Friendly Atheist Podcast

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. -- The Texas shooter was allegedly an atheist. Is it true? What would that even mean in this situation? (0:49) -- Roy Moore, the family values Christian and Senate candidate, allegedly molested a 14-year-old girl several decades ago. (14:41) -- Congressman Jared Huffman said he doesn't believe in God... and no one seemed to care. (31:50) -- Ex-Jehovah's Witnesses are making their presence known in Kingdom Hall meetings. Is that a good tactic? (40:31) -- Donald Trump supposedly wants to revoke the Church of Scientology's tax exemption. (52:24) -- Does your church have secrets? FaithLeaks wants to know. (1:01:25)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. -- Some critics are angry that Canada's Governor General Julie Payette mocked pseudoscience. (1:05) -- Pat Robertson tried comforting a grieving mother by trashing atheists. (13:00) -- The GOP's tax plan would let pastors endorse candidates from the pulpit without punishment. (18:58) -- A Christian pastor (wrongly) claimed there are no atheist relief groups. (27:06) -- A Christian activist offered a disturbing rewrite of a Disney show with a gay main character. (35:11) -- A Christian college is forcing freshmen to take a class in patriotism. (45:20) -- There's no single "atheist movement" and we have to acknowledge that. (51:59) -- Harvey Weinstein has a Bible verse on his hat. (1:13:54)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. -- Arkansas State Senator Jason Rapert and the Ten Commandments monument going up (again) in Arkansas. (0:30) -- Alberta Catholic schools want to teach an alternative sex ed curriculum. (13:25) -- The dad from Duck Dynasty is spreading the lie that crime soars in areas without God. (24:40) -- A new Satanic billboard says "Our religion doesn't believe in hitting children." (32:10) -- No one in this TX school district understands the Establishment Clause. (36:40) -- The Catholic Church won't allow a gravestone marker calling out abusive priests. (43:36) -- Pastor Robert Jeffress says we've let atheists "seize control of this country." (49:13) -- An Indiana county ended a life-saving needle exchange program because Jesus said so. (55:49)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. -- The new Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, is an ex-Mormon who describes herself as Agnostic. (1:41) -- There's a push for Christian churches to clarify where they stand on issues involving LGBTQ rights. (8:18) -- An ad campaign for the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter makes no sense at all. (19:40) -- Most Americans no longer believe you need God to be good. (28:00) -- Here's how a Religious Right group is misleading Congress about support for the Johnson Amendment repeal. (35:06) -- The Boy Scouts of America will let girls join! But open atheists are still banned. Don't worry. A Christian alternative still proudly bans everyone who isn't a straight, cisgender boy. (44:04) -- Young people are shedding their faith long before they go to college, contrary to the plot of movies like God's Not Dead. (56:35) -- Go watch this incredible (and short) documentary of an atheist who escaped the train to Auschwitz during World War II. (1:11:00)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

81% of evangelical Christians voted for Donald Trump last year, despite his bragging about sexual assault, despite his multiple marriages, despite his wealth and complete lack of concern for the poor, despite his flip-flopping on matters of abortion and saying women who had them needed to be punished, despite the lies and racism and bigotry. It seems like they were going to vote for whoever the Republican candidate was no matter what. And that no matter what continues to play out today. Trump is a deeply unpopular president whose decisions and morals are constantly questioned. He may be nominating the Religious Right's Dream Team to judicial seats, including the Supreme Court, but beyond that, it's hard to see how he fits the mold of a "family values" conservative who inspires loves for Jesus. So how did he do it? How did he convince evangelicals to support him, not just in the election, but to this day? And will there be any consequences for evangelicals moving forward? Stephen Mansfield explores all those questions in his new book Choosing Donald Trump: God, Anger, Hope, and Why Christian Conservatives Supported Him. I spoke with him about whether Trump's presidency will hurt evangelical Christianity, if there's anything Trump can do to lose the Religious Right's support, and why Trump's pandering rhetoric is so powerful. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. -- Your thoughts and prayers after the shooting in Las Vegas aren't helping. (1:06) -- The folks at Fox and Friends think the shooter just "didn't believe in God." (14:31) -- The worst response to the shooting came from a Mormon who blamed the victims. (22:02) -- What should we make of the survivor who said he found God after surviving the massacre? (24:25) -- A woman says God protected her... after surviving an awful car accident. (32:53) -- The 14 Attorneys General who say a Giant Christian Cross in a Florida park is totally secular. (36:27) -- It's okay to question a judicial nominee's religious history. (43:31) -- Anti-abortion politician Rep. Tim Murphy is resigning after allegedly texting his mistress to tell her to abort their possible lovechild. (53:27) -- Flipping the bird in church is constitutionally protected speech! (56:47) -- Happy stories... about why Olive Garden is ruining Hemant. (1:02:22)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. -- Conservative Matt Walsh criticized a male actor subbing in for a sick actress as promoting a transgender agenda. (1:39) -- Kyrsten Sinema, an Arizona Democrat who is religiously unaffiliated, will run for Senate in 2018. (10:20) -- Christian theocrat Roy Moore is a step closer to becoming a senator. (21:34) -- Mark Wahlberg is telling kids to go to church. (35:46) -- Christians who are silent about Donald Trump don't get to criticize Hugh Hefner. (38:40) -- A Colorado student is suing her high school district for promoting religion, over and over and over. (42:19) -- Women will soon be able to drive in Saudi Arabia... but not before religious leaders say dumb things about it. (53:08) -- A Florida pastor bragged about destroying a Satanic monument due to go up this winter. (1:04:49)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In a bonus episode of the podcast, I spoke with Camille Beredjick about her new book Queer Disbelief (which I helped edit). We spoke about why atheists should be on the front lines of LGBTQ activism, what aspect of the book was most difficult to write, and how she celebrated the completion of her first book. Please support the project at Kickstarter! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. -- Hemant and fellow writer Camille Beredjick have been working on a new book about the intersection of LGBTQ rights and atheism. (0:09) -- BYU is finally selling caffeinated soda on campus. This is the most exciting thing EVER, said Mormons... and nobody else. (7:12) -- Journalist Sally Quinn trashed atheists (again) while talking about her new book on spirituality. (13:52) -- Five football players at evangelical Wheaton College face felony charges after allegedly raping another students. (25:44) -- A peewee football team learning how and why to kneel during the National Anthem. (45:17) -- The world is ending on September 23, according to one "Christian numerologist." (49:01) -- Got money to waste? You can buy Bigfoot Juice or Psychic Vampire Repellent. (52:55) -- Doctors and a judge intervened to save the life of a young Jehovah's Witness. (58:59) -- Two Christian Right activists think homosexuality is unnatural since kids find it icky. (1:06:28)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. -- An Australian minister refused to perform a straight wedding because the couple supported marriage equality. (0:58) -- Evangelical Christians suddenly don't care about a president's private morality. I wonder what changed their minds... (8:13) -- It's harder for some men to get vasectomies because of Catholic hospitals. (24:37) -- Josh Duggar's sisters say they'd be traumatized if they had to sit next to him in court even though they're on the same side of a privacy lawsuit. (30:15) -- This is how conservatives think school prayer works. (37:04) -- Sen. Ted Cruz loves the ladies on Twitter. Spoiler: This segment involves bad dad jokes. (39:43)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.