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! — A Christian school told students to write a letter urging a (fictional) friend to stop being gay. (1:45) — A Kansas town reversed course and will allow "In God We Trust" stickers on police vehicles... but there's a twist. (4:30) — A West Virginia school district finally settled a lawsuit involving Christian indoctrination in the classroom. (16:15) — A school board member in Colorado justified her bigotry with Jesus. One mother wasn't having it. (25:38) — Christian hate-preacher Greg Locke was reported to the IRS for telling his congregation they can't vote for Democrats. (33:33) — The Louisiana Supreme Court dropped charges against a preacher who held massive, maskless, in-person church services at the beginning of the pandemic. (47:35) — A shared delusion led to the exorcism and death of a three-year-old girl. (53:40) 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! — A Kansas town voted to remove "In God We Trust" from police vehicles. (2:03) — Canada's Parliament rejected a motion to end invocation prayers in the House of Commons. (6:41) — Evangelical pastors shouldn't be surprised that their churches are turning into MAGA cults. (15:51) — Predator megachurch leader Jack Schaap was released from prison earlier than expected. (37:05) — Idaho's Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin says "Christ will reign" if she becomes governor. (53:17) 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 supposed Roe decision could backfire on conservative Christians. (1:15) — A Christian college punished a sexual assault victim for having premarital sex. (39:05) — The Supreme Court also said Boston couldn't say no to putting up a Christian flag outside City Hall. (55:35) — In a cruel ritual, an 8-year-old Jain girl had her hair plucked out by hand. (1:12:18) 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! — A Christian show's viral "persecution" marketing campaign backfired. (2:15) — The Supreme Court is about to fumble a simple church/state separation case. (15:05) — An atheist in Florida says if controversial books are banned, then the Bible needs to go too. (35:15) — An Alabama couple can't adopt a kid because they're non-religious. (40:46) — Christians sang worship music on an airplane. (49:06) — A Christian "health insurance" ministry left families high and dry because it was all a grift. (58:09) — Canadians say evangelicals hurt society more than any other religious group. (1:09:18) 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), I spoke with Dr. Katie Gaddini, a sociologist at the Social Research Institute, University College London and a research associate at the University of Johannesburg, Department of Sociology. She recently released her debut book, The Struggle to Stay: Why Single Evangelical Women Are Leaving the Church, which is based on over four years of in-depth ethnographic research with single evangelical women in the US and the UK. We talked about purity culture, the mixed messages sent to Christian women, and whether their churches do more harm than good. 1:00 How did you get interested in this topic? 2:10 Are Christian women leaving church or the religion? 3:35 When they leave their churches, what are they missing out on? 4:55 What role does modern-day feminism play in women leaving church? 7:40 Do Christian women have opportunities to date, or is it always about courtship and marriage? 10:00 How do Christian women deal with sex loopholes? 15:30 What happens to women in the church as they get older but are still single? 17:40 Does the pressure to find a perfect Christian guy make things worse? 19:45 What's been the effect of #MeToo on these Christian women? 21:20 What do you make of the messages sent to Christian girls by modern Christian "influencers"? 24:18 Do churches ever offer sex ed for adults? 26:40 What's the message being delivered to older, single Christian men? 27:50: What happens when Christian women realize they've been lied to about the sexual binary between abstinence and anything-goes? 29:50: Are church leaders adapting to any of this? 32:10 Are evangelical churches a force for good in these women's lives? 33:50 Who are positive role models for Christian women wanting responsible advice about sex? 35:10 What surprised you in your research? 36:40 What has been your family's reaction to your book? 37:20: What is your current research focused on? 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! — Hemant will be giving a talk in Orlando on Sunday, April 24. Details here! — Kandiss Taylor, a wannabe governor of Georgia, has no respect for church/state separation. (3:19) — An Arkansas official brazenly bragged about pushing Christianity at government meetings. (14:30) — A "quieter approach" to atheism isn't necessarily a bad thing. (24:10) — A Tennessee senator used Hitler as an example of someone overcoming homelessness. (38:40) — A Tennessee cop baptized a woman against her will. A judge says the lawsuit can continue. (44:19) (UPDATE: The woman in question was found dead Wednesday night. The cause of death is unknown. We did not know about that when we were discussing this story on Thursday.) — David Barton is spreading a new lie about churches and the Constitution. (53:41) — There's a new member of the Congressional Freethought Caucus and it's a non-story. (1:00:17) 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! — Nebraska Sen. Megan Hunt helped defeat an anti-abortion bill with an incredible speech. (4:45) — A school prayer case from 1999 was cited to derail an honor for a historic Black judge. (14:15) — Mubarak Bala was sentenced to 24 years in jail for blasphemy. (27:48) — The Pledge of Allegiance may have been plagiarized from a child. (35:15) — No deciding your sexual orientation until you're 21, says conspiracist Rep. Lauren Boebert. (49:59) — Most Americans know religious objections to the COVID vaccines are bogus. (53:44) — Christians can't hijack a football stadium's PA system to promote Jesus, said a judge. (57:07) 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 Thomas Smith, host of multiple podcasts that discuss science, atheism, philosophy, and the law. They include "Serious Inquiries Only," a show that goes in-depth on topics concerned science and skepticism, "Opening Arguments," with co-host Andrew Torrez, which takes complex legal issues in the news and breaks them down in an accessible and entertaining way, and "Philosophers in Space," which uncovers and explains the philosophy behind your favorite works of sci-fi. We spoke about the right-ward shift of big-name atheists, why so many skeptics seem to be pushing conservatives arguments, and what the best strategies are to counter that misinformation. Because we spoke about so many different issues, timestamps were a bit tough to mark, but I hope you find this conversation as worthwhile as I did. 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! — Ketanji Brown Jackson was grilled about her religious beliefs by Lindsey Graham. (6:30) — A pastor claimed he could endorse candidates in church because they weren't beholden to the IRS. He's wrong. (18:05) — Brian Houston, the founder of Hillsong Church, finally resigned after additional revelations about his inappropriate behavior. But the whole church is in chaos. (28:55) — NC Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who is vehemently anti-abortion, apparently paid for an abortion. (43:55) — The Babylon Bee was booted from Twitter for making the only "joke" it knows. (56:05) — The largest gathering of atheists in America occurred ten years ago. Have things improved? (1:05:10) 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! — Senate candidate Herschel Walker proudly denied evolution. (1:38) — There's a $100 million ad campaign for Jesus. It will fail. (16:48) — Christianity Today reporters documented allegations of sexual harassment at... Christianity Today. (41:55) — Raif Badawi was finally released. (53:33) — A Kansas teacher sued school officials for requiring her to address students by their preferred names, saying the policy violates her religious freedom. (1:02:28) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.