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Politics and Religion - Atheists Unelectable?

Comment comment by tomtolman on 14 March 2007

According to an article I just came across, Rep. Fortney "Pete" Stark from California is the first member of Congress to publicly admit he does not believe in a supreme being. Some other interesting facts from the article indicate that in addition to being an atheist, being a Mormon is also a huge political liability.

Only 45 percent of Americans said they would vote for a "generally well-qualified" atheist, according to a February Gallup Poll, ranking them lowest on a list that included Mormons (72 percent), candidates on their third marriage (67 percent) and homosexuals (55 percent).

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RE: Politics and Religion - Atheists Unelectable? by scottb :: NR7

That's great that Rep. Stark is standing up to be counted.

What actually makes the 45% who'd vote for an atheist somewhat strange is the logic behind it. More detailed research into those kinds of attitudes indicate a strange kind of ecumenicalism combined with an almost completely ignorance of other religions.

Any religion at all is somehow better than atheism. On the other hand, much of eastern religion, including Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism, are atheist, but they don't get nearly the level of stigma as anyone who openly claims atheism. This Congress even has two newly elected Buddhist members - Rep. Hirono (D-HI) and Rep. Johnson (D-GA). Hirono describes herself as a "non-practicing Buddhist". Which certainly doesn't make her a theist.

So, how is it that Rep. Stark is being identified as the first to publicly admit his atheism? Hirono and Johnson are clearly atheist as well.

I'm not really sure what my point is here, other than to vent about the sheer ignorance about religion in America.

Posted 15 March 2007, Hide, Parent, Reply