Atheist in the House
hippiemom
Posts: 3,326
The first congressperson to publicly admit that he doesn't belive in god ... it's about time!
Stark's atheist views break political taboo
San Francisco Chronicle
Carla Marinucci, Chronicle Political Writer
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Rep. Pete Stark of Fremont might have crossed what some are calling "one of the last frontiers" in politics when he delighted atheists this week by acknowledging that he does not believe in a supreme being.
Just a generation ago, says Democratic political strategist Dan Newman, "you couldn't go anywhere near'' such a statement, which "would have been political suicide.''
Stark's frank declaration that he is "a Unitarian who does not believe in a Supreme Being'' indicates, says Newman, that a significant page has been turned -- and maybe it's not such a political liability anymore.
But he adds that "time will tell whether this is a case of the Bay Area being far out front -- or merely far out.''
Stark's spiritual inclinations were sought by the Secular Coalition for America, an association of eight atheist and humanist groups, which offered a $1,000 prize to the person who could identify the "highest level atheist, agnostic, humanist or any other kind of nontheist currently holding elected public office in the United States."
The 18-term Democratic congressman, who chairs the health subcommittee of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, agreed to fill out the coalition's survey on his religious beliefs. In a statement issued Monday, the 75-year-old Stark added that, "like our nation's founders, I strongly support the separation of church and state. I look forward to working with the Secular Coalition to stop the promotion of narrow religious beliefs in science, marriage contracts, the military and the provision of social services."
A spokesman for Stark said Tuesday that he would have nothing further to say on the matter.
The declaration made Stark a hero to atheist groups around the nation, which have had little visibility in debates on issues surrounding religion and values in Washington.
The American Humanist Association marked the occasion with plans to run an ad in the Washington Post naming other famed atheists, such as author Kurt Vonnegut and "Saturday Night Live" comedian Julia Sweeney.
Stark isn't the first California politician to say he is a nonbeliever: California Gov. Culbert Olson, a Democrat who served from 1939 to 1943 -- and though born of Mormon parents -- said he was an atheist.
But such a declaration carries plenty of political risk. Last month, a USA Today/Gallup poll noted that fewer than half of Americans said they would vote for an atheist candidate for president even if he were "well qualified." In the same poll, 95 percent said they would vote for a similarly qualified Catholic candidate, 92 percent for a Jewish candidate and 72 percent for a Mormon candidate.
Newman says the poll shows that "anti-atheism remains the last remaining prejudice that a majority of Americans don't mind fessing up to,'' at least to a pollster. And he says the comments by Stark belie "the recent trend which has been in the direction of candidates increasingly wearing their religion on their sleeve.''
Fred Edwords, a spokesman for the American Humanist Association, told the Los Angeles Times that he hopes Stark's identification will end discrimination against atheists.
"So often throughout American history, people who are nontheistic or don't believe in a supreme being can't get elected to public office or, if they inform the public of their view, they don't get re-elected, Edwords said. "We're trying to increase the acceptance of nontheists as every bit as American as everybody else."
Pollster Ben Tulchin of the San Francisco firm of Greenberg Quinlan and Rosner Research said Stark's comments also dramatize the unusual status of California as a state where religious beliefs do not take overwhelming precedence in voters' minds.
He said his firm's long work in polling has repeatedly confirmed that the West Coast is less religious than the East Coast, "and California in particular, is probably one of the most nonreligious states in the country -- maybe the most nonreligious state.''
He said that in polling in California "we rarely target voters by religion.''
"In any other state, it's a very useful target in terms of understanding people's values and beliefs,'' Tulchin said.
That doesn't mean Californians "are not religious, don't believe in God, or don't go to services,'' he cautioned. For example, he said, "you have a fast-growing population in Latinos, and religion does matter to them, and religious issues matter to them.''
"But on a day-to-day basis, religion doesn't play a significant role in most Californians' lives in a way that shapes their politics on a daily basis,'' he said.
Tulchin acknowledged that it is easier for Stark to state his religious beliefs in part because he lives in an overwhelmingly Democratic East Bay district where his re-election has been virtually guaranteed for decades.
"In a safe district, it means it's less of a potential problem for him than other places,'' he said. "The fact that he's held office for a long time and has been re-elected over and over again will not change his relationship with most voters who have been with him for years.''
Still, "if he were to run for office for the first time, even as a Democrat, that could complicate things ... and made people take a closer look,'' he said.
Stark's atheist views break political taboo
San Francisco Chronicle
Carla Marinucci, Chronicle Political Writer
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Rep. Pete Stark of Fremont might have crossed what some are calling "one of the last frontiers" in politics when he delighted atheists this week by acknowledging that he does not believe in a supreme being.
Just a generation ago, says Democratic political strategist Dan Newman, "you couldn't go anywhere near'' such a statement, which "would have been political suicide.''
Stark's frank declaration that he is "a Unitarian who does not believe in a Supreme Being'' indicates, says Newman, that a significant page has been turned -- and maybe it's not such a political liability anymore.
But he adds that "time will tell whether this is a case of the Bay Area being far out front -- or merely far out.''
Stark's spiritual inclinations were sought by the Secular Coalition for America, an association of eight atheist and humanist groups, which offered a $1,000 prize to the person who could identify the "highest level atheist, agnostic, humanist or any other kind of nontheist currently holding elected public office in the United States."
The 18-term Democratic congressman, who chairs the health subcommittee of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, agreed to fill out the coalition's survey on his religious beliefs. In a statement issued Monday, the 75-year-old Stark added that, "like our nation's founders, I strongly support the separation of church and state. I look forward to working with the Secular Coalition to stop the promotion of narrow religious beliefs in science, marriage contracts, the military and the provision of social services."
A spokesman for Stark said Tuesday that he would have nothing further to say on the matter.
The declaration made Stark a hero to atheist groups around the nation, which have had little visibility in debates on issues surrounding religion and values in Washington.
The American Humanist Association marked the occasion with plans to run an ad in the Washington Post naming other famed atheists, such as author Kurt Vonnegut and "Saturday Night Live" comedian Julia Sweeney.
Stark isn't the first California politician to say he is a nonbeliever: California Gov. Culbert Olson, a Democrat who served from 1939 to 1943 -- and though born of Mormon parents -- said he was an atheist.
But such a declaration carries plenty of political risk. Last month, a USA Today/Gallup poll noted that fewer than half of Americans said they would vote for an atheist candidate for president even if he were "well qualified." In the same poll, 95 percent said they would vote for a similarly qualified Catholic candidate, 92 percent for a Jewish candidate and 72 percent for a Mormon candidate.
Newman says the poll shows that "anti-atheism remains the last remaining prejudice that a majority of Americans don't mind fessing up to,'' at least to a pollster. And he says the comments by Stark belie "the recent trend which has been in the direction of candidates increasingly wearing their religion on their sleeve.''
Fred Edwords, a spokesman for the American Humanist Association, told the Los Angeles Times that he hopes Stark's identification will end discrimination against atheists.
"So often throughout American history, people who are nontheistic or don't believe in a supreme being can't get elected to public office or, if they inform the public of their view, they don't get re-elected, Edwords said. "We're trying to increase the acceptance of nontheists as every bit as American as everybody else."
Pollster Ben Tulchin of the San Francisco firm of Greenberg Quinlan and Rosner Research said Stark's comments also dramatize the unusual status of California as a state where religious beliefs do not take overwhelming precedence in voters' minds.
He said his firm's long work in polling has repeatedly confirmed that the West Coast is less religious than the East Coast, "and California in particular, is probably one of the most nonreligious states in the country -- maybe the most nonreligious state.''
He said that in polling in California "we rarely target voters by religion.''
"In any other state, it's a very useful target in terms of understanding people's values and beliefs,'' Tulchin said.
That doesn't mean Californians "are not religious, don't believe in God, or don't go to services,'' he cautioned. For example, he said, "you have a fast-growing population in Latinos, and religion does matter to them, and religious issues matter to them.''
"But on a day-to-day basis, religion doesn't play a significant role in most Californians' lives in a way that shapes their politics on a daily basis,'' he said.
Tulchin acknowledged that it is easier for Stark to state his religious beliefs in part because he lives in an overwhelmingly Democratic East Bay district where his re-election has been virtually guaranteed for decades.
"In a safe district, it means it's less of a potential problem for him than other places,'' he said. "The fact that he's held office for a long time and has been re-elected over and over again will not change his relationship with most voters who have been with him for years.''
Still, "if he were to run for office for the first time, even as a Democrat, that could complicate things ... and made people take a closer look,'' he said.
"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." ~ MLK, 1963
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Comments
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finally, someone has sense and courage... thank god
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I'll be happy when we treat someone's religion like we do their sexuality, as something private. It may shape them as a person and the causes they care for but as a private issue. This is much ado about nothing.my2hands wrote:finally, someone has sense and courage... thank god“One good thing about music,
when it hits you, you feel to pain.
So brutalize me with music.”
~ Bob Marley0 -
poor atheists0
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couldnt agree more.surferdude wrote:I'll be happy when we treat someone's religion like we do their sexuality, as something private.0 -
surferdude wrote:I'll be happy when we treat someone's religion like we do their sexuality, as something private. It may shape them as a person and the causes they care for but as a private issue. This is much ado about nothing.
I agree. I don't care if you are religious or not, gay or not or you like to wear leather g-strings. Do your job and don't break the law.0 -
their is not a god
no heaven all hell
so just get over it0 -
this brings a smile to my face. hopefully we'll start to see other politicians follow his lead. it's about goddamned time
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angels share laughter
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Like race and sexuality, religious affilliation should not matter. Obviously it matters to you. Kind of sad.prism wrote:this brings a smile to my face. hopefully we'll start to see other politicians follow his lead. it's about goddamned time“One good thing about music,
when it hits you, you feel to pain.
So brutalize me with music.”
~ Bob Marley0 -
It's not sad at all. The only way that it's ever going to not matter at all is when people are able to accept people who hold all sorts of different beliefs, and this is a tiny step in that direction. It's good that congress is slowly beginning to look more like the population of America.surferdude wrote:Like race and sexuality, religious affilliation should not matter. Obviously it matters to you. Kind of sad."Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." ~ MLK, 19630 -
surferdude wrote:Like race and sexuality, religious affilliation should not matter. Obviously it matters to you. Kind of sad.
you're right, it shouldn't matter. however we live in a country where we're always hearing politicians talk about how they listen to "God" when voting on decisions or drafting policies. go tell them how their religious beliefs shouldn't come into it....then maybe you'd have some sort of arguement.*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
angels share laughter
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this is why you will see me going to church a lot more and claiming to be a devout catholic again shortly before i start running for office.0
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You are SO ideally suited for law school.soulsinging wrote:this is why you will see me going to church a lot more and claiming to be a devout catholic again shortly before i start running for office.
Hahahahahaha."Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." ~ MLK, 19630 -
surferdude wrote:Like race and sexuality, religious affilliation should not matter. Obviously it matters to you. Kind of sad.
I think that was exactly what the original poster was saying.Pick up my debut novel here on amazon: Jonny Bails Floatin (in paperback) (also available on Kindle for $2.99)0 -
It is sad, because you either believe we're they same or you don't. If you believe we're the same it makes no difference. If you don't think we're the same then I don't know what to say.hippiemom wrote:It's not sad at all. The only way that it's ever going to not matter at all is when people are able to accept people who hold all sorts of different beliefs, and this is a tiny step in that direction. It's good that congress is slowly beginning to look more like the population of America.
It's politics and the shit will always rise to the top. Did the world get better when women were given the vote? Not really. Did politics get better when we started to elect women, or minorities? No, in facts it's probably gotten worse. But women and minorities are not responsible for this, it would have gotten worse regardless of who was elected.
I don't applaud an atheist being voted in for the same reason I don't applaud a Muslim or Catholic being elected. It just doesn't matter, we're all the same. It's politics and government. It doesn't matter to me who's ass raping me with stupid laws and taxes. It won't change the fact that I'm getting ass raped.
The only people who should be applauding this are people who feel that an atheist is in some way a superior person than a religious person. I don't feel this way. We are all the same.“One good thing about music,
when it hits you, you feel to pain.
So brutalize me with music.”
~ Bob Marley0 -
That a Muslim and an atheist can get elected to Congress is a sign that it's beginning to matter less to people, since the majority of the people who voted for them are not Muslims or atheists. I take this as a hopeful sign. I don't care for politicians who run around trumpeting about their religion, but it shouldn't need to be kept a deep, dark secret either.surferdude wrote:It is sad, because you either believe we're they same or you don't. If you believe we're the same it makes no difference. If you don't think we're the same then I don't know what to say."Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." ~ MLK, 19630 -
...surferdude wrote:Like race and sexuality, religious affilliation should not matter. Obviously it matters to you. Kind of sad.
As long as you do not try to legislate law that I have to abide by based upon your race, sexuality or religious belief.
No prob.Allen Fieldhouse, home of the 2008 NCAA men's Basketball Champions! Go Jayhawks!
Hail, Hail!!!0 -
This point of view I can understand. It's a nice reflection on the voters. But politicians and governments are still going to practice financial sodomy on you and I, just with a different pusher.hippiemom wrote:That a Muslim and an atheist can get elected to Congress is a sign that it's beginning to matter less to people, since the majority of the people who voted for them are not Muslims or atheists. I take this as a hopeful sign. I don't care for politicians who run around trumpeting about their religion, but it shouldn't need to be kept a deep, dark secret either.“One good thing about music,
when it hits you, you feel to pain.
So brutalize me with music.”
~ Bob Marley0 -
surferdude wrote:This point of view I can understand. It's a nice reflection on the voters. But politicians and governments are still going to practice financial sodomy on you and I, just with a different pusher.
Bankers and lawyers.
all posts by ©gue_barium are protected under US copyright law and are not to be reproduced, exchanged or sold
except by express written permission of ©gue_barium, the author.0 -
I'm waiting for the day when atheists can get on tv and accuse the religious of "believing in nothing." That's when I'll stop worrying about who is affiliated with what.0
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should only matter when they are trying to push those beliefs onto others.Feels Good Inc.0
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