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)
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Ep. 497 - The Mormon Church Condemns Tim Ballard

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)
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Ep. 496 - A Baptist Pastor Trashed Kids with Autism

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.
— Bremerton's praying football coach got what he wanted, so he quit. (1:25)
— A California megachurch took over Chino Valley public schools, creating chaos once again. (32:33)
— A dinosaur denier interviewed a dinosaur liar. Now my head hurts. (47:13)
— A Christian group is blocking access to a Jersey Shore beach on Sunday mornings. (1:00:18)
— Christian liar David Barton says Democrats aren't "God-fearing," so they cheat in elections. (1:10:15)
— The Transformed Wife has no clue what happens in public schools or workplaces. (1:17:58)
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Ep. 495 - Bremerton's Praying Football Coach Quit

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.
— Religious chaplains are begging Texas schools not to hire religious chaplains. (1:48)
— A California public school board leader was condemned over calls for "Christ centered" parents on committees. (21:15)
— A Christian boarding school that abused dozens of kids settled its lawsuits for $100 million. (34:12)
— Christian hate-preacher Jonathan Shelley has thoughts about me. (49:02)
— Denmark may criminalize burning holy books in public spaces. (56:10)
— The Transformed Wife has thoughts about divorce. (1:06:00)
— What words could you not say when you were Christian? (1:11:30)
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Ep. 494 - These Chaplains Don't Want Schools to Hire Chaplains

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.
— A Christian mob invaded an Appalachian artists' retreat because of an "Om" symbol in the chapel. (2:55)
— Spokane, Washington’s mayor appeared at a prayer event alongside Christian Nationalist Sean Feucht and domestic terrorist Matt Shea. (32:32)
— Massachusetts rejected would-be foster parents because of their bigotry, not their Catholic faith. (44:11)
— Denver Archdiocese sued Colorado over free pre-K because it hurts their bottom line. (56:44)
— This Catholic website quizzed readers on whether they could "recognize superstition." Let’s take the quiz. (1:05:35)
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Ep. 493 - This "Om" Symbol Led to a Christian Invasion

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.
— The guy who said evangelicals today see Jesus as "weak" is part of the problem. (1:10)
— Why is Baylor University getting a federal exemption from protecting LGBTQ students from faith-based harassment? (22:40)
— A pastor surrounded by jumbotrons is mad that people treat church like a "big production." (50:52)
— GOP lawmakers cited Noah's Ark to justify harming refugees with circular saw blades. (1:03:36)
— Tennessee’s Office of Faith-Based Initiatives will get $1.2 million. To do what? Who knows. (1:10:45)
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Ep. 492 - Is Jesus Too "Weak" for MAGA Christians?

Nicole Hemmer is a political historian specializing in media, conservatism, and the presidency. Her scholarship and teaching focus on the interplay of social movements, electoral politics, and political culture in order to probe the complexities of political identity and practice in the 20th century United States.

In this bonus episode, Jess and Dr. Hemmer discussed the rise of the Evangelical right, why Newt Gingrich was so effective at whipping the GOP into shape, and some fun J. Edgar Hoover counterfactuals.
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BONUS - Interview with historian Nicole Hemmer

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.
— Evangelist Franklin Graham is glad the U.S. women's soccer team lost the World Cup. (1:08)
— Desperate to show Democrats are "promoting atheism," Republicans divulged sensitive data. (16:36)
— Texas judge: Airline must get religious freedom training from Christian hate group. (39:40)
— An Arkansas lawmaker's wife is swapping pro-LGBTQ books with bibles in Little Free Libraries. (49:42)
— California county adopts error-laden "American Christian History Month" proclamation. (58:06)
— A Texas district called for 22 days of prayer to launch the new school year. (1:03:25)
— These Christians took preacher Robin D. Bullock seriously. Now they're screwed. (1:06:01)
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Ep. 491 - A GOP Blunder Puts Atheists in Danger

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.
— Longtime atheist activist and mentor Woody Kaplan has died. (0:15)
— The #1 Christian album in the country belongs to drag queen Flamy Grant. (4:00)
— Richard Dawkins used his new podcast to promote more transphobic lies. (13:20)
— A Catholic school expelled a boy to retaliate against his outspoken mother. (59:31)
— A lawsuit could block Oklahoma's taxpayer-funded Catholic charter school. (1:11:06)
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Ep. 490 - Richard Dawkins Spreads More Transphobia

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.
— For absurd reasons, MAGA cultists think FOX News supports The Satanic Temple. (2:15)
— Survey: Belief in God, Heaven, Hell, angels, and the devil is lower than ever before. (14:45)
— Does Vivek Ramaswamy's Hinduism really matter to GOP voters? (25:55)
— Texas atheists sue Fort Worth for rejecting ads for event opposing Christian Nationalism. (39:33)
— Christian hate-preacher: Even if your husband's an axe murderer, "you cannot divorce him." (44:50)
— Judge: WV prison officials can't force an atheist inmate to profess Christianity. (51:15)
— Don't believe the lie that growing megachurches tend to avoid politics. (58:41)
— Two more House Democrats have (quietly) joined the Congressional Freethought Caucus. (1:08:33)
— An Alabama church's $4.5 million "pastoral recovery center" raises so many red flags. (1:12:10)
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Ep. 489 - Vivek Ramaswamy's Hinduism vs. GOP voters

For a lot of listeners, I suspect conspiratorial thinking is something you connect with religion or right-wing politics. But of course it's also rampant in the world of New Age spirituality. Think Gwyneth Paltrow and Robert Kennedy, Jr. They're not explicitly religious, but their fans are not exactly known for their critical thinking skills.

My guests today have been dissecting that kind of BS for years. Julian Walker has written extensively on cults and gurus and New Age nonsense. Derek Beres is an author & media expert who's worked with a number of media and tech companies. Julian and Derek are also active yoga enthusiasts, a practice that's become rife with spiritual silliness that they oppose. 

Both of them, along with Matthew Remski, are co-hosts of the podcast Conspirituality, which tackles how spiritual beliefs that can nurture creativity and meaning have transformed into memes of a quickly-globalizing paranoia.

They just published a book about this topic called "Conspirituality: How New Age Conspiracy Theories Became a Health Threat." (Affiliate link)

Please support the show at https://www.patreon.com/friendlyatheistpodcast

0:00 Intro
1:45 Introductions
4:30 Your podcast began shortly after the pandemic shut everything down. What was it about that time that made you think this was the right time to talk about these issues?
7:20 What is it about being a contrarian that makes people—right-wing atheists or New Age believers—susceptible to propaganda?
12:00 You recently had an excerpt of your book, a part about RFK, run in Time magazine. What's the danger of RFK for people who haven't followed his career?
14:30 Why is anti-vax propaganda so powerful given that we just went through a global pandemic?
18:10 Who is responsible for spreading spiritual misinformation? It's not like the New Age crowd has a FOX News or Newsmax.
21:21 Why do conspiracy theories always seem to align with right-wing politics?
24:20 Do the purveyors of this nonsense know it's BS or are they True Believers?
28:00 Is it helpful when people like Dr. Oz and RFK run for office and lose? Or are those still opportunities to spread misinformation regardless of the outcome?
32:48 What has frustrated you both about media coverage of spiritual grifters?
36:45 Who's more dangerous: Gwyneth Paltrow or Alex Jones?
41:00 What is the "eugenics to yoga pipeline"?
45:20 What one question do you wish people would ask when grifters pitch a product?
49:25 Should we be debating vaccine efficacy?
55:15 What's effective in combatting these lies?
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Ep. 488 - Co-hosts of "Conspirituality," Julian Walker and Derek Beres

Caroline Mala Corbin is a professor at the University of Miami School of Law. She teaches classes involving the U.S. Constitution, the First Amendment, the Religion Clauses, the Free Speech Clause, Feminism and the First Amendment, and Reproductive Rights. Her scholarship focuses on the First Amendment’s speech and religion clauses, particularly their intersection with equality issues.

We spoke about the Supreme Court's recent decisions, the fear of the legal challenges that lie ahead, what could happen when non-Christians use "religious freedom" arguments in court, and more.

Please support the show at https://www.patreon.com/friendlyatheistpodcast

0:00 Intro
1:36 How bad are things right now?
2:42 What was the "303 Creative" case?
7:05 Does it matter that no gay couple asked Lorie Smith to design a wedding website for them?
10:30 How worried should we be about the ruling in 303 Creative?
15:26 Can Colorado do anything to circumvent this ruling?
17:25 Should atheists or Satanists use this ruling to discriminate against Christians?
20:30 Why did Neil Gorsuch compare this case to the 1940s' Barnette case involving the Pledge of Allegiance?
28:55 How do you teach Constitutional Law when this Supreme Court continues to ignore precedent and distort existing law?
30:38: What was the Groff v. DeJoy case all about?
33:44: What does it mean that SCOTUS changed the previous minimum standard to one that requires substantial costs to a company?
42:30 What religious liberty issues are coming down the pipeline? What should we be paying attention to?
45:05 Do teachers have a First Amendment right to refuse to call students by their pronouns? Is the government controlling their speech by forcing them to acknowledge trans identities?
49:33 Why do students in Texas and Florida need their parents' permission to get out of saying the Pledge of Allegiance?
53:22 Will the expansion of "religious liberty" rights be a useful tool for non-Christians pushing for progressive interpretations of the law?
58:06 What's your prediction for the next big change to SCOTUS, barring an unexpected death?
58:53 When you meet with constitutional lawyers, what do you all talk about?

Professor Corbin's website: https://people.miami.edu/profile/f8a9f100455e712842ae5c0a6ab128ff

Her paper on the Pledge of Allegiance: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3941233

Her paper on whether teachers should have to use students' pronouns: https://www.journaloffreespeechlaw.org/corbin.pdf

Her other papers: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=797431
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Ep. 487 - Constitutional Law Professor Caroline Mala Corbin

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.
— Pat Robertson is still dead.
— Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders defends Cross drawing at Governor’s Mansion. (0:52)
— Sen. Josh Hawley shared a fake Patrick Henry quotation to promote theocracy on Independence Day. (16:58)
— Mormon parents sued a school district after their son had sex in the parking lot. (38:00)
— What should Sweden be doing after a man burned the Qur’an outside a mosque? (47:55)
— Are Secular Americans the new abortion voters? (1:07:20)
— Insurers are avoiding Australia's Anglican schools due to child sex abuse risks. (1:18:38)
— Faith "switching": Religions are leaking members and can't plug the holes fast enough. (1:23:05)
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Ep. 486 - Sarah Huckabee Sanders and the Cross Drawing

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.
— Pat Robertson is still dead. 
— What happened to that submersible? (0:20)
— Josh Duggar's father-in-law delivered a racist sermon praising Christian slaveowners. (5:15)
— Is the Supreme Court case involving a bigoted Christian web designer built on a lie? (32:40)
— A GOP congressman is targeting a church/state separation group with his defense bill amendment. (46:10)
— In Colorado, nearly 1 in 4 state lawmakers are non-religious. (1:01:20)
— At 14, she was "betrothed" to her pastor. She's finally sharing her side of the story. (1:11:51)
— A Catholic priest forgot how to count. Now the Church is celebrating a "Eucharistic miracle." (1:28:15)
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Ep. 485 - This Preacher Praised Christian Slaveowners

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.
***CORRECTION***: The "He-Man Woman-Haters Club" is from the Little Rascals, not The Simpsons! Oops!
— What we can learn from the disgraceful life of Pat Robertson. (0:22)
— Stop overreacting about Jeopardy! players missing a clue about the Lord's Prayer. (10:47)
— Most Christian pastors use armed church members to thwart a possible mass shooting. (18:25)
— Utah Republicans are furious schools banned the Bible to comply with their book-banning law. (27:05)
— The Catholic Church in Kansas City used the wrong wine... and broke the religion. (34:35)
— A California restaurant chain had employees confess their work-related sins to a fake priest. (43:26)
— U.S. bishops are about to block trans-affirming care at Catholic hospitals. (53:17)
— After complaints from Christians, Poland's 666 bus to Hel will cease to exist. (1:05:45)
— Survey: In the U.K., belief in God has finally dipped below 50%. (1:09:35)
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Ep. 484 - The Disgraceful Life of Pat Robertson

You may have already encountered Gloria Beth Amodeo's writing in places like Publishers Weekly, The Literary Review, and American Atheist magazine. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from The New School, and currently works at an advertising agency in New York City. 
She recently wrote a book called God's Ex-Girlfriend: A Memoir about Loving and Leaving the Evangelical Jesus (affiliate link), so you know I had to talk to her.
We spoke about how Campus Crusade for Christ (now Cru) hurts people, the advice she'd give potential Cru members, and how the group's bigotry made her rethink her faith.
1:13 - Background
5:45 - Why belonging to a larger group was so important to her in college.
8:00 - How Cru entered her life.
10:00 - How Christians avoid saying Christian.
11:55 - How Cru connected with her.
13:59 - The power of "relational evangelism."
16:22 - What Cru did that convinced her they were worth joining.
18:40 - When Gloria Beth realized this brand of Christianity espoused anti-LGBTQ and anti-abortion thinking.
24:50 - How Cru is more about belonging than Jesus
25:55 - The three steps to successfully convert someone.
29:09 - Evangelical Christianity as a kind of diet.
30:01 - The sexual history they wanted to know before she went on a summer mission trip.
36:57 - The most cringe-worthy stuff Gloria Beth did as a Cru member.
40:27 - When she realized she might be wrong.
47:30 - What life after Christianity felt like at first.
49:16 - How Cru failed her after she graduated.
50:48 - The most harmful things that Cru teaches.
54:07 - The politics of Cru.
54:50 - What she would say to someone thinking about joining Cru or InterVarsity.
57:20 - What religious label she uses now.
58:10 - What happened with the people she met in Cru.
59:20 - What she's heard from current Cru members and leaders.
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Ep. 483 - Gloria Beth Amodeo: From Campus Crusade to God's Ex-Girlfriend

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.
— What we learned from watching “Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets.” (1:57)
— Christians are furious over a tiny Pride flag on the set of “The Chosen,” a show about Jesus. (29:12)
— Oklahoma just approved a taxpayer-funded Catholic charter school. (41:03)
— The L.A. Dodgers never should've caved after honoring the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. (51:38)
— Richard Dawkins has a new analogy to describe people who are transgender. (1:03:17) 
— If Louisiana forces every classroom to display “In God We Trust” signs, atheist Chaz Stevens is preparing to send them Arabic ones. (1:10:00)
— What does it mean that “non-churchgoers now rule the GOP”? (1:16:35)
— To comply with Utah's book banning law, a school district removed the KJV Bible. (1:28:00)
— Two Christian schools sue Minnesota for cutting them out of a taxpayer-funded program. (1:33:00)

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Learn more at BetterHelp.com/ATHEIST for 10% off your first month.
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Ep. 482 - Shiny Happy People: The Duggar Docuseries

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.
—SPONSOR: Visit BetterHelp.com/atheist today to get 10% off your first month. This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp.
— The 3 lies that convinced two conservative Christians to stop home-schooling their kids. (2:20)
— Catholics are flocking to Missouri to catch a glimpse of a dead nun’s corpse. (32:42)
— A pastor charged with four counts of child cruelty has announced his bid for the Louisiana House. (46:05)
— A Church diocese dismissed sex abuse allegations against a priest. Now there are six more victims. (1:00:06)
— A GOP bill would force Michigan schools to teach the "Christian foundations" of the U.S. (1:08:25)
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Ep. 481 - The Failure of Christian Home-Schooling

***An audio glitch in an earlier upload of this episode has been corrected. Apologies for the error!***
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.
— A new damning report examined sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in Illinois. (0:55)
— Even the most dedicated Catholics are walking away from Church services. (21:23)
— A new Florida law allows four minutes of loudspeaker prayers at high school playoff games. (32:13)
— The Jehovah’s Witnesses are trying to pretend they didn’t create two videos promoting disfellowshipping/shunning. (41:32)
— A Christian school fired two staffers for including their pronouns in emails. (1:00:08)
— A Satanist is suing Chicago for ignoring his “Hail Satan” invocation request. (1:14:50)
— Why did a Florida county honor conspiracy theorist and preacher Rodney Howard-Browne? (1:22:00)
— Why did the Texas Ten Commandments bill fail? Not because Republicans opposed it... (1:29:45)
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Ep. 480 - Loudspeaker Prayers at Florida Football Games

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.
— A 60 Minutes segment on the Mormon Church allegedly hoarding cash only made the religion look worse. (0:45)  
— Southern Baptists had the biggest drop in membership in over 100 years... AGAIN! (26:26)
— A Christian "prophet" says climate change is God's way of pointing us to Bible verses. (38:56)
— A church in Norwich, Ontario pressured businesses to close on Sundays... or else. (44:19)
— An atheist heard his kids’ bus driver was proselytizing on the way to school… so he had them capture it on video. (50:10) 
— Christian Nationalists are now adopting and embracing the label. (57:30)
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