The largest religious group in America without representation in Congress

[SecularMotion]

"That’s why a report this week by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life about the religious composition of the 112th Congress caught my eye. According to the report, the unaffiliated (atheists, agnostics, the unchurched, uncommitted, etc.), at 16.1 percent of the population, is the largest religious group in America without representation in Congress. (Six members, about 1 percent, did not specify a religious category.)

For perspective, there are almost two-thirds as many unaffiliated people as there are Catholics in this country and nearly as many as there are Baptists. Their number is more than twice that of Methodists, and more than nine times the numbers of Jews or Mormons. Yet, no unaffiliated representation. Why? "

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/08/opinion/08blow.html?_r=1&hp

[mdmc]

1. ..

[HereSince1628]

2. Getting elected sort of requires being a joiner...

Joiners join and do things so that they can. The unaffiliated don't join, and don't do things that would enable them to join.

I really think this is a part of the personality of people who seek political office rather than the will of the electorate...but them I am not a joiner so what would I know?

[spooky3]

9. I tend to disagree. Just because one doesn't join a religious group doesn't mean

s/he decides not to join other groups where members do things that appeal to him or her. I think you are stereotyping without basis.

The far more likely explanation (supported by polls and surveys showing that many, if not most, Americans would refuse to vote for someone who did not have religious beliefs) is that it would be next to impossible for an atheist to win even a nomination, let alone a general election, in most electoral districts. If this same result came from asking "would you be willing to vote for a Jew/Catholic who was qualified for office?" there would be a wide outcry about unfair bias.

Here's just one example of a survey showing other biased views toward non-believers:

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=1786422&page=1

[Jim Lane]

11. You're right. To put it bluntly, religious people are more likely to be bigoted.

I'm not saying that all or even most religious people are bigots.

BUT most bigots are religious -- i.e., the people who won't vote for someone on the basis of religion are largely those who are (or who see themselves as) religious. As an agnostic, I'd unhesitatingly vote for a devout Christian who stressed the Sermon on the Mount and sought to be a peacemaker, to feed the hungry, etc.

Note the reactions to Mitt Romney's candidacy. Of course, DUers of all religious views opposed him on political grounds. Who opposed him on religious grounds? It wasn't atheists and agnostics -- it was other Christians who called Mormonism a "cult". An openly atheist or agnostic candidate would face much more vitriolic opposition.

[adnelson60087]

3. Well, the first thing to get politicians to do is just ACKNOWLEDGE the godless. Obama, to his

credit, has done more for us than anyone else, and is a nice start. The reality is that we need high profile athiests/agnostics/ nonbelievers to force the bigotry to the open. Ask the rhetorical question: I'm smart enough to tell you how the Universe likely began, but I can't vote on healthcare since I'm not "American" enough?

[old mark]

4. Maybe we should all get together regularly, say on Sunday mornings

before Football starts...Just to hang out, ya know?

mark

[immoderate]

5. We do have a secular lobbyist though.

The Secular Coalition for America is the lobbying arm for unaffiliated persons. I have met Sean Faircloth, the director, a few times. He pounds the halls of the capitol.

http://www.secular.org/about/main

--imm

[formercia]

8. He came to my home once

Nice guy.

[roguevalley]

6. Unchurched, unaffiliated. I go where God is and its not to any

church around here.

[WinkyDink]

7. Atheists are, by definiton, not "religious."

So they can't be counted in any "religious" group statistic.

[immoderate]

10. We can't even floss religiously?

:shrug:

--imm