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Atheist Politicians

The number of atheists world-wide is growing but yet I have not heard of any person serving in a major political office and openly atheist. Does anyone know of any openly atheist politicians? Isn’t it about time we see more?

Tags: Atheist, Politicians

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Permalink Reply by Dr. Ned Kelly on May 24, 2009 at 1:44pm

Russian President Putin is one. Raoul Castro of Cuba is another. I can't immediately think of many others.

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Permalink Reply by SBrooks on May 28, 2009 at 7:50am

I assume that "godless" is a major reason that so many people were "scared" of communism back in the day.

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Permalink Reply by Jo Jerome on May 24, 2009 at 5:53pm

In the U.S., I'm at a loss to think of any and would be floored if any got elected. Elections still require a majority vote and a majority of Americans still think that one needs god to be in office.

But it would indeed be a breath of fresh air. I think it was a congressman - Minnesota I think? - recently elected who really was Muslim. That alone was a major leap for this country and blow to paranoia/racism.

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Permalink Reply by Little Name Atheist on May 24, 2009 at 8:48pm

Bernie Sanders, Senator from Vermont.

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Permalink Reply by Dr. Ned Kelly on May 24, 2009 at 6:18pm

Here's a list of atheist politicians.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_atheists_(politics_and_law)

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Permalink Reply by John Shuey on May 24, 2009 at 8:19pm

Congressman Pete Stark of CA.

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Permalink Reply by Little Name Atheist on May 24, 2009 at 8:52pm

He's such a credit to his race.

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Permalink Reply by vivian on May 24, 2009 at 8:32pm

Does Jesse Ventura count as a major political office? I thought there was a woman in SC or NC that was trying to get elected last fall, but I don't know her name or if she got elected. She was pretty open about being an atheist.

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Permalink Reply by Carlos Guerra on May 24, 2009 at 8:36pm

Sadly, I think that any American politician who claimed publicly to be an atheist would be committing political suicide. I don't think that a large proportion of Americans are ready to concede that you don't need to be Christian to be a moral person. That said, I suspect that there have been, and are, many American politicians who were non-believers and have merely paid lip service to religion. A few that come to mind immediately are Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, Barney Frank, Al Gore and Ronald Regan. I am really just speculating about these individuals but, for one reason or another, I have gotten the feeling that none of them are, or were, more than conveniently and symbolically devout.

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Permalink Reply by Little Name Atheist on May 24, 2009 at 8:55pm

Oh yeah, how could I forget Bob Avakian, and his running dog, Lackey?

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Permalink Reply by mthoreau on May 25, 2009 at 5:48pm

Bob Avakian isn't a politician. He's just some crank.

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Permalink Reply by Little Name Atheist on May 26, 2009 at 1:26pm

Oh, but he's one of us. He's an atheist!

I thought Bob Avakian had run for elected office, but I could be mistaken.

A lot of politicians are cranks. Bridge to Nowhere? The Internet is made up of a series of tubes? "Russia" being right over the border from Alaska? etc...