I have heard before that there is somewhere between 20-30 Congressmen who are Atheist, but only one is openly atheist. Their colleagues kind of have some sort of pact not to out them because it would be electoral suicide for them. Quite a shame.
I have heard the comparison before that being an atheist in America today is similar to being a homosexual. You struggle for acceptance in a society that does not trust you, many atheist are "in the closet" for fear of how their views would effect their careers and lives. I can see the similarities, especially for somebody like me who comes from a devout Catholic family but am an atheist myself. Proclaiming I am an atheist would probably by just as awkward as it is for a homosexual to tell their family.
A lot of people have said in this thread that is should not matter whether or not someone is atheist or what religion they believe when electing public officials. In a perfect world I would totally agree with that and wish that is the way it was. However, in the world we do have it does matter. I am more likely to care, and vote for someone based on religious beliefs or lack thereof simply because people take their beliefs and try to make them into public policy. A perfect example of this is recent candidate Rick Santorum. Now, I am not saying I would vote for Rick Santorum based on his other policy positions, that is a different topic, but I would surely be more likely to vote for him if he was atheist, and did not want to make silly laws violating peoples freedom of choice.
I have heard the comparison before that being an atheist in America today is similar to being a homosexual. You struggle for acceptance in a society that does not trust you, many atheist are "in the closet" for fear of how their views would effect their careers and lives. I can see the similarities, especially for somebody like me who comes from a devout Catholic family but am an atheist myself. Proclaiming I am an atheist would probably by just as awkward as it is for a homosexual to tell their family.
A lot of people have said in this thread that is should not matter whether or not someone is atheist or what religion they believe when electing public officials. In a perfect world I would totally agree with that and wish that is the way it was. However, in the world we do have it does matter. I am more likely to care, and vote for someone based on religious beliefs or lack thereof simply because people take their beliefs and try to make them into public policy. A perfect example of this is recent candidate Rick Santorum. Now, I am not saying I would vote for Rick Santorum based on his other policy positions, that is a different topic, but I would surely be more likely to vote for him if he was atheist, and did not want to make silly laws violating peoples freedom of choice.
