Closet Non-Religious Politicians?

[Free Palestine]

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.

[Redalgo]

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.

[Diabolical Minds Think Alike]

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.

[greenforest32]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/10/04/secular-group-27-secret-atheists-in-congress/

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.”

[greenforest32]

Also: http://www.gallup.com/poll/148100/hesitant-support-mormon-2012.aspx

[ag]

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.

[CathKhan]

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?

[crypto-fascist superhero]

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.

[ModerateCoward]

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.

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.

[Inks.LWC Supports Chuck Hagel]

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.

[Free Palestine]

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.

[freepcrusher]

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).

[Cory]

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?

[memphis]

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.

[nclib]

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.

[Nagas]

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.

[Secretary Polnut]

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.

[Nagas]

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.

[Secretary Polnut]

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.

[Sibboleth]

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.

[milhouse24]

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. 

[Free Palestine]

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.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

it wouldn't surprise me if most D.C. pols were non-religious - they sure seem to understand nothing about religious people.

[IDS Judicial Overlord John Dibble]

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?