I'm kinda curious with the American presidential election coming up, could an Atheist ever be elected?  Could someone who wasn't Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or not apart of any other belief ever be put into office.  I don't wanna slam anyone with these beliefs, I don't see anything wrong in having faith, but could someone with no faith ever win?

I'm sure there could. But I doubt he'd get many votes.

~Zack~

An atheist could certainly run but I doubt they'd get elected considering more than half of the United States (I think 70%) believes in some sort of higher power. If an atheist were to run, they'd probably keep their religious (non)beliefs under wraps. Atheism wouldn't go over well with the general public or, at least, voters.

Maybe I'm too cynical (I think that's the word), but I thought most of them were atheists and just pretending to be religious in order to get votes....  

A lot of people would see him as very un-American.

I'm all for someone who can keep religion out of politics, though.

Quoted from tomson Maybe I'm too cynical (I think that's the word), but I thought most of them were atheists and just pretending to be religious in order to get votes....

Kucinich is the only one I can see as an atheist. Maybe Guliani. The rest of them, forget about it. You can be for separation of church and state and still be religeous, even extremely religious. I think that's the case with the democrats, especially Clinton. I honestly can't see why an atheist would even want to get involved in politics.

I was actually in attendance yesterday when Hillary gave a speech on campus.  I had pretty good seats too, so it was cool!

As for an atheist being elected, it would be very hard.  Even if they're the most subtle atheist out there, it won't be easy to sway a country where a vast majority believe in a god of some form.

But if you told people 100 years ago that there's a good chance the president in 2009 would either be black or a female, they'd shoot you for such lunacy.  So, maybe one day.  Who knows.

Quoted from James McClung I honestly can't see why an atheist would even want to get involved in politics.

I hope anyone who has a passion for politics will get involved in it - atheist or not. Whether an atheist could actually win is an entirely different can of worms. The far right has a lot of clout in the US, even though religion should have absolutely no influence on politics, and as long they are so powerful I don't think an atheist could win. Unfortunately.

Not within the next 30 years. After that who knows? It will happen one day but the Christian right is far too big a machine for any candidate to ignore. It is not just about getting enough votes to win an election but once in power the president needs the total support of congress. The Christian right is still a major force in DC and could make life impossible for any president who does not at least pretend to be a Christian.

I think Murphy nailed it. It has been my personal experience that people of faith generally distrust people without it, and people need to feel like they can trust their leaders.

One day, there will be every kind of president. Woman, black, gay, atheist. In 200 years there will have been a black lesbian atheist in power. But it's not likely to happen anytime soon.


Matt.

Hey,

Yeah, I agree that it might be possible in another 50 years or so from now but for the time being it's probably a near impossibility.

Quoted from Chism I think Murphy nailed it. It has been my personal experience that people of faith generally distrust people without it, and people need to feel like they can trust their leaders.

For a segment of the religious population I think you're right, but for most of them I think it's not really a matter of trust but that they would just prefer someone who shares their values to represent them (like anybody else really) over someone who doesn't represent their values.

sheepwalker

You can still live as a Christian without actually being one.

Besides being gay, which is only superficial, my life's pretty vanilla.

Hey,

Quoted from ABennettWriter You can still live as a Christian without actually being one.

Yeah, I agree.

I'm sure there are atheist that have many of the same values as Christians and could represent the Christian community well.

Just like I'm sure there were Britons that could represent American colonists well. (Can I get an Edmund Burke?)

Just like I'm sure there are middle aged Christian white men that could share values with and represents well atheists, blacks, women, and gays.

That said, all things equal, I think it completely understandable if people feel like it's a safer bet to think that people that are like them (even on the most superficial level of skin color) are more likely to share their values. Even though I don't personally agree with it, I think it's understandable.

sheepwalker

I think that with regard to electing someone president though it has got a lot less to do with what the voters want than many seem to believe. I agree fully with Sheepwalker in that most people are not as extremist in their views as many would have us believe and most people in the States just want someone who is decent, honest and caring.

But when you are talking about politics it gets more fuzzy.  The point I was getting at is that in order to become nominated for a major party you need to have pulled all the right strings, greased all the right palms, made all of the right promises and very much need to proclaim your love of god. There is no alternative at the moment in the US. Just most other issues in the world the loud minority will always have more power over the silent majority and in the mucky world of US politics there are two groups that have to be onside for any serious candidate - Business leaders and the Christian right.

Hey,

Quoted from Murphy The point I was getting at is that in order to become nominated for a major party you need to have pulled all the right strings, greased all the right palms, made all of the right promises and very much need to proclaim your love of god... In the mucky world of US politics there are two groups that have to be onside for any serious candidate - Business leaders and the Christian right.

I think there is some truth to what you're saying. I think it's probably necessary to make some promises and consolidate support but I also think that you are kind of exaggerating it.

For example, John McCain is probably going to be the republican nominee. While, I'm sure he has cut some deals I don't think its fair to say that he has "pulled all the right strings and greased all the right palms".

He's repeatedly shoved his thumb into the eye of the republican party establishment. In fact most of the Republican establishment and elites absolutely despise him and would much rather have another candidate. I believe Ann Coulter has recently said that if McCain gets the nomination that she will be campaigning for Clinton.      

And about Business leaders and the Christian right (both of which are generally for the republicans, by your logic there shouldn't ever be any democratic nominees). McCain hardly has dominate support among either groups. Romney has most successfully courted big business and the Christian right is mostly for Huckabee.  

On the democratic side I think it's kind of similar. While it's kind of changing now, in the beginning the Democratic establishment didn't want Obama, Hillary was their girl and I'm sure she's greased a lot more hands and pulled a lot more strings ( she's at least had a lot more time to do it) yet there is still a really good chance that he'll get the nomination.
  
sheepwalker