Generally speaking I admire Penn Jillette for a couple of reasons. The one I admire him most for is his uncompromising and well-reasoned world-view (although we definitely disagree on some subjects). Here he is, making more of his thought-process and wisdom available. This time, it’s on religion, politicians, and religious behavior of elected officials.
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November 21, 2011 at 11:30 am
You know, it’s an interesting “fact” among all people that an atheist could never be elected to high office. But I wonder. I mean, prior to 2008, it was a given that someone who isn’t white couldn’t be elected to the Presidency. Maybe the real problem is that no prominent politicians have admitted to being atheists and then given it a shot. Be mighty interesting to see what would happen if one of them did.
November 21, 2011 at 10:26 pm
I think it corresponds to the closeting that happened in Hollywood during the Hayes code years – and that still lingers today. It’s getting better, slowly. I think the same will be true of atheism in the political sphere.