We are supposed to have separation of church and state and many atheist are honest, upstanding citizens as well as honorable & good family people. In fact, some are better than the so called religious people. Disbelief in a god doesn't make a person bad. So, why not?
2007-10-21 16:25:49 · 19 answers · asked by The Wiz 7 in Politics & Government ➔ Politics
a person's religion doesn't determine their competence in their position.
look at Bush. he supposed to be a damn Christian... yet he has brought more hate and death to Americans than any atheists or agnostic could ever dream of!!!!!!
2007-10-21 16:31:27 · answer #1 · answered by nomames 4 · 2⤊ 3⤋
Well, several Presidents were deists. Deists are not theistic believers. They believed a deity started the universe in motion and left. The difference between an 18th century deist and a 21st century atheist is only the starting point and even there, many atheists find no actual objection to a deity starting the thing in motion and leaving. Among our deist Presidents are Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison and Lincoln. Jefferson rewrote the bible in the famous "Jefferson bible," and threw out all the silliness. Lincoln wrote an anti-Christian book. He didn't even renounce it when running for President.
I suspect a few modern presidents have been atheist as well, but just not public about it.
2007-10-22 04:05:43 · answer #2 · answered by OPM 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would never vote for someone for president based solely on their religious, or lack of religious beliefs. I think religion is a private and personal thing and should be kept that way. The attributes that make any politician, and/or president, the best to be elected to office have nothing to do with their religious practices or beliefs. We might have already had an atheist as president. Up until about 30 years ago it seems a candidates religious beliefs were not much of an issue.
2007-10-21 17:06:26 · answer #3 · answered by ndmagicman 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Great point! I agree that it would be a good thing. My personal opinion is that religion makes SOME people crazy and brainwashed. Notice I said "some," not all.
I don't have any problem with people being religious or anything, but it would sure be a nice change to see a president that isn't always referring to god & religion in every single speech and so forth.
So many of the worlds wars are faught because of some kind of religious dissagreement, and I think it might be one step towards changing that awful trend.
-Cheers
2007-10-23 04:38:49 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Separation of church and state is a myth, taken out of context from a Thomas Jefferson speech. There is no requirement for politicians to be atheists, or to not practice their religion. Thomas Jefferson mentioned "separation of church and state" in a speech, but the context was that state didn't have the right to impose a particular religion, like the Church of England at the time.
The proper context is supported by the constitution, which states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercises thereof".
Atheists can disagree with the constitution but they can't change the wording of it. That was a direct quote from the first amendment, the only thing codified concerning religion in this country.
2007-10-21 16:32:36 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Ever is a Long time. We'll need a crystal ball to know about EVER. One of the advantages of voting for a person of faith is that at least you know which moral codes and the moral subtext in which they operate. It at least gives you SOME idea of how the candidate would react in certain situations.
It would seem to me that a successful atheist candidate would have to communicate clearly and completely exactly how his or her individual moral code and context is configured so that the voters feel they understand and can reasonably predict a given candidate's behavior.
2007-10-21 16:54:10 · answer #6 · answered by glenbarrington 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm a Christian and sure I would vote for an atheist. I support the best person for the job. I don't care if a candidate has a religion or not, what sex they are and could be a gay guy for all I care.
Yes I know atheists that are good people.
There are good and bad people in any group.
**Note: It doesn't matter who WE the PEOPLE vote for. The Electoral College vote for who they want anyway. Same reason a 3rd party candidate would never win.
2007-10-21 16:31:11 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
I think it will be a very long time before that will ever happen, this country is going the other way, towards a christian theocracy and becoming less tolerant of people who think differently, look different, different sexual orientation etc. We have enough trouble electing a woman or a black man or a Mormon or a believer in peace.
2007-10-21 17:30:16 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
no longer in all probability... US voters vote for a "action picture star-like-clown" as a president - they have a picture of what the "prefect" president could look like and that they choose for it... while between the events furnish them with the "guy-made-actor". the probabilities for a Atheist, a divorced guy or woman, a gay guy or woman, a left-handed, a turban-donning Cartoonist, and so on... are slimmer then the probabilities of finding an unique concept ( or a performed-one ) in JW Bush's recommendations.
2016-10-04 08:06:44 · answer #9 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's a free country, and one day we could have an atheist for President. We have had politicians that are atheists, so I won't rule it out.
About 20% of Americans are atheists and that number is growing.
I'm more thankful we have "Seperation of Church and State" in America!
2007-10-21 16:28:49 · answer #10 · answered by Villain 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Though you are very right, I do not see it happening. That is one thing that most people, especially in conservative states, tend to look at. I can not see where it should even be known what religion a politician is, but somehow others view that and base their opinion on it. Sad but true.
2007-10-21 16:32:59 · answer #11 · answered by Jen 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋