Would you vote for an atheist?

[Makalakumu]

Would you vote for an atheist? Why or why not? Would it even matter to you?

 

[Blindside]

I don't think I'd choose my candidate based on their religion or lack of it. I'd rather choose based on their voting history and position on issues. But if you are asking if a candidate who seemed to have the same viewpoints as me, and I thought he would make a good leader, then yes, I would vote for him/her.

 

[Gordon Nore]

I've voted plenty of times without knowing my candidates' religious affiliations. One of the things I expect of people I vote for is that they not impose their religious values on others -- if I knew a candidate to be an athiest, I would expect the same.

 

[tellner]

See this thread. The only things that are really important are the candidate's ability and commitment to uphold the Oath of Office. His or her cult of choice is irrelevant except insofar as it impacts the willingness to faithfully perform those duties. Besides, as the Constitution itself says "no religious test will be used for any position of public trust".

 

[Makalakumu]

One of the reasons I bring this up is that according to national polls, "Atheists" the least trusted group in America. In fact, it was Bush the Elder who said something like, there is no way an athiest can be a patriot or even truly American.

 

[Kembudo-Kai Kempoka]

When you consider the lack of present-day worship of forgotten pantheons, we are all athiests to some path or religion.

Every time we have voted, it's been for some sort of athiest.

Dave

 

[Carol]

One of the reasons I bring this up is that according to national polls, "Atheists" the least trusted group in America. In fact, it was Bush the Elder who said something like, there is no way an athiest can be a patriot or even truly American.

Gotta love that red meat thrown to the constituents.

 

[Ella]

That shouldn't matter at all.

It's like saying, would you vote for someone who believes in aliens?

That, in particular, has no impact on how they would run the government...

maybe their religous beliefs impact how they would vote on some things, say, abortion, and their stand on abortion might affect how I vote for them, but in itself, it is completely irrelevant and has no place in deciding who I vote for.

 

[Sukerkin]

It has to be said that with the current record of aggression and violent foreign adventures amongst those that are nominally non-atheist, being of a religious persuasion is not displaying itself as a characteristic desireable amongst national leaders.

Being seen 'in church' ranks right up there with kissing babies and 'waving the bloody shirt' as political cliches to sway public opinion.

I have to say that if the voting public of the notionally democratic nations doesn't wake up soon to the snake-oil salesmen they keep electing then it wont be long before the far-away wars we see on the news come home to roost.

So the long and the short of it is I'd like to see some pragmatic, intelligent, atheists in charge for a change ... after all it'd be hard to do a worse job of governing than what we've seen in the past couple of decades.

 

[BlackCatBonz]

Would you vote for an atheist? Why or why not? Would it even matter to you?

yes......it's time to get rid of religious views in politics.
no, it does not matter to me.

 

[Steel Tiger]

It has to be said that with the current record of aggression and violent foreign adventures amongst those that are nominally non-atheist, being of a religious persuasion is not displaying itself as a characteristic desireable amongst national leaders.

Being seen 'in church' ranks right up there with kissing babies and 'waving the bloody shirt' as political cliches to sway public opinion.

I have to say that if the voting public of the notionally democratic nations doesn't wake up soon to the snake-oil salesmen they keep electing then it wont be long before the far-away wars we see on the news come home to roost.

So the long and the short of it is I'd like to see some pragmatic, intelligent, atheists in charge for a change ... after all it'd be hard to do a worse job of governing than what we've seen in the past couple of decades.

I have to agree with just about everything you say. Our government espouses "family values" by which it means Christian family values, even though Australia is a very multicultural nation, and no longer an essentially Christian one.

Like most nations in the world we have a separation of Church and State so a person's religious leanings should not be a factor in their being elected to office. Sadly its not true. All too often we see religious organisations spending a lot of money to get their candidates elected. I think the US suffers the most from this, but it happens here too. The effect is significantly lessened by a difference in the way campaign funds are raised.

 

[bluemtn]

I would vote for anyone that I believe would be good, no matter what religion they were. The only problem I would have, is if the person started saying that I should stop believing in God, that all my beliefs are wrong and theirs is right. I don't do that to anybody, and that really ticks me off if someone else tries to do that to anyone else... Yes- I believe that there should be separation of government and religion.

 

[Steel Tiger]

I would vote for anyone that I believe would be good, no matter what religion they were. The only problem I would have, is if the person started saying that I should stop believing in God, that all my beliefs are wrong and theirs is right. I don't do that to anybody, and that really ticks me off if someone else tries to do that to anyone else... Yes- I believe that there should be separation of government and religion.

I think you make a very strong point. The only connection between church and state should be the state saying everybody should be allowed to believe what they want.

 

[OUMoose]

As others have said, the candidate's religious beliefs are not the issue. Their stance on current events would be, and that's for what people should be voting. Granted, that's not how it goes many times, but one can hope.

 

[mrhnau]

I don't think I'd choose my candidate based on their religion or lack of it. I'd rather choose based on their voting history and position on issues. But if you are asking if a candidate who seemed to have the same viewpoints as me, and I thought he would make a good leader, then yes, I would vote for him/her.

For me, it would be hard for someone who is an atheist to have viewpoints similar to me, though if he/she existed and the alternative was worse, I'd vote for him/her. On this poll, I voted Maybe.

yes......it's time to get rid of religious views in politics.
no, it does not matter to me.

Religious views in politics, but not religious views in politicians. I think one reason people distrust athiest is there is no underlying belief system that dictates morality and the decision making process. A few of the athiest I know are quite "moral", but their morality is not based on any standard code of ethics. However, it seems politicians these days profess their faith, but their voting records/stands on issues rarely correlates with their faith. Is that what seperation of church/state is supposed to mean? I dunno, but I find it a bit disturbing that a politician that is Catholic can vote in favor of abortion. Maybe thats just me...

One of the reasons I bring this up is that according to national polls, "Atheists" the least trusted group in America. In fact, it was Bush the Elder who said something like, there is no way an athiest can be a patriot or even truly American.

Thats interesting... I think what I mentioned, the lack of standardized ethics/morality, may play a role here. At least w/ the majority of people, and their understanding of atheism. I guess people that believe in God seem to have more of a higher standard to answer to, where the athiest has no higher power other than self/mankind. I guess it boils down to the person in question. However, since I hardly trust any words politicians utter, how could I truly believe an athiest is telling the truth about his own moral standards? What assurances would I have that his code of ethics would not change? Or in fact, how can I be assured that any politician proclaiming any faith indeed is following the ethic of that faith? Or that that faith plays ANY role in the life of the politician? Is their faith anything more than a social custom that they grew up with, and God a catchphrase to appeal to a certain voting sector? In another line of reasoning, how many politicians out there now are closet athiests? Just claiming some religion and going to some place of worship for public approval?

 

[Xue Sheng]

Would you vote for an atheist?

Yup

Why or why not?

Cause

Would it even matter to you?

nope

 

[Makalakumu]

Great posts so far! I often wonder if the MT community is a lot more open minded about things like this because, in all honestly, I don't think that an atheist "wouldn't have a prayer" of getting elected in the United States. If you look at all of the national candidates, ALL of them make a big deal out of their religion. So obviously, religion really really really matters when it comes to American politics.

With that being said, think about a candidate, when asked about his/her religion, if that person replied that they do not believe in God and personally thinks that all religions are nothing but cultural constructs.

I'd be clapping my hands with glee, but I KNOW that I am in a VERY small minority.

 

[michaeledward]

. I think one reason people distrust athiest is there is no underlying belief system that dictates morality and the decision making process.
...
At least w/ the majority of people, and their understanding of atheism. I guess people that believe in God seem to have more of a higher standard to answer to, where the athiest has no higher power other than self/mankind.

I wonder why this is the thought process that faithful have concerning athiesm? Why does 'athiesm' equate to 'no underlying belief system'?

On another board, my athiesm became part of a discussion, and another poster said ... quote ... You have no beliefs. You are an atheist, remember? ... end quote.

I think you are quite correct, it is the faithful's understanding of athiesm. This other poster, from another board, had a similar mis-understanding of the Abrahamic religions. He argued that the god of Christianity is the same god as Judeaism and of Islam.

If the faithful are that incurious of other religions, is there any hope they would seek understanding of athiesm?


Two more thoughts - complete unrelated to each other ...

A find this survey to present an interesting dichotomy. Either many of us are lying, or we are an odd self-selecting group. Most national polls indicate that somewhere in the neighborhood of 85% of Americans would not vote for an athiest.

And ... while I still have quite figured out what he meant, a former boss of mine, and a man for whom I hold a great deal of respect once described me to my current boss as : "The most conservative Democrat he had ever met." ... and, as liberal as I am, I have only been able to interpret this to mean my strong standards and belief systems were something akin to his personal religious beliefs, (despite my athiesm).

 

[Steel Tiger]

Religious views in politics, but not religious views in politicians. I think one reason people distrust athiest is there is no underlying belief system that dictates morality and the decision making process. A few of the athiest I know are quite "moral", but their morality is not based on any standard code of ethics. However, it seems politicians these days profess their faith, but their voting records/stands on issues rarely correlates with their faith. Is that what seperation of church/state is supposed to mean? I dunno, but I find it a bit disturbing that a politician that is Catholic can vote in favor of abortion. Maybe thats just me...

Suggesting that an atheist is untrustworthy because there is no underlying belief system to dictate morality and decision making is interesting. What about a person who does not accept the existence of God but follows the Daoist or Confucian code. As far as morality and decision making is concerned, Confucianism is far stronger than Christianity. What I think you mean is that they are not trusted because they don't have any standard Christian code of ethics. There are other moral codes in the world.

As to politicians expessing faith to buy votes, couldn't agree with you more. So its not just you.

Thats interesting... I think what I mentioned, the lack of standardized ethics/morality, may play a role here. At least w/ the majority of people, and their understanding of atheism. I guess people that believe in God seem to have more of a higher standard to answer to, where the athiest has no higher power other than self/mankind. I guess it boils down to the person in question. However, since I hardly trust any words politicians utter, how could I truly believe an athiest is telling the truth about his own moral standards? What assurances would I have that his code of ethics would not change? Or in fact, how can I be assured that any politician proclaiming any faith indeed is following the ethic of that faith? Or that that faith plays ANY role in the life of the politician? Is their faith anything more than a social custom that they grew up with, and God a catchphrase to appeal to a certain voting sector? In another line of reasoning, how many politicians out there now are closet athiests? Just claiming some religion and going to some place of worship for public approval?

What I understood from this is that you would like politicians to demonstrate their faith in some way rather than just stating their position. That's sounds quite reasonable. But then if a politician should do such a thing why not everybody who professes a particular position with regard to faith?

The accusation that politicians use God as a catchphrase could be levelled at everyone who has grown up in a Christian society and professes a belief in God and Christ don't you think?

Personally, I don't trust politicians, whatever faith they choose to profess, so I view all they say with a healthy dose of scepticism. They are to my mind a necessary evil (I don't want to run the country) whether they be Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, or Atheist.

 

[bluemtn]

I'm not atheist, but have known and do know (some are friends) that are atheists. I think a problem that those who are face, are the ideas a lot of Americans have- that they're all evil in some sort of fashion. Now, keep in mind that is in the extremists point of view, but on the lesser end, I would have to say the other problem would be "tradition". It's said that the U.S. was founded on Christianity.

(I'm just using the U.S. as an example, since that's where I live)