Electing an atheist president? [bigthink.com]
5
Enjoy being online again!
Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.Create your free account
14 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.Yes @Howiehawkins20 is an Atheist Veterans For Peace decades experience since stopping the clamshell nuke 5% of vote against corrupt Cuomo in NY ready to lead world peace through green jobs www.jill2016.com building up from 2011 OUR GREEN PARTY GREEN NEW DEAL stolen by liar Democrats
GreenAtheist
Level 8
May 7, 2019
0
despite the use of "God" in their speeches and attendance in church it is reasonable to suspect that there have been atheist Presidents in the past, Abe Lincoln for one, Trump is another.
clarkatticus
Level 7
May 3, 2019
0
Religion is still a big political player, and one of the principles of religion is that there is only morality inside the religion, this makes a religious person always decide to vote against people that have no religion or religious views different from them.
The shift from absolute moral to evidence based ethics needs a lot of education and studies. To shift from "I do what is right because this is right" to " I do what will bring society closer to my view of a good society" needs a lot of thinking and I do not expect big chunks of society will do it.
Even in countries that implemented institutional atheism (to counter the power of churches) the ideology became the religion.
Most top tier politicians are de facto atheists that uses religion to harness power. Even top tier clergy might be atheists XD
Pedrohbds
Level 7
May 3, 2019
0
I think we've already had them. I'd argue that Barack Obama is atheist.
nixjoiner
Level 4
May 2, 2019
1
How would you argue that?
we may or may not have ever elected an atheist president. we haven't elected an openly atheist one yet, although it is possible lincoln was one. not sure. trump is probably less an atheist as an opportunist. there are so many things he doesn't believe in (pretty much anything except his own right to take anything he wants, be it a pussy, a country or everyone's money) that not believing in any gods is likely incidental, not philosophical. i don't think he examined evidence/lack thereof and came to a logical conclusion. he would be an accidental atheist at best and should not count. it might be a long, long time before we have an intelligent and openly atheistic president. the american public is still too superstitious. when football players stop praying before games, when congress stops holding invocations, maybe that will be a sign. i'm not holding my breath.
g
genessa
Level 8
May 2, 2019
3
@Allamanda sorry. i don't feel all that hopeful myself. i just tell as like i see it, ya know? but we could work for it. it won't happen in my lifetime; maybe yours. we could support the freedom from religion foundation and the aclu, and speak up whenever we see that wall between church and state crumbling. we might get sore throats but what other way is there?
g
I would not vote for AN atheist. I would vote for good, qualified leaders however, regardless of their religious opinions. If your personal identity is some sort of “ist” that means you might try to stamp society with your lame-brain ideas ala Stalin, Pol Pot, Chairman Mao, et al. After all, the deeper questions of life remain deeply mysterious.
WilliamFleming
Level 8
May 2, 2019
1
@Allamanda it all depends on whether the person is well rounded and values the country as a whole over their ideology. For example, Hillary Clinton says that she is a Methodist but her actual self is something else so she passes muster.
The English language is sort of weird in that we are always saying we are this or that thing, as though those things were our embodiment, our identity. Not all languages are that way. Reminds me of when JFK stood up before a crowd in Berlin and announced that he was a donut. BTW, when in Germany one should not say that he is hot, and by all means do not inquire of a woman if she is hot. “Sind sie heiss?” might get you in deep trouble.
@Allamanda The desire to get a self-professed atheist into office no matter who it is or what their qualifications are is disturbing. A person’s opinions about religion should be of little interest IMO.
Enjoy being online again!
Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.Create your free account
Share this post
Categories
Agnostic does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any content. Read full disclaimer.