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Jessica and I spoke about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.

— Emily Olson, the newest city council member in Owosso, Michigan, has received backlash for trying to end the tradition of Christian prayers at meetings and refusing to stand during the Pledge of Allegiance. (0:55)

— The nephew of GOP bigot Rep. Vicky Hartzler spoke out after she cried on the House floor about a bill protecting same-sex marriages. (18:50)

— The first meeting of an After School Satan Club had to be delayed in Virginia after the Chesapeake Public Schools board cited safety concerns. (23:05)

— SPONSOR: God Pod! Check it out and subscribe! (32:54)

— Rep. Louie Gohmert praised a Christian pastor whose church has ignored serious allegations. (33:56)

— New York’s governor should sign a bill that bolsters secular addiction treatment programs. (40:30)

— A Christian teacher at Franklin Academy, a public charter school in Florida, was fired after interrupting three Muslim students in the middle of a prayer. (46:25)

— A Christian mother in British Columbia has lost her case arguing that an Indigenous “smudging” ritual at her kids’ school violated her religious freedom. (50:50)

— A lawyer tasked with helping the Archdiocese of Montreal be more transparent when it comes to child sexual abuse allegations has discovered that Church leaders were sabotaging her efforts. (56:13)

Patreon supporters who give $5 a month will get an ad-free version of the show!

Join our private Facebook group and Discord server!

Jessica and I spoke about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.

— “Top evangelicals” are not backing away from Donald Trump, no matter what the headlines suggest. (2:11)

— A restaurant in Virginia refused to serve members of a Christian hate group. Is that religious discrimination? (13:15)

— An atheist delivered an invocation in Lake County, Florida… only to be followed by a Christian giving his own prayer as a sort of correction. (29:29)

— SPONSOR: Check out Elle the Humanist, an introduction to Humanism for young readers! Using this link or the code “friendlyatheist” will get you 10% off anything on the website! (37:04)

— Actor and evangelist Kirk Cameron is pretending public libraries are censoring him for not hosting events for his new book. (38:30)

— Matt Chandler, a megachurch leader with a history of downplaying sexual abuse, returned to the pulpit after his own scandal, but he’s not offering any details about what happened. (49:11)

— Uber and Lyft allow drivers to preach at riders, setting up a very uncomfortable and potentially dangerous situation. (1:04:23)

— Will Democrats notice that non-religious voters helped tip the scales in their favor during the midterms? (1:12:15)

Patreon supporters who give $5 a month will get an ad-free version of the show!

Join our private Facebook group and Discord server!

Jessica and I spoke about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.

— Christian hate-preacher Aaron Thompson celebrated the Club Q shooting, calling it a “good thing.” (3:00)

— Former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis says the victims of the shooting are probably in Hell. (9:45)

— Focus on the Family’s sign was vandalized. Was it justified? (12:30)

— Christians are now in the minority in England and Wales. (33:55)

— SPONSOR: Check out Elle the Humanist, an introduction to Humanism for young readers! Using this link or the code “friendlyatheist” will get you 10% off anything on the website! https://labelfree.com/discount/FriendlyAtheist (41:53)

— Christians in Tuscumbia, Alabama are furious that a Krampus-friendly Festival of Yule is taking place in their community. (43:17)

— In Bangladesh, two men sentenced to die for murdering an atheist author and his publisher escaped police custody. (52:48)

— At least two instructors at BYU-Idaho, an affiliate of Brigham Young University in Utah, have been fired for not receiving “ecclesiastical clearance.” (58:29)

— Adnan Oktar, a Creationist preacher in Turkey, was sentenced to 8,658 years in prison for a variety of crimes including running a criminal organization, sexual abuse, torture, and abduction. (1:15:05)

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In this solo episode (Jessica will be back next week), I spoke with Rachel Laser, who became president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State in February of 2018. She is the organization’s first non-Christian and female leader in its 75 year history. Rachel is a lawyer, advocate and strategist who has dedicated her career to making our country more inclusive.

We spoke about her work with religious organizations, whether the Johnson Amendment will ever be enforced, what people still don’t get about church/state separation, and more.

0:00 Intro
2:00 What did you take away from the results of the midterm elections?
5:16 What’s the relationship between AU and religious organizations?
10:02 How does your strategy shift given the Supreme Court’s right-wing shift?
17:23 How fundamental are lawsuits to AU’s mission?
22:18 Are there ways to get Republicans to support church/state separation?
27:04 What misconceptions do Americans have about church/state separation?
32:57 Will new IRS funding lead to enforcement of the Johnson Amendment?
36:03 What are the biggest looming church/state issues we should be concerned about?