An atheist for president?

Question

OK - I was reading a question and this thought came to mind... Would an atheist make a good president of the US?

I think no - I am not a fan of these groups that come in and try and take away holidays - whether they are Christian, Muslim, or Jewish holidays. When I was in grade school, we had a Christmas Party. Now, you can't even have a holiday party in school without someone getting offended.

I have no problem with atheists or their beliefs, but I do have a problem with them ruining the fun of being religious and living in a predominantly Christian country. So what if the 10 commandments are in a court house! Just because it is there doesn't mean you have to abide by it. So what if schools have a Christmas party! Enjoy it! Christmas in school is more about Santa then Jesus anyways.

Ok, back from that tangent... So - Yay or Nay for an atheist president and why?

Answer 1

"So what if the 10 commandments are in a court house! Just because it is there doesn't mean you have to abide by it."

most of what is on the 10 commandments is what the law is that man set down on himself
funny uh

As for an Atheists for Pres. They all are crooks {Politicians} they may go in with the best of intentions, but will come out crooked, regardless of race or religion

Answer 2

I'm sorry, but you may need to rethink your point of view.

1.) There are just as many religious people that attempt to get things removed from schools and secular places as there are non-religious people. Your argument holds no water there.

2.) This is NOT a Christian (or any other religion's) nation, nor it is an atheist nation. This is a religiously neutral society. The people that make it up happen to be Christian, it does not mean they should impose their religious beliefs on society, and the same goes for atheists.

3.) You should be happy that one group cannon impose their will upon the rest of the country. That is why the First Amendment is so important. It allows you to believe what you want without being discriminated against in society, but in order to have that freedom you must give up the freedom to have religion be part of the state. This includes 10 Commandments on the walls of a courthouse, as well as images of the Buddha or any other iconography that shows favor or disfavor to any religious belief (or lack thereof).

4.) While it is foolish to use your religious beliefs to influence political decisions, you can still do this if you wish. If you want to support a candidate you feel upholds the principles that you believe in, that's fine. However, our Constitution comes before your religious beliefs, and don't be surprised if some of your beliefs conflict with the Constitution and are no supported by the government.

5.) Lastly, your argument is largely a false generalization toward atheists. There is no evidence to suggest that an atheist would be any better or worse than a religious president. Please think about your arguments logically.

I believe that an atheist would be just as good of a candidate for president as anyone else. It matters not to me that someone does or doesn't believe in God or a religion when running this country. What DOES matter to me is that they do what is best for the people of this country and this world. If they cannot do that, then they have no business running this country. The presidency of the United States is not an office designed to fulfill one's own desires or political and religious agendas; it is about maintaining the prosperity of this nation.

On a side note, as a political scientist it seriously disturbs me the large numbers of people who would chose a president based upon their religious beliefs.

Answer 3

I have not met an Atheist yet that wanted to take away holidays. As a matter of fact, all of the ones I know of enjoy those days off just as much as us Pagans do. =) And I don't know where you go to school at, but all of the schools in my area hold Christmas Parties... they also hold Halloween parties. I have yet to see a school completely take out holidays, though I have seen them make them more "secular" so that people of ALL different religions can enjoy them together (actually that's a really good way of teaching other kids about religion, without the school itself teaching one particular religion over another).

As for the 10 commandments being in a court house... that depends. If they were there when the court house was built, that's fine. But if a judge or someone else is placing them there and then claiming "this is a Christian Nation", then it's not fine. 1st off, the 10 Commandments are JEWISH, not Christian. And secondly, this isn't a Christian Nation... we were not founded to be a Theocracy. So again, it depends on the 10 commandments thing.

I wouldn't mind having an Atheist President so long as he knew what the hell he was doing. (Or she...) It's Political Issues I look at when dealing with voting for a Politician. Where does he stand on Health Care? Our Economics? What about the War? Immigration? International Policies? Education? (That's a big one right there - educate more people and they might be able to get a job better than flipping burgers at mcd's and be able to afford Health Care). I do not care what religion a person is and frankly, I'm tired of seeing the Religion Card being played in Politics. It turns the whole thing into a circus - vote for your favorite clown.

Answer 4

If the President chose atheism b/c he/she used reason to come to that conclusion, that would probably mean they reasoned their way through anything-It could be a sign of good character-I think another person mentioned T. Jefferson and Madison. But, I would have to see what their stand on other issues were.
My kid has a 'winter' party every year at whatever school he goes to. And, a Spring celebration and both events get time off school. Not so for Halloween and most people don't know anything about any religion it's associated with. Why are they not instituting a 'fall celebration'?
The religious wording was taken out of the winter solstice and spring equinox holidays but don't kid yourself that the holiday goes away. The school admin. will find a way to have a party. They may be teachers but they're still human.
What's wrong with inserting a specific religion into public property?! I'm sure you would feel quite differetly if some Islamic set of rules or words were inserted anywhere (BTW, I personally don't like any religion anywhere so if public property is the best we can do, I'll vote to get it outta here!)

Answer 5

I don't see how having an Atheist president would have any effect one way or the other on the things you are complaining about.

These problems you are referring to are the result of all the ridiculous "Political Correctness" that has come into existence over the past few years. Everyone is afraid to do this or do that when it might look as if special preference is being given to one particular group, religion, category of people or whatever. If you do for one you have to do equally for all, which is utterly ridiculous. It's getting out of control and if we keep going down this same road, it wont matter who the hell is President, this country will become unliveable in.

I'm not a Christian. In fact I don't subscribe to any particular sect, or belief system, or whatever you want to call it. But I don't give a warthog's butt who wants to have Christmas festivities, nativity scenes, and all the traditional trappings of that season. I enjoy the "Christmas Spirit" as much as the next person, and I really don't give a darn about the Ten Commandments being in the courthouse. To me it isn't any more significant of anything these days than the words "In God we Trust" on our currency.

If I ever have to go to court for anything, I don't care what the trappings of the courthouse are, I just hope to get fair justice. By the same token I don't care what that $20 bill looks like, or what is written on it along with the the monetary designation. I just want it to be legal tender, and be given the right change lol.

Answer 6

I would much rather have someone in there who believes that they have to sort out the problems themselves, rather than one that believes some sky pixie is going to make everything right at the end.

Having a person who believes in a literal interpretation of Revelations with their finger on the button that can unleash the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world, scares the living daylights out of me.

We have a Christian president, but he has not banned Passover or Ramadan or any of the other festivals. Why do you think an atheist president is going to cancel Christmas? Or is this just your paranoia coming through?

BTW, Christmas has almost nothing to do with Jesus. Trees, decorations, gift giving, having a party and/or feast all predate Christianity. In the early middle ages Christianity hijacked several of the pagan festivals to subvert them.

The only people to ban Christmas were the Christian Puritans, because they knew that all the things done at Christmas had pagan origins, and so say it as a pagan celebration.

A definite Yay.

Answer 7

Wow, your reasoning is pretty shallow. You're worried about holidays when there are so many serious issues going on. As someone else mentioned, I don't think any president would waste time taking away holidays.

I would love to see an atheist president, because I generally see atheists as more rational, but I look at the candidate's positions on the issues that matter. And truly no president should allow their religion or lack thereof to affect their policies. Religion is a private matter, period. It should not even come into play.


I have no problem with a person of faith like Jimmy Carter. There is a man who really walks the talk. But I certainly would not vote for anyone who even hinted that they would throw their personal morals around, like our current little dictator.

Answer 8

No atheist I know of has tried to take away holidays. Besides, that's a lame reason to not vote for someone. They'll start a war, but heaven forbid they take away a holiday? They change laws to restrict right, but wow, they took away a holiday! How dare they! Sheesh.

Have you ever heard of "tyranny of the majority"? That's when the "premoninantly Christian" population insists they can do whatever they want and shun whomever they want because there are more of them than there are of any other group.

Further, atheists have no problem abiding by the 10 commandments... because they are common sense things that everyone should abide by anyway. Do you think that if it weren't in the 10Cs, people would murder all they want, steal all they want, covet all they want? No... I don't care if it's in the 10 commandments or not, I won't murder someone or steal someone's stuff.

And I enjoy Christmas as much as you do... probably more. I'm not bound by a book that tells me how much fun I can't have during the holidays. I can give gifts to ANYONE I feel like just because I like them.

There are plenty of Christians who don't want the schools teaching religion either because they can't control what the schools teach and they won't know how a teacher will teach it. Wouldn't it make sense for believers to seek religious instruction, even around holidays, from their religious institution?

Bottom line... YAY for an atheist president because he wouldn't be kowtowing to any specific religion. I know that's the reason you WON'T... because they WON'T kowtow to yours. More is the pity, my dear, that you don't want the leader of our land to be fair to the ENTIRE country, not just the majority. In a democracy, it's not necessarily "majority rules."

Answer 9

i'm making a gamble that there is already been an atheist president and probable a gay one. those are presidents who the two had no affiliations or had the place rumored to be atheists. Presidents Who weren't contributors Of Any Church William Henry Harrison Andrew Johnson Ulysses Simpson furnish Rutherford Richard Hayes Presidents Whose non secular perspectives Are uncertain James Madison James Monroe Martin Van Buren John Tyler Zachary Taylor Chester Alan Arthur Thomas Jefferson, Freethinker Abraham Lincoln, Deist And Admirer Of Thomas Paine additionally rumored to be gay. (see log cabin republicans) As for whilst a brazenly gay president or an atheist would be elected i could be hedging my bets on a gay president as long as he's a bible thumper as a nicely as a @#$@ thumper. the generic public of the remarkable wing are deeply non secular and a minority of the left are non secular. Non-faith is a much bigger taboo then being gay to them.

Answer 10

I would vote on the candidates platform but I would feel very comfortable with an atheist. I think in general they are thoughtful and rational and pragmatic. As for holidays, I love them. I throw a Christmas or a holiday party and a Halloween party every year. I have called it variously a Christmas, Solstice, or Winter Cheer party. I really don't care, I know what it means to me, I'm glad for my Christian friends and what it means to them. Oh, and the "one nation under God" saying only came out in the 1950s in reaction to the communist scare. You can research the history easily.
People have a lot of misconceptions about atheists and that is why an atheist can't be elected.

Answer 11

First of all, since the constitution guarantees seperation of church and state, it shouldn't matter. If Iraq had that clause in their constitution, millions of women wouldn't be forced to abide by religious doctrines, many against their will.

As to being president, that should be as okay with you as having a christian president is with all the jews and other religions of this country. It's a dangerous road you travel when you try to dictate another's personal views in matters that cannot be proven either way.

The president is there to oversee politics, not religion. The checks and balances of the congress and house prevent him/her from forcing personal views on the nation.

As for holidays, they have no place being celebrated in any government-run establishment, schools included. You want christmas in school, go to christian schools. Otherwise, holiday decor that is non-specific should be the only acceptable practice, because it is respectful of all people, not just one faith. Anything less is on the slipery-slope to exactly what we're fighting against in the middle-east.