Friendly Atheist Podcast

Patreon supporters who give $5 a month will get an ad-free version of the show!Join our private Facebook group and Discord server!Jessica and I spoke about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.— Hemant launched a Kickstarter to go through the Book of Revelation on YouTube. Please consider supporting him here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/friendlyatheist/everything-wrong-with-revelation-in-the-bible— Speaker Mike Johnson's "covenant marriage" doesn't make it more meaningful. (0:50)— Grand Canyon University, the nation's largest Christian school, just got fined $38 million for lying about tuition costs. (25:22)— The Southern Baptist Convention is still fighting against survivors of sexual abuse. (41:09)— After forcing kids to attend religious revival, a West Virginia school district has settled the case for $175,000. (1:03:38)— Texas Supreme Court to decide if a judge can be punished for refusing to marry gay couples. (1:12:10)— SPONSOR: Sign up today at butcherbox.com/friendly and use code friendly to choose your free steak for a year and get $20 off. — SPONSOR: Paint Your Life. Text FRIENDLY to 87204 to get 20% off your painting! 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.— Hemant launched a Kickstarter to go through the Book of Revelation on YouTube. Please consider supporting him here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/friendlyatheist/everything-wrong-with-revelation-in-the-bible— New House Speaker Mike Johnson is a fervent Christian Nationalist. (1:31) — A Republican helped sink Rep. Tom Emmer's Speaker bid, saying he needed to "get right with Jesus." (29:10)— Rep. Maxwell Frost called out "racist, violent, and dangerous" Christian Nationalism. (38:30)— Donald Trump said he'll block immigrants who "don't like our religion" from entering the U.S. (43:52)— Preacher Mark Burns, who lied about his military service, plans to open the "Burns Christian Military Academy." (51:28)— Oklahoma's Attorney General Gentner Drummond filed a lawsuit to block a taxpayer-funded Catholic charter school. (58:30)— GOP congressman Burgess Owens falsely claimed the Bible was "banned from all of us" in 1963. (1:05:37)— SPONSOR: PaintYourLife.com: Text FRIENDLY to 87204 to get 20% off your painting! 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.— Hemant launched a Kickstarter to go through the Book of Revelation on YouTube. Please consider supporting him here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/friendlyatheist/everything-wrong-with-revelation-in-the-bible— Oklahoma education leader claims church/state separation is "state-sponsored atheism." (0:40)— Judge rules (again) that teaching Islam in school doesn't violate the Constitution. (19:57)— Pennsylvania lawmaker cites Genesis 8 as proof that climate change is fake. (33:25)— A Pennsylvania police chief told a tarot card reader they could be jailed under the law. (40:55)— Atheist reminds Democratic leaders: We "are the party of religious freedom." (49:49)— Girl Defined had the worst possible guest to discuss women's bodies. (58:09)— SPONSOR: PaintYourLife.com: Text FRIENDLY to 87204 to get 20% off your painting! 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.— Hemant launched a Kickstarter to go through the Book of Revelation on YouTube. Please consider supporting him here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/friendlyatheist/everything-wrong-with-revelation-in-the-bible— Citing the Bible, a Louisiana principal punished a student for dancing inappropriately‚Ķ then came the backlash. (5:42) — A new Arkansas voucher program gives millions of public dollars to private Christian schools. (29:40)— When it comes to climate change, white evangelical Christians are least likely to accept reality. (39:22)— A candidate for public office is suing New Jersey over the phrase "So help me God" in its oath. (55:10)— Poland's census just revealed a massive drop in Catholicism. (1:03:10)— Asian Americans are drifting away from organized religion. (1:11:20)— SPONSOR: PaintYourLife.com: Text FRIENDLY to 87204 to get 20% off your painting! 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.— We're having a 500th episode party in Aurora, Illinois on Saturday, October 7. Details are here! — "Project 2025" is a Christian Nationalist fever dream that would destroy American democracy. (1:39)— "Savior Complex" explores the dark side of an infamous Christian missionary in Uganda. (19:37)— A new federal report says Liberty University isn't keeping its students safe. (37:50)— North Dakota GOP lawmaker Brandon Prichard went on a theocratic, homophobic tirade. (49:15)— With more abuse lawsuits on the horizon, the Archdiocese of Baltimore has declared bankruptcy. (1:01:59)— SPONSOR: ButcherBox is offering our listeners turkey FREE in your first box plus $20 off your first order. Sign up at butcherbox.com/friendly and use code FRIENDLY. 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 episode, Hemant spoke with Kate Cohen, author of the new book "We of Little Faith: Why I Stopped Pretending to Believe (And Maybe You Should Too)."https://amzn.to/46wxEmO (Affiliate link)Cohen is a Washington Post contributing columnist who has written many beautiful essays about atheism for an audience that isn't necessarily seeking it out. We spoke about why she's not an "angry atheist," the importance of secular holidays, whether there's a nice way to tell religious people they're lying to themselves, and more. 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.— Hemant is speaking in Denver on Saturday, Sep. 30. Details are here!— We're having a 500th episode party in Aurora, Illinois on Saturday, October 7. Details are here! t— A former Southern Baptist leader says his sexual misconduct is "nobody else's business." (1:30)— Republicans think Donald Trump is more of a "person of faith" than Mike Pence and Mitt Romney. (24:42) — Kevin Sorbo doesn't want anyone to say his anti-trans children's book is anti-trans. (37:34)— NASA's new policy chief took her oath on a copy of Carl Sagan's "Contact." (51:25)— The Transformed Wife doesn't know how public schools work. (54:50) 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 episode, Hemant spoke with Andrew Pledger, a former student at Bob Jones University, a fundamentalist Christian school with a long and not-so-great history. Andrew is the host of a new podcast called "Surviving Bob Jones University: A Christian Cult."The stories in that podcast are depressing as all hell but they're so important to hear if you want to get a real sense of what schools like these do to people. 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.— Hemant is speaking in Denver on Saturday, Sep. 30. Details are here!— We're having a 500th episode party in Aurora, Illinois on Saturday, October 7. Details are here! t— Christian hate-preacher Greg Locke has a massive bill coming his way. (1:30)— Even the Mormon Church wants nothing to do with Tim Ballard. (10:30)— A new lawsuit says Louisiana students were tricked into going to church instead of a college fair. (25:05)— Letter suggests Pope Pius XII knew about Nazi atrocities but remained on the sidelines. (40:40)— After a teen's petition, a Minnesota school district will stop holding graduation in a megachurch. (52:40)— A professional singer was fired for criticizing the Cleveland Diocese's anti-LGBTQ policies. (1:04:03)— A Christian hate-preacher rationalized slavery in the worst way. (1:20:20)— For State House, Louisiana GOP endorses Christian pastor charged with child cruelty. (1:28:16)— A former American Family Association VP sued AFA for same-sex sexual harassment. (1:35:13)— SPONSOR: Head to factormeals.com/friendly50 and use code friendly50 to get 50% off!— SPONSOR: Sign up today at butcherbox.com/friendly and use code FRIENDLY to receive ground beef for life plus $20 off your first order. 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.— Former Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis owes $100,000 to a gay couple she discriminated against. (1:28)— A Baptist pastor falsely claimed autism is demonic: "My God doesn't make junk." (12:45)— A misleading survey suggests Christians are more tolerant of free speech than atheists. (30:00)— Florida continues to promote a Christian-approved alternative to the SAT. (41:54)— Christian pastors are struggling to find their successors. (1:00:05)— Christian hate-preacher Greg Locke has a warning about demonic owls. (1:13:48)— An Idaho library board chair demanded Sunday closures to "keep the Sabbath day holy." (1:19:58)— SPONSOR: Head to factormeals.com/friendly50 and use code friendly50 to get 50% off!— SPONSOR: Sign up today at butcherbox.com/FRIENDLY and use code FRIENDLY to get $20 off your first order.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.