|
Title: Closet Non-Religious Politicians? Post by: Free Palestine on February 24, 2012, 05:33:56 PM Well?
I get the impression that Obama might be agnostic or something. And certain neo-cons like Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, and Pamela Geller strike me as being the right-wing atheist type. Title: Re: Closet Non-Religious Politicians? Post by: Redalgo on February 24, 2012, 07:30:16 PM My impression as of today is that some lefties and centrists conceal or at the least downplay their agnostic, non-religious, or atheistic views due to the immense amount of discrimination they might otherwise face in their bids to ascend into public office, whereas a minority of folks on the right are authoritarians who tend to manufacture an outward image of religiosity to manipulate and co-opt certain strategic, religiously conservative and reactionary constituencies.
Title: Re: Closet Non-Religious Politicians? Post by: Kung Fu Kenny on February 24, 2012, 07:41:46 PM Rush Limbaugh? No way. Ann Coulter? Maybe. She did date Bill Maher. No doubt he rubbed off on her a bit.
Obama definitely isn't religious. Nancy Pelosi probably isn't, Probably a few lesser-known politicians, too. Title: Re: Closet Non-Religious Politicians? Post by: greenforest32 on February 24, 2012, 07:53:25 PM http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/10/04/secular-group-27-secret-atheists-in-congress/
Quote The president of a secular group says that there are 28 members of Congress who do not believe in God, but only one of them feels comfortable revealing his lack of faith. Secular Coalition of America (SCA) president Herb Silverman told The Guardian that his group was aware of many members of Congress who weren’t ready to make their non-beliefs known. “Privately, we know that there are 27 other members of Congress that have no belief in God,” Silverman claimed. “But we don’t ‘out’ people.” That number is up from 2006, when SCA determined that there were there were 22 atheists in Congress. “At the time, twenty-two of them told me they didn’t believe in a god,” SCA Advisory Board Chairman Woody Kaplan told the Humanist in 2008. “Twenty-one of them said, ‘You can’t tell anybody.’ One of them said you could: Congressman Pete Stark.” Title: Re: Closet Non-Religious Politicians? Post by: greenforest32 on February 24, 2012, 07:56:13 PM Also: http://www.gallup.com/poll/148100/hesitant-support-mormon-2012.aspx
() Title: Re: Closet Non-Religious Politicians? Post by: ag on February 24, 2012, 08:54:45 PM Actually, to an atheist like me, Obama looks VERY religious. He is also very protestant in his style - something that leaves me personally quite cold. Of course, there are many other politicians who, probably, are quite atheist, but wouldn't fess up, but he doesn't seem to be one of them.
Title: Re: Closet Non-Religious Politicians? Post by: FEMA Camp Administrator on February 24, 2012, 09:06:46 PM Actually, to an atheist like me, Obama looks VERY religious. He is also very protestant in his style - something that leaves me personally quite cold. Of course, there are many other politicians who, probably, are quite atheist, but wouldn't fess up, but he doesn't seem to be one of them. I'm intrigued. What gives it away? Title: Re: Closet Non-Religious Politicians? Post by: tpfkaw on February 24, 2012, 09:21:05 PM Actually, to an atheist like me, Obama looks VERY religious. He is also very protestant in his style - something that leaves me personally quite cold. Of course, there are many other politicians who, probably, are quite atheist, but wouldn't fess up, but he doesn't seem to be one of them. I'm intrigued. What gives it away? Obama's speaking style is very "black preacher"-ish in its pitch and timbre; he's obviously had a good deal of exposure to that rhetorical style. Title: Re: Closet Non-Religious Politicians? Post by: LastVoter on February 24, 2012, 09:43:26 PM Actually, to an atheist like me, Obama looks VERY religious. He is also very protestant in his style - something that leaves me personally quite cold. Of course, there are many other politicians who, probably, are quite atheist, but wouldn't fess up, but he doesn't seem to be one of them. I'm intrigued. What gives it away? Obama's speaking style is very "black preacher"-ish in its pitch and timbre; he's obviously had a good deal of exposure to that rhetorical style. Title: Re: Closet Non-Religious Politicians? Post by: Queen Mum Inks.LWC on February 24, 2012, 09:49:53 PM Clearly the answer is yes. There has to be at least ONE out there.
Limbaugh, no. Coulter, I could see. I have no clue who Geller is. Title: Re: Closet Non-Religious Politicians? Post by: Free Palestine on February 24, 2012, 10:17:12 PM Clearly the answer is yes. There has to be at least ONE out there. Limbaugh, no. Coulter, I could see. I have no clue who Geller is. Pamela Geller is an evil Islamophobic sociopath, who went so far as to defend someone who was charged with war crimes for the Srebrenica massacre. She claims to be Jewish, apparently -- at least, that's what the Wiki page said. Title: Re: Closet Non-Religious Politicians? Post by: freepcrusher on February 24, 2012, 10:59:04 PM not to pick on them, but i've heard that a lot of people who identify as jews tend to be closeted atheists (not a bad thing since i'm an agnostic).
Title: Re: Closet Non-Religious Politicians? Post by: Cory on February 25, 2012, 07:06:45 AM Bill Clinton might have been an agnostic/atheist, maybe even Dubya, but that would be one of the most epic trolls of all time, I don't think you could actually go for so long without breaking character. No way on Bush Jr., Bush Sr though..... I'm sure there are plenty of non-religious politicians who nominally identify as otherwise. Hillary maybe, Eric Cantor perhaps? Title: Re: Closet Non-Religious Politicians? Post by: memphis on February 25, 2012, 09:49:08 AM I think very few politicians are into the whole religion thing. It's just an Elmer Gantry face for tv. Look at Bush Jr. I have a bridge to sell anybody who bought his whole Jesus schtick. It was so obviously contrived.
Title: Re: Closet Non-Religious Politicians? Post by: nclib on February 27, 2012, 10:14:58 PM not to pick on them, but i've heard that a lot of people who identify as jews tend to be closeted atheists (not a bad thing since i'm an agnostic). One can be identify as a cultural or ethnic Jew and be atheist or nonreligious (not a contradiction). The open-endedness of this poll is why it's so lopsided (29-0 yes after my vote). Of course there are SOME. As for Congress, I'd say there probably is at least one. Title: Re: Closet Non-Religious Politicians? Post by: Negusa Nagast 🚀 on February 27, 2012, 10:21:39 PM Wouldn't surprise me if a few Democratic Senators were.
If that 27 atheists in Congress figure is true, I wonder what the breakdown is between Democrats/Republicans. Title: Re: Closet Non-Religious Politicians? Post by: Fmr President & Senator Polnut on February 27, 2012, 10:26:13 PM Tons... the left have to cover it up because people seem to have a problem with trusting openly atheistic people. The right have to cover it up because the base WILL NOT vote for anyone who doesn't talk about God and HIS place in their life, and of course, that HE told them to run.
Title: Re: Closet Non-Religious Politicians? Post by: Negusa Nagast 🚀 on February 27, 2012, 10:28:21 PM Tons... the left have to cover it up because people seem to have a problem with trusting openly atheistic people. The right have to cover it up because the base WILL NOT vote for anyone who doesn't talk about God and HIS place in their life, and of course, that HE told them to run. Your PM is openly atheist, you lucky dog. Title: Re: Closet Non-Religious Politicians? Post by: Fmr President & Senator Polnut on February 27, 2012, 10:34:36 PM Tons... the left have to cover it up because people seem to have a problem with trusting openly atheistic people. The right have to cover it up because the base WILL NOT vote for anyone who doesn't talk about God and HIS place in their life, and of course, that HE told them to run. Your PM is openly atheist, you lucky dog. Indeed, not that religious views make a difference to me... unless they want to try to impose it on me. Title: Re: Closet Non-Religious Politicians? Post by: Filuwaúrdjan on February 28, 2012, 06:30:04 AM The phrasing of the question misses the point completely, I suspect. There are, of course, vast numbers of American politicians who are not exactly religious but who pretend otherwise for form's sake. But this is not a question of closets.
Title: Re: Closet Non-Religious Politicians? Post by: milhouse24 on February 28, 2012, 02:54:22 PM There are secular people who practice religious and cultural rituals like going to catholic mass or synagogue but don't let religious dogma influence their policies, or are more likely anti-evangelical for purposes of political influence and political division.
There are many rockefeller republicans and gay republicans who care more about reagan economics than social policies. Title: Re: Closet Non-Religious Politicians? Post by: Free Palestine on February 28, 2012, 03:00:00 PM Wouldn't surprise me if a few Democratic Senators were. If that 27 atheists in Congress figure is true, I wonder what the breakdown is between Democrats/Republicans. I wouldn't be surprised if it was fairly even. There are a lot of right-wing atheists. Title: Re: Closet Non-Religious Politicians? Post by: Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home. on February 28, 2012, 03:06:32 PM it wouldn't surprise me if most D.C. pols were non-religious - they sure seem to understand nothing about religious people.
Title: Re: Closet Non-Religious Politicians? Post by: John Dibble on February 28, 2012, 04:00:39 PM it wouldn't surprise me if most D.C. pols were non-religious - they sure seem to understand nothing about religious people. Oh, I think they understand them quite well - how else would they manipulate them into voting for them? |