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! — The future of the Friendly Atheist blog. (1:12) — Christian predator Josh Duggar is going to jail after being found guilty in his child sex abuse image trial. (3:22) — Can you be friends with someone from the other political party? (21:08) — The Supreme Court seems like it will force taxpayers to subsidize religious schools. (24:40) — Evangelist Joshua Feuerstein, who spread vaccine lies, now has COVID. (31:05) — Evangelist Franklin Graham can't decide whether or not he wants vaccines to work. (34:10) — Should we tell Pastor Joel Osteen, to his face, that he's horrible? (41:15) — People are mad over Rep. Madison Cawthorn‚Äòs anti-abortion "earthen vessels" speech for the wrong reasons. (57:01) — A Methodist church fired its pastor after he had a drag makeover on TV to show his allyship. (1:00:17) — MAGA world's "gun girl" says she's ditching atheism for Catholicism. (1:04:58) — Christian pseudo-historian David Barton says the Second Amendment gives people the right to own nuclear weapons. (1:09:23) — A Catholic diocese is officially banning unrepentant trans people from receiving the sacraments. (1:13:42) — SPONSOR: Check out Paint Your Life and get 20% off by texting FRIENDLY to 64-000. 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! — The Supreme Court's abortion case. (1:30) — Marcus Lamb, the head of a major Christian TV network that spread COVID lies, died of COVID. (13:45) — Eric Metaxas, another anti-vax Christian, has COVID too. (20:25) — Baptisms are getting cooler. As if that was the thing that churches needed to fix. (33:55) — You don't have to defend Josh Duggar even if you're a conservative Christian. (38:11) — The American Humanist Association's new leader represents a shift in how atheism appears to the public. (45:26) — Richard Dawkins is once again promoting anti-trans bigotry. (50:58) — A Christian hate group is whining to the Supreme Court about being called a "hate group." (1:02:15) 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! (And vote for your preferred movie in an upcoming double feature!) — A Bronx pastor has resigned after telling men the "best person to rape is your wife." (3:59) — Christians can apparently "cast out" their vaccines by asking God. (15:16) — Reptile alien. Sex. Jesus. Xerxes. Gargoyles. (20:11) — An anti-gay Christian florist will pay $5,000 to settle a case after discriminating against a gay customer. (27:15) — Church vandalism would end more quickly if religious leaders took criticism seriously. (35:40) — A wannabe GOP governor says straight relationships are "superior" to gay ones. (44:11) — A judge effectively tossed out a lawsuit against a Catholic school accused of being "too woke." (48:25) — There's yet another lawsuit against Liberty University. (54:19) — A Florida man was charged with 1,200 counts of sexual abuse and incest after raising the topic with his pastor. (59:16) — A GOP lawmaker said gay people living in fear are just facing the "normal consequences" of their "choices." (1:04:30) — Most Americans don't blame God for all the suffering in the world. (1:09:46) 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 new Discord server! — This Christian "maternity ranch" in Texas meant to help new mothers is horrifying for so many reasons. (0:41) — "We have to have one religion," says MAGA cultist Michael Flynn. (27:39) — Pastor Mark Burns, who's running for Congress, is calling for all laws that contradict his interpretation of the Bible to be declared illegal. (29:49) — A Christian news editor is resigning over the rightward shift of his parent company. (34:44) — A conservative writer who thinks FFRF is a "hate group" seems to agree with everything they're saying. (45:08) — A pastor who created a COVID outbreak says he was just doing "what God wanted." (52:40) — Catholic bishop. Satanic erotica. Pig semen. (54:57) — The New Orleans Archdiocese is paying over $1 million to settle a case involving lies they told FEMA after Hurricane Katrina. (57:55) — One of the Republicans trying to win the party's nomination for Ohio's U.S. Senate seat is a guy who literally said of his opponent, "But he's Jewish!" (1:02:53) — Two Christian groups are suing over the Biden administration's vaccine mandate because it's a "sin against God's holy word." (1:08:40) — The Supreme Court doesn't seem to care about "religious freedom" when it involves a death row inmate. (1:10:45) — SPONSOR: Check out Paint Your Life and get 20% off by texting FRIENDLY to 64-000. 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 new Discord server! — Conservatives are furious over a Twix ad that isn't by Twix and isn't an ad. (7:20) — A hate-preacher insisted that boys who grow up in a church like his will "100%" grow up to be straight. (18:47) — There was a $1.8 million essay contest for anyone with evidence of the afterlife. The money will be handed out, but the evidence? Still doesn't exist. (25:07) — Should Republicans pander to gay voters? (36:24) — A Virginia school board wants to get rid of all "sexually explicit" books‚Ķ and burn them. (46:49) — A Christian "segregation academy" held an anti-LGBTQ seminar for parents. (53:39) — A North Carolina restaurant turned a one-star "Satanic" review into a keepsake T-shirt. (59:41) — Pastor Greg Locke really wants to get subpoenaed. (1:01:40) — An anti-LGBTQ pastor was nominated to the Anchorage Equal Rights Commission‚Ķ until public pressure caused him to step away. (1:07:32) — The Biden administration is undoing a rule allowing taxpayer-funded groups to discriminate on the basis of religion. (1:11:12) 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 Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. — Please join our new Discord server! — In New Jersey, an openly atheist state representative won his bid for state senate. (2:11) — Aaron Rodgers thought he could get away with a homeopathic COVID vax substitute. (10:30) — If being the father to a known molester is your biggest claim to fame right now, maybe don't run for office on a platform of promoting family values, Jim Bob Duggar. (24:14) — A pastor arrested for soliciting sex from a minor was preaching just days later. (30:01) — SPONSOR: Check out Paint Your Life and get 20% off by texting FRIENDLY to 64-000. (34:22) — Richard Dawkins says the scientific definition of women excludes trans women, so does that make him anti-trans? (36:10) — A hate-preacher is using Dave Chappelle‚Äòs latest special to trash trans people. (49:00) — A coalition of atheist groups are urging the Supreme Court to uphold a ban on Maine taxpayers funding religious schools. (54:59) — Most white evangelicals wish America was a Christian-only bubble. (1:03:34) — We lost Bobbie Kirkhart, a longtime atheist activist and tireless defender of church/state separation. (1:12:58) — The HPV vaccine is working wonders. (1:08:04) 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 Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. — Please join our new Discord server! — A school district will no longer ban "Satanic" clothing after a Satanist complained. (1:32) — Liberty University's "think tank" was just a cover to elect Republicans. (6:05) — A GOP official said society's problems are all a result of not following God's laws. (12:44) — Liberty U. still isn't taking sexual assault seriously. (15:15) — Being an evangelical basically means worshiping Trump now. (23:12) — A U.S. Senate candidate (guess which party) says church/state separation doesn't exist. (35:30) — Christian pseudo-historian Tim Barton says dads only need a "couple days" off after mom gives birth. (38:53) — Most Americans want church/state separation‚Ķ but don't know what it means. (49:44) — What is going on with the Chicago Blackhawks? (53:11) — These Sikh men took off their turbans to save two hikers, putting decency over dogma. (1:08:36) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this solo episode (Jessica will be back next week), Hemant interviewed Dr. Randall Balmer, the author of Bad Faith: Race and the Rise of the Religious Right. Dr. Balmer holds the John Phillips Chair in Religion at Dartmouth College, Dartmouth's oldest endowed professorship. He previously taught as professor of American religious history at Columbia University for twenty-seven years. In his scholarship, Dr. Balmer focuses on Christianity's interrelationships with American politics. We spoke about the real origins of the Religious Right, whether white evangelicals accept their own history, and if Democrats should use churches to their political advantage. 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 Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. — Please join our new Discord server! — A mom got ordained online, then signed off on 150+ "religious exemption" forms for students. (1:57) — Pope John Paul I‚Äòs beatification makes no sense to reasonable people. (10:13) — Christian liar David Barton says slaveowners just didn't read their Bible much. (22:40) — Despite the French Catholic Church's sexual abuse problem, its leader doesn't want priests to break the "seal of confession" even if it helps victims. (26:15) — Joel Osteen‚Äòs church is finally paying back some of the PPP money it got last year. (33:30) — The one mom at One Million Moms is very angry with Credit Karma for acknowledging the existence of gay people. (44:21) — Turns out being "vaccinated in Christ" doesn't protect you against COVID. (51:30) — A Florida police chief gave a speech encouraging other cops to convert their colleagues. (55:05) — A Spanish archbishop is very sorry he allowed a risqu√© music video to tape suggestive dancing in a famous cathedral. (58:52) — "Teen Challenge," a Christian rehab center for kids, is far more troubling than we knew. (1:01:23) 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 Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. — Please join our new Discord server! — An Oregon official wants you to trust God, not doctors, with your vaccine decision. (1:55) — Pat Robertson has retired and there's at least one reason to be sad about it. And here's Jessica's excellent cross-stitch with one of Robertson's infamous quotations. (9:58) — Facebook did not go down because of Mercury Gatorade or whatever astrologers believe. (20:48) — A new Christian makeup store doesn't make any sense. (29:25) — Christian creepster Logan Dorn still hasn't apologized‚Ķ but he rapped about cancel culture. (35:11) — France's Catholic Church is a hotbed of abuse, according to a massive new report. (38:09) — Christmas has been canceled already. Or so Republicans say. (46:59) — A survey finds that about 40% of Black atheists hide their religious views from their families, more than any other group. (51:00) — Brazil's top court has upheld a ban on missionaries trying to invade Indigenous tribes. (55:13) — Several former members of Young Life ministries say they were victims of sexual abuse. (1:00:38) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.