Get to know an Atheist Blogger - Hemant Mehta the Friendly Atheist

Next up in our interview series is none other then The Friendly Atheist Hemant Mehta! I've personally been following his blog for years, as I'm sure many of you have, so I'm pretty excited have him on board.

On to the interview!

Q. Tell us a bit about yourself. Where did you come from? What are you doing now? Where you're going?

In terms of atheism, I began a campus atheist group in college which led to opportunities to work with national secular organizations. I now work closely with the Secular Student Alliance and the Secular Coalition for America. I also run the website www.FriendlyAtheist.com.

Outside of the atheist world, I teach math at a high school in the suburbs of Chicago.


Q. What made you decide to blog about atheism of all things?

Sometimes, you begin writing about a subject you have some interest in and knowledge about... to work out your thoughts and let out some frustration and ask for advice... and sometimes, you find out those thoughts are shared by many other people. Atheism and the search for rational thought has been a passion for years and it's nice to find an outlet for those ideas.


Q: Before you started blogging, were there any atheist sites that you frequented?

Nope. I didn't know much about blogs at all before I started writing one myself.


Q. How has your blogging affected your life?

It means people I don't know will know about me. That includes future bosses, possibly my students, and potential dates... that's frightening.

On the upside, it means if I say something, it could be heard by a large audience of people. Complete strangers know me because they hear my voice through the website. I think about possible posts throughout the day. It also means people who want a story to be heard can come to me if they need a place to share it.

Q. How long have you known that you are an atheist?

Since I was 14. Over 11 years now...

Q. What excites you most about the current state of atheism? What are you optimistic about?

There are many atheists "coming out" and many more to come. It's the "cool" thing to be in some areas. More young people are coming to their senses when it comes to matters of faith. I anticipate more will do so in the future.

Q: Why did you choose the name Friendly Atheist for you blog?

I wanted to tie those words together: "friendly" and "atheist." Most atheists are know are kind people, and that goes against the stereotype. Hopefully, people will come to recognize that there are many friendly atheists out there, as opposed to the angry/militant/aggressive atheists.

Q: Have you ever been recognized as the "Friendly Atheist" on the street?

Not on the street. But at conventions, people have come up to me to say they read my site. Or they'll see my site's name on my badge and say they read it all the time. That's pretty damn cool.

Q. Who do you most respect in the atheist community? Why?

So many to name... I respect anyone who's not afraid to say something that is both correct and unpopular. PZ Myers and Richard Dawkins come to mind. I also respect anyone trying to make a concrete difference for atheists in America -- showing that we exist and we need to be taken seriously. Lori Lipman Brown is a shining example of this.

Q. When someone asks you how you can be an atheist, why you don't believe in god, or anything to question your lack of faith, what's your single favorite argument for atheism?

There's no one tactic that works on everyone. But usually, I try asking questions back... I want to know whether they have a problem with me not believing in any God or just their God. What would happen if they stopped believing in God? What do they think I actually believe?

Q. What advice would you give those that are new to the idea of atheism, that aren't quite sure what they believe, and could use some direction?

Talk to other atheists. Find their websites online or their books in the library and read what they have to say. Ask questions. A one-on-one conversation is more powerful than just reading what they have to say.


Thank you Hemant! Short and sweet. Just the way we atheists like it.

If you have any additional questions for the Friendly Atheist, post them in the comments below. And head on over to his blog (one of my favorites) for more.

We've got a number of interviews with other fascinating atheist bloggers lined up, and if there's anyone you specifically want to know more about, let me know and I'll hunt them down :)