Hemant Mehta's Blog, page 1746

Christian Baker in New York Will Hand Out Cupcakes Near Gay-Friendly Bars Tonight in Show of Solidarity

I’m pretty sure “Christian Baker” ranks just above “Comcast Manager” on the list of Least Liked People in America. But Rev. Drew Ludwig, the pastor at Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church, is trying to change that tonight.

Rather than refuse to bake cakes for gay couples, he’s putting together a #ChristianCakeMob, baking and passing out cupcakes outside several gay-friendly bars in Buffalo tonight:

While the Indiana governor signed an amended version of the act, Ludwig said he still didn’t like...

Christians Sue Michigan City Council for Removing Giant Cross from Hilltop, Calling It “Viewpoint Discrimination”

A few months ago, I posted about a giant hydraulic cross that goes up several times a year atop Dewey Hill in Grand Haven, Michigan:

You can read the history of that cross here but the question is whether this constitutes government promotion of religion.

In October, atheist activists Mitch Kahle and Holly Huber began challenging the Hydraulic Cross. With residents Brian and Kathy Plescher and attorneys from Americans United for Separation of Church and State, they requested that the Cross be u...

FFRF Launches Ad Campaign Targeting Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s Expanded School Voucher Program

Among Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker‘s litany of faults is his decision to support vouchers that would ultimately use taxpayer money to fund religious schools. Before his budget is approved by state legislators, the Freedom From Religion Foundation is launching an ad campaign warning people about the voucher problem specifically.

Walker’s proposal would lift the 1,000-student cap on statewide private school tuition vouchers, opening the floodgates for state funding of religious schools. In th...

Christian’s Complaint Against Baker Who Refused to Write “God Hates Gays” on Cake is Rejected by State Officials

Last year, Bill Jack, the founder of a fundamentalist Christian organization, walked into the Denver-based Azucar Bakery and asked the owner to make a cake that had a hate-filled message on it:

[Owner Marjorie] Silva says Jack pulled out a piece of paper with phrases like “God hates gays” and requested her to write them on his cakes.

He wouldn’t let employees make a copy of the paper and would not read the words out loud, Silva claims. The bakery owner also says the customer wanted an image of...

Anti-RFRA Advertisement Will Appear in the New York Times This Sunday

While much of the discussion and debate surrounding Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) law has been about how it would allow Christian business owners to freely discriminate against LGBT customers, there’s a broader problem with RFRA (at both the state and federal levels) that’s been ignored.

The law essentially says everyone has to follow the law… but if you have a really good religious reason to not comply, that might be okay. Want to break the law because you think it’s unju...

Generation Atheist is Free This Weekend

My friend Dan Riley wrote a book a while back called Generation Atheist. It’s a collection of true stories about people who transitioned from godly to godless.

For the rest of the weekend (through Monday), the book is free on Kindle. I urge you to get your copy now if you haven’t already!

And if audiobooks are your thing, that’s now an option as well!

Kiva Atheists Are Giving New Members of the Group $25 to Loan to Those in Need

Longtime readers of this site know that the Atheists, Agnostics, Skeptics, Freethinkers, Secular Humanists and the Non-Religious group on microlending website Kiva is among the most popular on the site. We have loaned out more money than any other group and given out the most loans total. (The Kiva Christians group comes in second in both categories.)

Right now, for a limited time, the atheists are giving away $25 worth of free loans to new members of their group:

We believe that everyone deser...

Memphis Flyer Publishes Cover Story on Local Atheists

This week’s cover of the Memphis Flyer revolves around the American Atheists convention taking place in the city this weekend:

“Our national conventions are always on Easter weekend,” Muscato says, dispelling any rumors that the date was chosen as a personal affront to Robertson or anybody else celebrating the holiday. “We choose Easter for practical reasons: We can get a great deal on hotel and convention space. And we’re atheists, so we don’t have anything else to do.”

Peabody Hotel publicist...

20% of Americans Will Be Recruited Into Homosexuality In The Next Century, Says Gordon Klingenschmitt

This week,Colorado State Representative (and notorious babbling conservative) Gordon Klingenschmitt predicted a future some of us can only dream of. He says that in a hundred years, 20% of the population will be gay.

Before we go any further, this actually isn’t impossible, whether in a century or today. Depending on what survey you consult, the portion of the population that identifies as gay or lesbian might be 1%, 3%, 5%, or any other single-digit figure, really. But because stigma against...

Missouri House Passes Bill Forcing Public Schools to Recite the Pledge of Allegiance Every Day… In English

Remember the chaos that ensued a couple of weeks ago when a New York high school allowed the Pledge of Allegiance to be read in Arabic as part of Foreign Language Week? People flipped out, the principal had to apologize, and the school promised the Pledge would only be read in English from now on.

Well, lawmakers in Missouri are making sure that sort of blasphemy never happens in their state:

A bill that would require Missouri’s public schools recite the Pledge of Allegiance in English once a d...