What if the next US prez believes this?
- Thread starter Rmack
- Start date
Teanntás
Silver Meritorious Patron
I don't think his religious views would make the slightest bit of difference - although he makes noises to accommodate evangelical and other Christian views. The social views of Rick Santorum are much more influenced by his religious views ie Catholic theology - but even in this case its extremely unlikely that he could get laws passed to align with his views on contraception or abortion for example.. Whoever is the next US president will be kept busy with economic issues and regardless of particular religious and moral views jobs and the economy will have to be their total focus.
Rmack
Van Allen Belt Sunbather
Oh, really?
Teanntás
Silver Meritorious Patron
What do you think? On a scale of bizzarreness the beliefs of presidents up to now weren't radically different.
Mark A. Baker
Sponsor
To the degree he keeps them private, I would agree. When an individual's religious views serve to justify policies of public support for religious institutions, either directly or as is more common in political circles indirectly (i.e. government support for faith-based initiatives), then the degree of his involvement with any religious institution may be a justifiable reason for disquiet and reservation about the person's qualification for public office.
Accordingly public suspicion is right to focus on insular churches and their adherents who may support active government interference or regulation with regard to issues of individual rights, personal privacy, or retention of special privileges for commercial institutions operated by religious organizations on the basis of promoting 'public morality' or 'traditional values'.
IMHO, any politician who feels he owes obedience or deference to a church, temple, mosque, bishops, priesthood, rabbinate, mullah, guru, lama, kahuna, or medicine man, on matters of public policy is a person who is wholly unsuited for an high public office.
Mark A. Baker
secretiveoldfag
Silver Meritorious Patron
It seems to be too much to hope for that the President of the United States of America could be selected on the basis of being a rational, educated, honest kind of person.
Did someone not once say that those who seek power are the least suitable to exercise it?
Did someone not once say that those who seek power are the least suitable to exercise it?
Mark A. Baker
Sponsor
Someone with those qualifications would be at a huge disadvantage at attempting to win actual votes. .
Mark A. Baker
secretiveoldfag
Silver Meritorious Patron
Which IMO is a good reason for selecting our representatives with a pin.
But the necessary reform would never be voted in...
Ogsonofgroo
Crusader
WildKat
Gold Meritorious Patron
What if the next president believed in Body Thetans and Xenu? What if the next president believed that bread and wine was flesh and blood? What if the next president believed a virgin was impregnated by god and gave birth?
What if all our politicians had psychotic beliefs? Oh wait......
The only person qualified for a high public office is an intelligent atheist, and that is the only person who wouldn't have a chance of getting elected and the only person too smart to WANT the job.
What if all our politicians had psychotic beliefs? Oh wait......
The only person qualified for a high public office is an intelligent atheist, and that is the only person who wouldn't have a chance of getting elected and the only person too smart to WANT the job.
Lone Star
Crusader
Sounds like our first 4 Presidents. My how we have regressed.
(I know they didn't call themselves atheists, but they sure weren't Christians. By today's kooky fundamentalist standards they'd be called atheists, or worse. They didn't believe in a god who watches over us and directs events down below. I just read a book entitled "The Secular History of America" by Susan Jacoby. Very interesting and revealing).
uniquemand
Unbeliever
Then he'd be a retard.
Teanntás
Silver Meritorious Patron
Why are atheists so distrusted by believers? ScienceDaily reports one speculation from the lead researcher:
The religious behaviors of others may provide believers with important social cues, the researchers say. "Outward displays of belief in God may be viewed as a proxy for trustworthiness, particularly by religious believers who think that people behave better if they feel that God is watching them," says Norenzayan. "While atheists may see their disbelief as a private matter on a metaphysical issue, believers may consider atheists' absence of belief as a public threat to cooperation and honesty."
A recent Gallup poll noted (on the basis of an heroic assumption that a candidate for president was "well qualified") that 78 percent of Americans would vote for a Mormon, 67 percent for a gay, 89 percent for a Jew. Only 49 percent said that they would vote for an atheist. But there's good news -- in 1958 only 18 percent said that they'd vote for an atheist.
I wonder if pollsters have ever asked atheists how they feel about voting for various sorts of believers, say, fundamentalist Christians?
http://reason.com/blog/2011/12/01/believers-rate-atheists-about-as-trustwo
