29) — Why did a youth pastor hand out "I <3 hot youth pastors" stickers to kids? (33:42) — Catholic hospitals have always been dangerous. After the overturning of Roe, that's never been more true. (46:00) — A lawyer was fined $400,000 for warning a Catholic school about a predator priest on the payroll. (57:00) — Two evangelists canceled a Florida stop due to Hurricane Ian after insisting God told them the event would go on without a hitch. (1:16:02) — One Million Moms prematurely declared victory over the cancellation of "Little Demon." It's not canceled. (1:18:15) 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! — Texas mother Jamie Gooch is warning people against Hocus Pocus 2. (0:33) — Minnesota lawmakers are launching a Secular Government Caucus to combat Christian Nationalism. (11:54) — Will the revelation that Herschel Walker paid for an abortion have any effect on conservative Christian voters in Georgia? (21:50) — Christian spyware that's meant to monitor visits to adult websites is also being used to monitor Wikipedia searches for atheism. (46:45) — A Christian father has horrible advice for raising good kids. (57:44) — Andrew Thorburn, the newly appointed CEO of an Australian football team, resigned due to backlash over his conservative Christian bigotry. (1:12:30) 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. — Please join our Discord server! — An 8-year-old girl was expelled for not wanting to send her teacher a picture of herself reading in the bathtub. (0:55) — Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is going after Republican Darren Bailey for using a fundamentalist Christian curriculum in a school he opened. (10:36) — Are Tennessee's license plates making it easier for cops to spot atheists? (24:19) — Students in Baton Rouge, Louisiana thought they were attending a "College & Career Fair." Instead, they were taken to church. (30:44) — Fundamentalist Christian mom Lori Alexander wants women to avoid feminism. This chart isn't helping. (38:55) — Bible preacher Mike Winger says you should kill someone if God tells you to. (47:30) — The documentary Jihad Rehab is poorly and irresponsibly made, but some prominent atheists are whining about "identity politics." (52:47) — The Satanic Temple sued Indiana's top officials to block an extreme abortion ban. (1:08:35) 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. — Please join our Discord server! — Greg Locke is very unhappy about his depiction in the Peacock series Shadowland. (1:47) — Despite the Supreme Court giving him his old job back, Joseph Kennedy, the football coach who held prayer spectacles at midfield after games, is long gone. (14:04) — Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma claimed that God showed approval for his state's extreme abortion ban by‚Ķ making it rain after a drought. (26:15) — God's Not Dead 5 is coming soon. (32:18) — Dr. Albert Mohler, the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, says Christians must vote a certain way or else they're being "unfaithful" to God. (45:20) — When Liberty U. comes into town, UMass football will hold "Pride Day" (56:22) — Many of New York's Hasidic schools are taking public funds but not educating kids. (1:00:55) — Rapper Kanye West has opened his own private Christian school where parents have to sign NDAs. Yikes. (1:12:00) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Andrew Seidel is the Vice President of Strategic Communications for Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the author of "The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American." He's written and spoken extensively about these issues in a variety of online and print publications, and on several news shows. His latest book, out this month, is called "American Crusade: How the Supreme Court is Weaponizing Religious Freedom." 0:00 Intro 1:08 How did you write a book about the Supreme Court when the Court kept issuing new, harmful rulings? (An update to the book can be found here: https://andrewlseidel.com/moreac/) 3:24 What church/state barriers are next to fall? 8:09 Is the Federalist Society a Christian organization? 13:37 Why isn't there a liberal equivalent to the Federalist Society? 15:14 SPONSOR: https://www.expressvpn.com/friendlyatheist 16:34 Is the Supreme Court helping or hurting the country? 18:40 Is there one justice whose presence is ultra-crusade-y? 21:04 Should we care about the details of Amy Coney Barrett's faith? 24:16 What impact will Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson have on this Court? 25:45 What would be the best way to fight back against this activist Court? 33:45 What does success mean for you when it comes to readers of "American Crusade"? 42:10 What do you say to future lawyers who care about church/state issues? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this bonus interview, Jessica spoke with Mike Flanagan, the writer/director behind "Haunting of Hill House," "Haunting of Bly Manor," "Doctor Sleep," and (most recently) the critically acclaimed "Midnight Mass." They discussed his sobriety journey as an atheist, why Bev Keane from "Midnight Mass" could probably get elected to Congress, how to engage with criticism, and why we probably shouldn't. 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! — Britney Spears said in a now-deleted Instagram reel, "I'm an atheist, y'all!" (3:45) — Even married advocates of Purity Culture can't handle Bridgerton. (12:57) — A federal judge ruled that an HIV drug mandate violated Christians' religious freedoms. (20:35) — These preachers have no idea how masturbation works. (35:00) — Pope Francis is lying about having a "zero tolerance" policy for handling abuse. (41:21) — The GOP lawmaker who condemned an extreme anti-abortion bill previously sponsored‚Ķ an extreme anti-abortion bill. (48:30) — A Christian school baptized 100 kids without telling their parents. (55:11) — The Archdiocese of St. Louis is putting dogma over decency, urging schools to let kids go hungry rather than feed them for free. (1:00:30) 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. — Please join our Discord server! — Christian pastor and church planter Matt Chandler is on a leave of absence because of "unwise" DMs he sent to a woman on Instagram. (4:20) — Valley Christian Academy in California will forfeit an upcoming football game rather than play an opposing team that has two girls on the roster. (22:00) — Wisconsin Republican Peter Schmidt wants to pass anti-LGBTQ policies but doesn't want anyone knowing about his own homosexuality. (32:20) — Catholic Charities in Omaha held a fake active shooter drill that traumatized countless employees. (43:03) — Christian hate-preacher Joe Jones listed out the evil people you should avoid and there's a pleasant surprise on the list. (49:15) — Despite a Supreme Court win, nearly all of Maine's Christian schools are rejecting state funding. (51:19) — Texas State Sen. Bryan Hughes is trying to fix up his horribly written "In God We Trust" law. (57:00) — Former Republican congresswoman Michele Bachmann insists the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were based on the Bible. She's lying. (1:06:50) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.