Ellen Goodman: The Ultimate Taboo (A "Godless" politician)

[marmar]

from Truthdig:


The Ultimate Taboo

Posted on Mar 22, 2007

By Ellen Goodman

BOSTON—He’s not exactly a profile in courage. After all, Pete Stark is 75 and has represented his liberal district near San Francisco for more than 30 years. It’s unlikely that he’ll be tarred and feathered or sent packing for admitting that he’s, well, a godless politician.

Nevertheless, last week Stark broke a political taboo. He became the first member of Congress to say publicly that he doesn’t believe in “a supreme being.” The next most powerful politician to identify himself as a “non-theist” in response to a question by the Secular Coalition for America was a school board president in Berkeley.

Some described Stark’s admission as “coming out of the closet.” Others rued the fact that God was not on his side. A spokesman for the Concerned Women for America unabashedly bashed him, saying that “a Christian worldview is proper for a politician to have.”

Not surprisingly, Stark has no ambitions for the presidency. In one of those endless polls surveying whether we are “ready for” a black, a woman, a Jew or others to be president, only 14 percent of Americans believe we’re ready for an atheist. What Stark has done, however, is open a fresh chapter in this year’s hefty book on presidential politics and religion. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20070322_the_ultimate_taboo/

[LeftishBrit]

1. The first openly atheist MP in the UK, Charles Bradlaugh, was elected in 1880

[Eric J in MN]

2. Are there any open atheists MPs now? NT

NT

[LeftishBrit]

8. Yes, quite a few

I don't know the numbers, as religion is not nearly such an issue in British as American Politics. But my own MP, Evan Harris (Oxford West) is one - he is active in the National Secular Society.

[kath]

3. yeah, yet another way that the US is SUCH an advanced nation.

ack.

[marmar]

4. Still puritanically silly after 230+ years....

:hide:

[kath]

5. heh - that's it, in a nutshell.

[tlsmith1963]

6. As Long As Someone Could Be a Good Person...

...& be good at their job, I really don't care if they are an atheist or not. I don't judge people by that criteria.

[Cha]

7. And yet garbage scum like delay and bush

tout their strong beliefs in Jesus and go right on being responsible for mass murder and crimes against humanity. What's wrong with his fookin' picture?

Why the hell do we have to live in an Orwellian Society with bushitbots controlling our lives?

[bunkerbuster1]

9. Until that percentage of Americans who'll vote for an atheist at least triples...

I'll reserve the right to think, quietly, mostly to myself, not saying this in public real loud or often, mind you, that this country is pretty infantile and still has a lot of growing up to do.