Hemant Mehta's Blog, page 1788

Could ISIS Forces Attack Italy?

“Italy Fears ISIS Invasion From Lybia,” trumpets aheadlineinthe Daily Beast. The prospect of such a thing initially seems silly and far-fetched, but author Barbie Latza Nadeau, who also contributes to NPR and Newsweek, explains why Italians are worried.

[T]here is no question that there is a palpable tension in Italy over the ISIS threat –Libya is just 109 miles away from the island of Lampedusa and 300 miles from Sicily –made worse by a 64 percent increase in illegal migrant arrivals by sea s...

These Are the Most and Least Religious States in the Country

Gallup has just released its annual list of the most and least religious states in the country (based on church attendance) and there’s no real change from the past.

The most religious states are exactly what you’d expect — Utah and Mississippi — while the least religious states make me want to move to New England:

There is no definitive answer as to why residents in a state like Mississippi are so likely to be in church on Sundays, while residents in a state like Vermont are so unlikely. Some...

Sam Harris on the Chapel Hill Murders and Militant Atheism… and Why He Now Fears For His Safety

In his latest podcast, posted last night, Sam Harristalks about the tragic murders of Deah Shaddy Barakat, Yusor Mohammad, andRazan Mohammad. After saying that hefeels nothing but horror over thecrime, and that the victimswere by all accounts marvelous people, headdresses the assertion that New Atheists like him have “blood on their hands,” in the lovely phrasing of C.J. Werleman.

The deluge of claims of equivalence between this crime, and the Charlie Hebdoatrocity and the daily behavior of a...

The Catholic Church’s Transphobia Has Never Been a Secret

I am so tired of writing to extremist Christians who believe they know transgender people better than transgender people know themselves. You’re probably tired of reading them.

But a recent post from Patheos Catholic’s Thomas J. McDonald has made it clear that the epidemic of shaming, delegitimizing, and dehumanizing trans people by the Catholic Church has no end in sight, andI can’t let that slide.

Over at Patheos Atheist’s Rational Doubt, Mary Johnson (below), a nun-turned-atheist who used to...

College Students Today Are Less Religious Than Ever Before

This graph will put a smile on your face.

The numbers, from a study called “The American Freshman,” show that college freshmen are abandoning their faith labels in record number, with self-professed “Nones” comprising more than 27% of students, the highest percentage in 40 years.

In 1971, 17.3% of men and 13.5% of women did not affiliate with any religion. By 2014, those figures had moved to 30% of men and 25.4% of women selecting “none” as their religious preference. These gender differences a...

This Finnish Band Just Released a Stunning Music Video Drawing Inspiration from the Work of Richard Dawkins

The Finland-based symphonic metal band Nightwish is about to release their new album, drawing inspiration from the natural world and the work of Richard Dawkins. (In fact, Dawkins appears on the album as a narrator for two of the songs.)

You can see the first single from the album, “Élan,” below. Gotta say, I’d never heard of the band before, but the video and music are just incredible:

Endless Forms Most Beautiful comes out in North America on March 31.

Why Video Glitches Aren’t Evidence of Aliens Living Among Us

Captain Disillusion explains why glitches in online videos aren’t evidence of the secret reptilian alien conspiracy! (Which, apparently, some people believe…)

I didn’t know this was a thing that needed debunking, but I would watch anything this guy makes.

Here’s Your Marriage License… and a Bible

The Washington Post‘s Monica Hesse has a fascinating profile of Bobby Martin, one of the probate judges in Alabama who has had to deal with the U.S. Supreme Court and Alabama’s own Chief Justice telling him contradictory things about whether he can marry gay couples over the past week:

Martin said he believed that same-sex marriage went against the Bible, but he’d sworn an oath to the U.S. Constitution, and the federal law said to issue the licenses. So he would, he decided. Licenses to everyo...

He Was Bound to Find Out About It Someday

One more from the latest New Yorker:

It’s Every Math Teacher’s Dream…

See how that response plays out at Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal