A Christian pastor who spread COVID misinformation is now heavily influencing U.S. vaccine policy, and he’s openly questioning shots against polio and measles. This is how public health collapses. www.friendlyatheist.com/p/a-pastor-w...

2026 has radicalized pop crave (complimentary)

This is a post from a friend in Minneapolis.

Another friend put it to me like this: "ICE has made the classic Nazi mistake. They've invaded a winter people in the winter."

Today's @slate.com crossword is mine, with a nod to a popular show and a synonym/antonym (?) of the same show at 1-Across. Do it! slate.com/life/2026/01...

An Oklahoma lawmaker wants to force teachers to say that Creationism and Intelligent Design are plausible alternatives to evolution. The bill is unconstitutional, deeply dishonest, and insulting to students. www.friendlyatheist.com/p/an-oklahom...

I'll be going live in a bit to talk about the past week in church/state separation! We'll be talking about a church protest in Minnesota, Catholic racism, and so much more... youtube.com/live/MRsJSyH...

Turns out government meetings are for governing, not evangelizing. Who knew.

Join the Friendly Atheist, Hemant Mehta, in a conversation with Rep. Chris Rabb, secular Dem running for Congress! 🗓️Monday, Jan. 26 ⌚8PM EST Register Here: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi... Use your superpower at the ballot box and elect secular progressives! @chrisrabb.com @friendlyatheist.com

White nationalist Lauren Witzke has some big plans for 2026: "We are going to prove to the world that God is real. And you just wait to find out how."

The Pew Research Center says the Catholic share of the most populous Latin American countries—Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru—has dropped by 9 points or more over the past decade, and there’s no indication the decline will end anytime soon.

A Maryland county official used a meeting to preach the Gospel for several minutes. That plan backfired so badly that the council has now eliminated Christian invocations entirely. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ www.friendlyatheist.com/p/after-bibl...

literally every bad thing in this country right now is the result of Republicans saying "we'll get sued over this, but..." it's genuinely pathetic that Democrats won't do the same in order to protect people's rights

Catholicism is collapsing across Latin America—by double-digits in some countries. But faith isn’t disappearing. Institutional trust is. www.friendlyatheist.com/p/catholicis...

You can't clutch your pearls when it's a Baptist Church being protested, and celebrate when it's a mosque being targeted by ICE.

Conservatives are furious about a protest in a St. Paul church. They’re silent about armed ICE agents stalking church parking lots. That hypocrisy is the real scandal. www.friendlyatheist.com/p/the-anti-i...

I am not exaggerating when I say ICE functions as a terrorist organization in the Twin Cities. The goal seems to be to harass and frighten people (the ones who are lucky enough to not be abducted, at least) and it's deeply unsettling when you learn they're in your neighborhood.

certainly nothing bad ever happened after a downtrodden midwestern team shocked everyone and won a championship

Christ, we have to listen to a sermon on ESPN now, don't we?

Who would want to pray to the same deity as the people who worship Donald Trump?

It's the Karen presidency. Everything going on is because one dumb old asshole didn't get his way and now it's everyone's problem

Was Weiss rapping this? "You got an issue with me? Take your shot You never seen my likes, so unpredictable, so heterodox"

Is this supposed to be a compliment?

come on man www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

“How dare they protest in that ICE field office director’s church!” Meanwhile they had nothing to say when ICE raided churches and shot pastors in the face with pepper balls and chemicals👇🏽 🤔

A Ten Commandments monument just went up outside the Tarrant County Courthouse in Texas. Supporters say it's about honoring history. They're lying. It's about imposing one kind of Christianity on everyone else. www.friendlyatheist.com/p/texas-cour...

Jesus, legit insane

Atheists win again.

FUCKING INSANEEEEEEEEEEEE THE POPE DID THIS

Chicago was legally Catholic for the last 30 seconds of regulation.

I can't handle watching the Pope's Team.

If a Democratic president had done something like this, Fox and the GOP would have turned Adriana Camberos into a household name à la Willie Horton or, yes, Hunter Biden. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/16/u...

A Catholic bragged about refusing the Eucharist from an Indian woman, citing his own racist views and the “Great Replacement” theory. Then he insisted confession would make up for everything. www.friendlyatheist.com/p/a-catholic...

Preacher Greg Locke claimed his home was shot up because he was being persecuted for his faith. Not only was that a lie, there's reason to believe he KNEW it at the time. So I asked him about it. www.friendlyatheist.com/p/greg-locke...

Jesus. www.startribune.com/ice-raids-mi...

I'll be going live in a bit to talk about the past week in church/state separation! We'll be talking about a Texas mosque, Greg Locke's big lie, Scott Adams’ supposed deathbed conversion, and so much more... youtube.com/live/UA-mKun...

The Christian Right’s latest conspiracy theory is that abortion pills are causing women to flush “unborn baby remains.” Which then infects the water supply. And they want the EPA to look into this.

A Muslim group appeared to meet every requirement to build a mosque in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. The local planning commission approved it. Then the city council killed it after weeks of Islamophobic fear-mongering. www.friendlyatheist.com/p/a-proposed...

I hadn't known until I saw this writeup from @friendlyatheist.com that Scott Adams announced a very transactional deathbed conversion to Christianity, which I find fascinating because it makes very clear what's wrong with Pascal's Wager *theologically*. www.friendlyatheist.com/p/scott-adam...

Scott Adams didn’t spend his final days reflecting on his poor decisions or apologizing for his racism. He just ran a quick religious calculation, then did the bare minimum to please the most gullible people in the room. www.friendlyatheist.com/p/scott-adam...

Lol. All the secular conspiracy theorists and right-wing propagandists under one umbrella.

Ohio Republicans want public schools to teach kids there’s only one "correct" path to success: Graduate, Get a job, and Get married before having kids. That "success sequence" isn't just bad policy; it ignores reality. www.friendlyatheist.com/p/ohios-succ...

fuck yeah

"Pro-life" pastors will say anything to defend murder.

In a lawsuit, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton claims a state agency is discriminating against Christians who want to advertise in the Driver’s Handbook. Small problem: The handbook doesn't run ads. For anyone. www.friendlyatheist.com/p/texas-atto...

These numbers are not surprising to me having covered it, but it is stark seeing it laid out like this and I’m glad the Times put this together. Just this week, someone told me they wished I would stop including the appointing president in stories, and I was like, “Not a chance.” This is why.

I love how this Bears team refuses to play football until 55 minutes into the game. Disney-ass team.

.... starting now.

BREAK OUT THE CHEESE GRATERS #Bears

🚨🚨wake up the pope 🚨🚨