Where Are All These Atheist Politicans?

[rug]

Hint: They don't get elected.

Patrick Caldwell
February 27, 2012

Throughout the 2012 race Rick Santorum has tried his best to distance his campaign from his image as a vehicle for the religious right. He has scorned the media for asking questions on the culture wars, spends his days touring the Midwest to tout his plan for manufacturing, all while leaving social moralizing at the dog whistling level. But on Sunday, the old fire and brimstone Santorum was back in full force in an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos when the discussion turned to John F. Kennedy's 1960 speech on the separation between church and state. "What kind of country do we live that says only people of non-faith can come into the public square and make their case? That makes me throw up," Santorum said.

Paul already explained how Santorum misread Kennedy's message and Jamelle made the case for why, in a saner world, it would be enough to disqualify Santorum from being treated as a credible presidential candidate.

When I first read Santorum's comments though, I was mostly struck by how off base his statement is from the actual reality of our political class. People who lack a specific faith are the ones typically closed out from government service. Out of 538 members of Congress, California Rep. Pete Stark is the only self-avowed atheist. For as much as Republicans opine about the secularist goals of Obama's presidency, he has stocked his cabinet with Catholics and other gentiles. The highest court of the land has six Catholics and three Jews.

A Gallup poll last December had 15 percent of Americans list their religious preference as none, atheist, or agnostic, though another Gallup poll from earlier in the year found that 7 percent claim to have no belief in God. By either measure, Americans lacking allegiance to an organized religion are vastly underrepresented among public officials. Far from being ostracized as Santorum might imagine, politicians exploit religion to boost their fortunes at the polls. It's been a common sight to find Santorum or Newt Gingrich gladhanding voters at a church on Sundays during campaign season, and the party's opposition to same-sex marriage rights is couched entirely in the language of Christianity. Posturing on ones' faith is hardly the sole terrain of Republicans. Barack Obama vehemently refuted claims that he was a Muslim in 2008 and clung to the mantle of Christianity during the campaign. Earlier this month the president turned to Jesus to sell his policies on higher taxes on the rich. "I actually think that is going to make economic sense, but for me as a Christian, it also coincides with Jesus’s teaching that ‘for unto whom much is given, much shall be required," Obama said at the National Prayer Breakfast. "We can all benefit from turning to our Creator, listening to him," he said.

http://prospect.org/article/where-are-all-these-atheist-politicans

[libodem]

1. Listening to Him?

The Goddess is gunna be pissed. Religion must have emotional appeal.
Atheists seem too much like science and math. Logic should count more. But a dead fetus gets them going every time.

[libodem]

2. Are there ANY self proclaimed

Atheist politicians? Few nonchristian if any. The founders were mostly diests. They hated religious imposition. And they hated rich fucks being more equal. We were set up to keep oligarchy from happening. Now, it seems inevitable.

[dmallind]

3. National level? Pete Stark is it

In one of the safest Dem seats of all, he only had the balls to "come out" after 17 re-elections and when a reporter threatened to "out" him anyway. It's nice to have one Rep. I guess but it would have been nicer had he a spine.

Cecil Bothwell in NC is more brave, but his primary chances look slim and his general if he makes that, positively anorexic.

Doubtless there are a few others who ARE atheists, but mindful of the 51% who would refuse to vote for a qualified nonbelieving candidate of their own party, a combination of too sensible and too gutless to say so.

[libodem]

4. Hmmm

One, huh. Maybe two. So interesting. Must be religious folks are voters. Wonder how the atheists vote?

[dmallind]

5. How does it matter how 7% of the electorate votes?

Christians have the overwhelming majority and it really doesn't matter who anybody else votes for compared to their numbers.

[libodem]

6. Only 7%

Figured there would be more. People seem to mix religion and politics far too frequently.

[dmallind]

8. Surveys vary widely, but that's about median

Some go as high as 13. Depends on what question and what responses you include. For example if the question is "what are your religious beliefs?" do you include "none" or "never thought about it" or just "atheist"? Some also go as low as 2% if you only include those who voluntarily choose the label. As these boards - amongst the most liberal and atheist-inclusive out there, there is much antagonism towards, misunderstanding (wilfull or not) of, and disincentive to adopt the "a word" even for people who clearly fit it. How much worse is it in the Bible Belt for non internet-savvy folks who don't believe to use the honest word?

[humblebum]

7. Yes, quite possibly all 2 of them.

Religious Affiliation of signers of the Declaration of Independence

Episcopalian/Anglican 32 57.1%
Congregationalist 13 23.2%
Presbyterian 12 21.4%
Quaker 2 3.6%
Unitarian or Universalist 2 3.6%
Catholic 1 1.8%
TOTAL 56 100%

Thomas Jefferson Virginia Episcopalian (Deist)
Benjamin Franklin Pennsylvania Episcopalian (Deist)

http://www.adherents.com/gov/Founding_Fathers_Religion.html

[dmallind]

9. And I have "Methodist" on my birth certificate. Baptized, married - all of it

I can say with certitude some records show me as a Methodist. My words on the other hand tell the true story.

And I'm not sure at all "Declaration Signers" and "Founding Fathers" are synonyms. For example Thomas Paine strikes me as a tad more influential in founding the new independent nation than, say, well Robert Treat Paine for one...of many.

[humblebum]

10. The qualifier "most" requires slightly more than 2, and

the words of the Founders do nothing to validate that most were deists.

[dmallind]

11. Funny, considering the words in the thing itself

"Laws of Nature"

"Nature's God"

"Creator" rather than a named deity

Pretty bog-standard Deist verbiage all. All we need is "Providence" and we have the complete set.

Oh wait a minute that's in there too.

All those and not a single "Christ" or even stand-alone vocative "God". Pretty weird for Christians, eh? You'd include them wouldn't you?

[humblebum]

12. Both Deists and Christians referred to a Creator. However,

referring to the intervention of "Providence" pretty much much eliminates the claim of a party being a Deist, since that violates the definition of deism, which is "the belief, based solely on reason, in a God who created the universe and then abandoned it, assuming no control over life, exerting no influence on natural phenomena, and giving no supernatural revelation."