American law is made by Congress, which is divided into the Senate and the House of Representatives. There are currently 100 Senators and 435 members of the House of Representatives. This legislative branch of 535 well-educated and powerful men and women has never, in all of American history, had a single member disclose a disbelief in "God" or gods. This is statistically anomalous: any sample of 535 educated leaders should have at least a small number of nontheists in the group.
Then again, congresspeople are politicians. They say what their constituents want them to say, and toeing the "God Bless America," "Under God," and "In God We Trust" lines get them elected and reelected, regardless of whether they actually believe in such supernaturalism.
The dam is bursting, starting today. Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.), a Member of Congress since 1973, is the first to go on record as a nontheist. (Not "atheist," although "nontheist" is defined essentially the same: disbelief in a deity.) This was in response to an inquiry from the Secular Coalition for America, a Washington, D.C. lobby for nontheistic Americans. (I had the pleasure of meeting SCA Director Lori Lipman Brown last year.) Stark said he "does not believe in a supreme being." "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 service," he said.534 presumed theists and 1 brave nontheist. Will the next nontheistic Member(s) of Congress please make themselves known now?
17 comments:
It looks like Pete identifies himself as a Unitarian. I had always assumed that this just meant "a theist who doesn't believe in the trinity," but apparently it also accommodates "nontheists".
http://www.slumdance.com/blogs/brian_flemming/archives/002530.html
http://www.uua.org/aboutuu/uufaq.html#god
You're not very optimistic with your "presumed theists". You could have said 1 assumed nontheist and 534 "unknow status"...
Sorry, I'm not american, what does "Rep" means before the name (is it republican) ?
Samuel Brainsample ~ Thanks for the links. I guess we can call Stark a Unitarian nontheist. In the questionnaire submitted by the SCA, Stark answered "Yes" to the statement "I am a nontheist," a term the questionnaire defined as "a humanist, atheist or other freethinker who does not believe in a supreme being or beings."
Franssoit ~ I'd like to be more optimistic, but the 534 "presumed theists" toe the theistic line by (conspicuously) attending church, participating in group prayer, etc. I do think at least 20% of Congress are "nontheists" but they know admitting that would be political suicide. Shame.
"Rep" means "Representative." (Stark is a Democrat.) Representatives are divided by population among the 50 US states, with each state having at least 1 representative. Stark represents a California district just east of San Francisco.
It is a very interesting issue, since in my new job, I pledged under God, the country and everything, even though they didn't even ask me if I was a believer (theologically talking).... IF you ask me, basically I don't know what I am.... agnosticism, some people call it.
I am willing to see the follow-up of this story.
Have a nice evening!
Over 90% of Americans believe in God and 85% identify themselves as Christian so the majority is not surprising. That is something the voters value.
Not all religion is dogmatic or against independent, intelligent thinking, and with all due respect, I'm sure there are plenty of people tons more intelligent than you or me who believe in God.
Espe ~ What kind of new job asked you to make so many personal pledges? Why is that relevant to the job? Sounds like they were assuming a lot. (And I hope that's not a STATE job! Waaaay illegal!)
Sounds like you are on your own "spiritual journey." Keep us posted. You should not remain an agnostic for too long ... either you're a theist or a nontheist. Unfortunately, most people "go with the flow" and never really think about this.
Cory ~ I agree with your first paragraph. But I bet way less than 90% of Congress believes in a supreme being. They are just "in the closet" in order to keep their jobs. (See Espe's comment above. She's a statistic for being "Under God" when that's not necessarily true.)
Of course not all religion is dogmatic or against independent, intelligent thinking; but an unimpeachable fact is that the more educated one is, the less likely they are to be superstitious/religious/theist.
That is a very brave man. On a few occasions I thought I was going to be lynched for refusing to pretend to believe, and I was just a 7th grader, not a member of Congress.
Emphasis on "presumed" theist. There are almost certainly many, many more atheists and agnostics in Congress who...well, know what they have to do to get elected.
YAY! You are back!!! Was it something in the air? So many were gone at about the same time and now, we are all back! Ah...'tis the arrival of spring I tell you and I have yet to be back in SF!
Oy!
As for your latest words? Brilliant my friend... don't disappear on us again!
Yeah! I believe in God but am so sick of how much influence religion has had on our government and public policies. I think we need more people in office who are more representative of other beliefs, or lack of them. It probably sounds weird coming from someone who believes in God, but my belief is more in the notion of a Creator than anything taught in any religious books (Bible, Koran, Torah, etc.).
Redzilla ~ Good for you! Everyone should feel free to stand up for their beliefs (or disbeliefs), but too often, we are pressured to "conform."
John ~ Congresspeople masquerading as theists is one thing; constituents who put so much weight on this are another. After all, Article Six of the United States Constitution states: "... no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."
Miz B ~ ¡Hola, mi amiga en España! Yes, I'm easing back in to the blogospere, as are you, I see from your latest movie post on Miz Bohemia's Rhapsody!
VV ~ Not weird at all! Many theists understand the church/state separation concept and don't expect everybody to kneel to their god. Indeed, having a representative Congress is only fair. Yet regardless of their belief/nonbelief, the state should not meddle with the church, and the church should not meddle with the state. (It's the law!)
Rhetorical question: When you say you believe in "God" (you used a capital G) do you mean the biblical "god of Abraham" -- the same god that George Bush believes in (and talks to)?
Hi FreeThinker! Thanks for stopping by my blog. It's been a long time since we last chatted, but it's always good to hear from you. Without a doubt, you're my favorite atheist!
I think it’s great that this Congressman, Pete Stark went on the record to identify himself as a nontheist. This could be the first honest politician in a very long time. Personally, I would rather have an honest nontheist in office than a hypocritical theist. At least we know the nontheist doesn't believe in God so there is no moral standard to hold him accountable to. But the so-called Christians smear the name of God through the mud when they get caught up in all sorts of perverted sex scandals and other forms of political corruption.
For far too long the government has omitted God in their courts, justice system, public schools, and political offices, and I think it’s high time for more of these leaders to come out of the closet and admit they don’t really believe in God so they can quit deceiving the people.
While over 90% of Americans may say they believe in God, and 85% identify themselves as “Christian” - Obviously by the way America is today, we can see that the majority do NOT live that way!
As Jesus Christ said, "You shall know them by their fruits."
Speaking of rotten fruit...
*Just for the record, George Bush does NOT believe in the God of Abraham. On numerous occasions Bush has said that Christians and Muslims worship the same God. Bush also supports homo marriage and abortion which are clearly against Christian morals.
If you are interested, you can read more here about => Phony Christian Bush. (This was an in-depth essay written by my husband before the 2004 elections urging Christians NOT to vote for Bush.)
Are you willing to trust your eternal destiny to this belief???
Dr. Howdy
P.S. See Ps 14:1 below:
The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
Bilious and bloated, they gas, "God is gone." Their words are poison gas, fouling the air; they poison Rivers and skies; thistles are their cash crop.
Only fools say in their hearts, "There is no God." They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; no one does good!
I really liked Professor Howdy's comment and I was disappointed to not see a response from you! You are really good at responding to people! Amber
Dani ~ Good to hear from you again. You are my favorite Christian apologist ... Few "Christians" dare to defend their faith as vociferously as you!
Interestingly, I agree with most of your points.
Ah, but Pete Stark does have a moral standard, and it's based on reason, compassion, service, and ethics - not some guidelines from an old book. Morality does exist outside of spiritual directives! Moreover, shouldn't people be good based on their own choice rather than some supernatural promise of heaven and threat of hell? (And who would you trust your children with most: a scientist or a priest?)
I read your husband's essay about Bush. I guess he's just not Christian enough for you? Indeed, Bush and Kerry are not all that different (both supported the Iraq War, both opposed gay marriage, etc.) - especially when you look at some of the other political party's presidential candidates.
I am surprised that you think that "Allah" is not the same god as "God." Is that some other "Abraham" in the Koran?
Prof Howdy ~ Are you willing to trust your eternal destiny to this belief???
I'd call atheism more of a "conclusion" than a "belief," but yes, I trust I'm on the right track. Life is not a dress rehearsal, and there is no "eternal destiny" to waste time contemplating in this life - the only life we will ever have.
The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
I've had Psalms 14:1 thrown at me many times. Here's some "reason" back at'cha: This verse is mean, offensive, and wholly untrue. (Atheists like Thomas Edison, Bill Gates, Pat Tillman, and Lance Armstrong are abominable, corrupt, and do no good?)
Read Matthew 5:22. You're in danger of hell fire!
Lastly, Bible verses are not "gospel" to me any more than verses from the Koran or the Bhagavad-Gita are to you.
Please think about all this. My hope is that you will someday be freed of your supernatural shackles of superstition.
Ash-Am ~ My response is finally here - sorry for the delay. I was in "Sin City" (Las Vegas) for a long weekend and avoided computers!
I like your comments too, Amber. Weigh in anytime!
Hi FreeThinker –
You say that Pete Stark does have a moral standard, based on reason, compassion, service, and ethics, but what standard does he use to judge the basis of his worldview? How does Mr. Stark define what is right or wrong? Majority rules? Societal norms? Gut feelings?
You asked, "shouldn't people be good based on their own choice rather than some supernatural promise of heaven and threat of hell?"
Sure, I suppose so. But the question arises again, how do you define what is good? Isn’t the atheist's mantra, “what’s good for you may not be good for me” and so forth? How can you know if something is good if you don’t have an absolute standard to judge it by?
Hitler had his own standards of what he thought was “good” based on his reason, service and ethics as he made the choice to lead millions of Jews to the slaughterhouse. Heck, some people even claim that Hitler was a compassionate Christian. Do you think Hitler was good man? Or was it absolutely wrong for Hitler to murder millions of innocent people?
Moving right along…
Thanks for reading my husband's essay about Bush. I guess you can say that Bush is NOT "Christian" enough for us, if he is at all. And you're right, Bush and Kerry are not all that different. So much the same that they were both even in the same fraternity club at Yale University called => Skull-n-Bones .
God and Allah are not the same. The Abraham may be the same in the text, but Allah is a Moon-god of Islamic nations. Further, Allah is not the Creator, nor did he manifest himself as the person of Jesus Christ who sacrificed His life for all of mankind. Allah is simply a pagan deity known as the Moon-god who was married to the sun goddess and the stars were his daughters. But the major difference between the god of the Koran and the God of the Bible is that Muhammad says, "kill yourself and others if you love me," and Jesus said, "I loved you so much that I died for your sins."
(And BTW – I wouldn’t trust my children with a scientist or a priest, or a public school teacher, or my neighbor, or half my family members, or pretty much anyone else on the block, but definitely not a perverted priest. The only people I would trust are my mom, brother and maybe my best friend.)
P.S. I'm proud to be your favorite Christian apologist. Please stop by again soon.
Bush, and his croonies, only believe in GOD, because of some study they did told them if Bush trouted he new founded beliefs, it would get him elected. Seemed to work for him, now we are all paying the price. p
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