Posted on 09/19/2013 1:00:02 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Americans who count themselves among the "nones" — as in atheists, agnostics or those of no definite religious affiliation — have launched a new political action committee.
The goal? To support the election of like-minded lawmakers or, at a minimum, candidates committed to upholding the constitutional separation between church and state.
"The Freethought Equality Fund will work to elect the nones ... in addition to those who will work for our rights so we can finally have the representation in Congress we deserve," said Maggie Ardiente of the American Humanist Association, at a Washington news conference Wednesday where the new PAC was rolled out.
Besides giving the growing percentage of Americans who identify as "nones" an opportunity to elect more candidates who share their values, the new political action committee's creators hope it will help stiffen the backbones of lawmakers who they believe are too afraid to openly state their skepticism and doubts about the existence of a divine author of the universe.
"We already know of more than two dozen closeted atheists serving in Congress today," Ardiente said. "The fact that they're in the closet about their nonbelief says a lot about why this PAC is greatly needed. The time to come out is now and the Freethought Equality Fund will help make it happen."
Humanists believe cultural trends are ever more favoring them. The percentage of Americans identifying as nonreligious has grown to about 20 percent of the population.
Of course, the flip side is that the vast majority of Americans still subscribe to religion. Despite setbacks, like the ban on prayer in public school classrooms or the Kitzmiller v. Dover decision in which a federal court determined that intelligent design could not be taught as science to public school students, those who like their government with a lot of religion have had many victories. Among them: getting "In God We Trust" added to U.S. currency and the wall of the House chamber, and "under God" attached to the Pledge of Allegiance.
The uphill slog to elect a more secular Congress has to start somewhere, so the new PAC's creators have chosen to begin by supporting five congressional candidates. The group includes two sitting House members: Reps. Bobby Scott of Virginia and Rush Holt of New Jersey, both Democrats.
While their first endorsement list has a decidedly Democratic Party tilt, the PAC's organizers hope to support Republicans, too.
"We're actively looking for all candidates regardless of their affiliation who will protect the separation of church and state and defend civil liberties," said the ironically named Bishop McNeil, the Freethought Equality Fund PAC's coordinator. "[But] based on our 2013 scorecard that we just completed, there are currently no Republicans in the House that would fit that."
So what’s the atheist view on candidates like Biden or Pelosi who claim to be Christian but actually worship Satan?
Good luck with that. Let them try, it’s still barely a free country.
Good luck with that Atheists. The MAJORITY of Americans DO believe in God. They may not practice the same religion, but the belief in a higher power still exists.
Those who are atheists, are so, because they know if they admit there is a higher power, then they’d have to answer to their conscience for all the wrongs they enjoy.
This is great. They will split the Democrat party.
The God haters are starting to become a real PITA. I knew this was going to happen when Obama started causing people to lose their jobs. Now that the government is buying their food and healthcare, the bottom feeders don’t have anything better to do.
Why not? It didn’t hurt the people of the Soviet Union or China to have atheist leaders.
Who the hell does this? I have never encountered a group who cared so deeply and passionately about something they don’t believe in.
“constitutional separation between church and state.”
Not in the constitution, that was a court decision, morons.
How will they spit the party that hates God?
“We already know of more than two dozen closeted atheists serving in Congress today,”
Reminds me of homosexuals who seem to think everyone else is like them, but lying about it.
New World Order stuff.
Good luck with your PAC.
I wonder if they will find a lot of supporters among libertopians
How do they feel about the separation of mosque and state?
Does anybody remember the democrats EXCLUDING God from their platform?
In 2008, the platform read (emphasis added), “We need a government that stands up for the hopes, values, and interests of working people, and gives everyone willing to work hard the chance to make the most of their God-given potential.”
With the words “God-given” removed, the 2012 platform sticks to a more secular script: “We gather to reclaim the basic bargain that built the largest middle class and the most prosperous nation on Earth – the simple principle that in America, hard work should pay off, responsibility should be rewarded, and each one of us should be able to go as far as our talent and drive take us.”
In the end, the Democratic platform doesn’t mention the words “God” or “Lord” even one time. In contrast, the GOP platform mentions God 12 times. A simple comparison to past years’ platforms shows a disparity. In 2008, the Democrats had only one mention (the aforementioned ”God-given”), but in 2004, God was mentioned seven times.
Later, when this was discovered, they hastily convened in the September 2012 convention.
Convention chairman Antonio Villaraigosa gaveled in day two of the Democratic Convention, the hall burst into chaos as Democrats voted to amend their party’s platform to now include the word “God” and name Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Villaraigosa had to call the vote three times. The first two voice votes, which require a two-thirds majority to pass, were tied between “ays” and “nos.” On the third vote it was still hard to tell whether he “ays” were audibly louder than the “nays” in the half-full arena.
When Villaraigosa announced “the ays have it,” loud boos erupted across the arena.
An Obama campaign official said Obama personally requested that “God” be put back into the platform.
The changes came after Republicans spent the morning criticizing Democrats for removing Jerusalem and God from their platform, which was adopted during the start of the convention on Tuesday. The Republican platform mentions God 12 times.
I am unsure as of today whether the ays really outnumbered the nays.
That is close to my view: What makes them different from electing Democrats who apparently reject God if the cheers at their convention is any evidence. I will not say that Pelosi and Biden worship Satan, but the ‘faith’ they vocalize is in contradiction to what they should believe if they are like faithful Catholics whom I know.
see main article and posts 2, 16 & 17
Too Late!
It’s called the Democrat Party!
to upholding the constitutional separation between church and state.
So tired of this NONSENSE. The Constitution ONLY forbids the Government from Establishing a “State” Religion to the exclusion of other religions. It does not say that religion is not allowed in Government. Any reading of the writers and signers of the Constitution will see that those folks definitely allowed religion in their daily work of Government in on their daily lives.
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