Tags
atheism, atheists in congress, atheists in politics, religion and congress, religion in politics, science, skeptic
I thought that it might be interesting to look at how your own faith is represented in Congress this year. Although the lack of separation between Church, state, and the religious views that influence politics is appalling, the fact is that America is absolutely brimming with the faithful, and it is no surprise that they make up a majority when represented. According to the graphic below (put together by the Pew Research Center) 99% of our representatives have some sort of faith. I hope that’s not completely OK with any of you, because although the religious representation closely matches the percent of Americans with those respective faiths, one group is seriously under-staffed.
A Religious State
As I stated above, there is one group that is very much ignored in congress and in politics in general, Atheists. Although the Pew Research Center shows that Atheists make up 1/6 of America, which is more than all the American Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, Christian Scientists, Orthodox, Jehovah’s Witness, Mormons, Pietists, Anabaptists, Pentecostals, Quakers, Reformers, Adventists, Holiness, and Restorationists combined, there are ZERO proud Atheists in congress. Take a look for yourself:
There of course is a reasonable explanation for this. With most of the public and those in positions of power being true believers, it would be political suicide to come out as an Atheist.
Though many people would disagree, this is not a Christian nation by design. The founding fathers intended for a secular republic, and as such, there should be a separation between church and state affairs. Unfortunately, the secular among us are not represented in the government, and the faithful who are have let their faiths bleed into social and scientific discussions, mostly where they do not belong (stem cells, climate change, teaching the fact of evolution, etc.).
Science-Based Life 