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Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial]

@friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy

991 followers 0 following 1.2K posts

Commentary about religion and politics, centered around atheism. Click to read Friendly Atheist, by Hemant Mehta, a Substack publication with tens of […] 🌉 bridged from 🌐 friendlyatheist.com: fed.brid.gy/web/friendlyatheist.com

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Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 07/10/2026

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Federal judge clears path for taxpayer-funded religious school in Oklahoma

The ruling in favor of Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School could open the floodgates for publicly funded religious indoctrination nationwide.

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 06/10/2026

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Jim Bakker, the godfather of scamvangelism, is dead at 86

The convicted fraudster spent decades exploiting Christians with bogus promises, survival buckets, partisan paranoia, and a fake COVID cure

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 06/10/2026

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A Christian influencer says he went to Heaven and met a testosterone-fueled Jesus

Gabe Poirot says he met a fiery, muscular, intolerant Jesus. Fox News is helping amplify the story.

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Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 05/10/2026

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Texas judge forces Galveston school district to display Ten Commandments posters

Galveston ISD resisted the state’s Christian mandate for a year, but Ken Paxton and a Republican judge have ordered the district to put up the Christian signs

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 04/10/2026

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Idaho’s attorney general gave churches a dark-money loophole to fight abortion rights

Raúl Labrador said churches may spend general-fund money opposing Proposition 1 while keeping their individual donors anonymous

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 02/10/2026

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A restaurant stood up to Doug Wilson’s Christian Nationalists—and won

Saffire pledged its profits to charity, supported protesters, and watched the “Fight Laugh Feast” organizers cancel their own lunch bookings

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 01/10/2026

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Pete Hegseth is centralizing religious power inside the military

Hegseth’s explicitly Christian defense of a new Pentagon religious office leaves non-religious service members on dangerous ground

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 30/09/2026

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The Mormon Church’s own lawyer just undermined its case against John Dehlin

David Jordan’s defense of the Mormon Stories lawsuit clashes spectacularly with the Church’s earlier attack on Heather Gay’s “Bad Mormon” trademark

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 29/09/2026

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Pete Hegseth gutted the military’s list of official religions. Now Air Force members must choose.

Service members must choose from a less inclusive list—or let the military choose for them

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Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 28/09/2026

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The Christian grift behind Life Surge’s celebrity-packed wealth seminars

Tim Tebow and other celebrities spoke at events pitching “Kingdom impact,” but some customers say they were left with crushing debt

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Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 26/09/2026

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Scientists have not “100% confirmed” the resting place of Noah’s Ark

The Daily Mail turned a Christian company’s dubious claims about Turkey’s Durupınar Formation into a wildly misleading story

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 25/09/2026

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Christian school board member melts down over class trip to “Satanic” Salem Witch Museum

Batavia City Schools board member Dan Schmidt admitted he didn’t know the museum’s history—but condemned it anyway

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 24/09/2026

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Christian evangelist defends $4,500 networking trip—and his “need” for luxury hotels

Joshua Feuerstein says wealthy businessmen understand why proximity costs money, even if he won’t publicly explain exactly what they’re buying

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 23/09/2026

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Nearly half of people raised Mormon have left the LDS Church

The Mormon retention rate has plunged from 70% to 54% as former members embrace dramatically different social and political views

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 22/09/2026

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Trump’s “Top 250 Victories for People of Faith” collapse under scrutiny

The White House padded its list with exaggerations, repeated claims, and policies benefiting conservative Christians at everyone else’s expense

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 21/09/2026

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James Talarico’s pastor welcomes atheists. Conservatives think that’s a scandal.

Overhyped “undercover” videos targeted Rev. Jim Rigby for views that many evangelical churches already embrace

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Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 19/09/2026

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Jehovah’s Witnesses just gutted their deadly blood transfusion policy

Nearly every form of transfusion used in modern hospitals is now a matter of personal conscience

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 18/09/2026

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An Alabama church says God made a paraplegic man walk again. There’s a better explanation.

Lighthouse Apostolic Pentecostal Church’s viral miracle claim has a medically plausible explanation

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 17/09/2026

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Albert Mohler’s blasphemy reversal exposes the cruel logic of Christian Nationalism

A government that officially privileges Christianity can’t offer genuine equality or religious freedom to everyone else

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 16/09/2026

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A Texas megachurch’s 400 AI-powered surveillance cameras are deeply disturbing

Lakepointe Church and Pastor Josh Howerton have installed a system capable of monitoring staff, tracking license plates, and destroying any expectations of privacy

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 15/09/2026

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Virginia middle school students win LGBTQ club fight as school board members play victim

King George County officials spent a year blocking a Genders and Sexualities Alliance. A lawsuit finally forced them to reverse course.

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 14/09/2026

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GOP candidate Michael Whatley’s “integrity” prayer was led by a registered sex offender

Pastor Daimon L. King, twice imprisoned for offenses involving minors, opened a North Carolina GOP campaign rally

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 11/09/2026

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A teacher told a Kansas lawmaker “Trans rights are human rights.” Hours later, she was fired.

Barbara Williams is suing the Bonner Springs-Edwardsville Unified School District over her disputed firing

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 10/09/2026

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Lawsuit says Christian school in Denver tried to “squash” a 13-year-old’s assault allegation

St. John's Lutheran Church and School allegedly pressured the child to retract her claim while protecting the school employee she accused

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 09/09/2026

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Here are the openly non-religious candidates for state/federal office in 2026

They are atheists, humanists, lapsed Catholics, and more— and they're all on the ballot this November

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 08/09/2026

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Bonnie Kristian’s “Defense of Evangelicalism” avoids the real problem

Her Washington Post essay asks critics to show white evangelicals more grace while largely ignoring the political harm they continue to enable.

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 07/09/2026

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The Supreme Court could let Catholic preschools discriminate on the taxpayers’ dime

Church-state separation groups are warning SCOTUS that this case could undermine civil-rights protections nationwide

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 05/09/2026

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Christian missionaries were not kicked out of Burning Man for preaching the Gospel

Shift the Atmosphere ignored repeated warnings about consent and privacy before accusing Burning Man of targeting Christians

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 04/09/2026

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Lance Wallnau says Trump’s $2 billion foreign aid plan could help convert people to Christianity

The Christian Nationalist preacher is celebrating taxpayer-funded charity as a “transfer of wealth into the Kingdom of God”

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 03/09/2026

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Texas evangelist raises flag lowered for Dolly Parton in anti-LGBTQ stunt

David Grisham waited until the post office closed, reversed the presidential order, and called Parton a “fake Christian.” Then he told me why he did it.

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 02/09/2026

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Maine Supreme Court says dad can block daughter from attending mom’s harmful church

The unanimous ruling found that Calvary Chapel’s frightening messages caused the child real psychological harm—not that Christianity itself was the problem

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Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 01/09/2026

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Christian Nationalist preacher claims his ministry has raised “over 50 people” from the dead

Andrew Wommack has never offered evidence for his extraordinary “miracles”—but he expects followers to believe every word

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Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 31/08/2026

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Justice Department “Weaponization” report falsely accuses FBI of anti-Catholic bias

A 231-page DoJ report distorts an FBI terrorism investigation to manufacture evidence of anti-Catholic bias

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Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 28/08/2026

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New Jersey didn’t ban prayer outside abortion clinics, but Christians are lying about it anyway

Right-wing groups are turning a straightforward patient-protection law into another manufactured religious persecution campaign

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 27/08/2026

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Right-wing influencers invented a Girl Scouts “Islamization” scandal

A routine program welcoming girls from families of different faiths into the Girl Scouts has become the right’s latest imaginary indoctrination scandal

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 26/08/2026

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Dethroned Miss North Carolina USA sues pageant over her own bigoted posts

Brittany Boltinhouse claims she was defamed, but her lawsuit only draws more attention to the horrible things she said that cost her the crown

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 25/08/2026

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Pete Hegseth is bringing Christian propaganda to schools on military bases

A Hillsdale College-linked textbook whitewashes Christianity, vilifies Islam, and distorts history for the children of U.S. service members

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 24/08/2026

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The GOP nominee for governor of Illinois doesn’t want to talk about his Creationist beliefs

Republican Darren Bailey thinks humans and dinosaurs lived at the same time, and he’s very upset people keep bringing it up

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 23/08/2026

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How a ‘90s R&B star weaponized Christianity against his children

Mikayla Thornton says her father, a founding member of Color Me Badd, used divine authority and a “rod of correction” to make his cruelty seem righteous

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Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 22/08/2026

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Christian metal band “Demon Hunter” sues Netflix over “KPop Demon Hunters”

The band claims the hit movie’s concert tour violates its trademark—even though “demon hunter” is hardly an original phrase

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 21/08/2026

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Massachusetts High Court blocks Catholic statues from going up at Quincy police headquarters

The taxpayer-funded monuments to St. Michael and St. Florian will remain in storage after a major victory for church-state separation

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 20/08/2026

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Conservative Christians in Texas are trying to harass Muslims out of existence

Their latest gambit? Legally redefining religion to exclude Islam, a move they think will let them ignore Muslims’ civil rights

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 19/08/2026

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Arizona Supreme Court says pastor’s admission of abuse is NOT protected by religious privilege

The ruling will let prosecutors use Mario Rodriguez-Ramirez’s recorded confession in his criminal trial because he was discussing damage control, not seeking absolution

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 18/08/2026

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Texas’ Ten Commandments law is heading toward a Supreme Court showdown

After a bitterly divided appeals court upheld the classroom mandate, families are asking the justices to protect their religious freedom

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 17/08/2026

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Colorado school district dumps Bible-heavy curriculum borrowed from Texas after 3 days

Montezuma-Cortez officials abandoned the "Bluebonnet" curriculum over the religious material, apparent AI errors, and lessons irrelevant to students in Colorado

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 15/08/2026

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Satanists sue Iowa officials for blocking them from erecting a holiday display in the Capitol

State officials kept inventing rules to block The Satanic Temple from putting up a holiday display in the name of protecting children

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 14/08/2026

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Canada’s military tells chaplains: At public events, serve everyone, not just Christians

The Canadian Armed Forces’ new religious-neutrality policy protects service members from government-sponsored faith

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 13/08/2026

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Connecticut Republicans finally rejected the Christian extremist they never vetted

Jadon MacCormack became a GOP nominee despite endorsing Holocaust denial and vicious anti-LGBTQ rhetoric. He just got a humiliating reality check.

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 12/08/2026

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Christian televangelist Katie Souza claims aliens stole her eggs and made a hybrid baby

The televangelist claims an "inter-dimensional device" stole her eggs for decades. Don't bother looking for evidence.

Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta | Substack [Unofficial] @friendlyatheist.com.web.brid.gy · 11/08/2026

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An anti-trans Christian activist is furious that a reporter quoted her accurately

Erin Lee accused Colorado journalist Kyle Clark of making her sound unhinged, but his receipts showed that her own words did all the work