I don't believe in any of this shit. Probably a good 5% of people are similarly atheistic and another 25% are functionally atheist. We have zero (open) representation in any level of government.
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There's the Congressional Freethought Caucus. Still extremely underrepresented vs. population, though. freethoughtcaucus-huffman.house.gov
jul 28, 2025, 5:38 pm • 1 0 • view
My Rep in Congress is a member, and one of my prior Reps in Congress was also a member. The Secular Coalition for Arizona used to have a full-time lobbyist to the state legislature.
jul 28, 2025, 5:44 pm • 0 0 • view
It's almost taboo to suggest that maybe religious organizations should not receive special status in society. That they should just pay taxes like everyone else, and be treated like any old special interest.
jul 28, 2025, 5:32 pm • 145 10 • view
They should be treated like any other non profit, I think. For some time their special status made sense because they had the handicap of not being able to take government grants in many states but that’s been washed away
jul 28, 2025, 5:36 pm • 13 0 • view
At least you don't have an established national church which is funded directly from tax money, like we have here :Þ
jul 29, 2025, 7:48 am • 0 0 • view
Where they take government grants, there's usually a fair degree of accountability on what they do with the money. I wouldn't tax churches, but I would require them to submit full tax returns showing whether donations are going to charitable works or private jets.
jul 28, 2025, 5:55 pm • 2 1 • view
I'm just saying "please shut up about your sky wizard" is a perfectly understandable attitude when you, a non-believer, are forced to spend decades showing deference to this bullshit, and in some cases having it shoved down your throat from every direction.
jul 28, 2025, 5:34 pm • 123 9 • view
is it understandable: yes should it probably be sublimated to "don't be a dick": also yes
jul 28, 2025, 5:36 pm • 4 0 • view
Yeah, but what counts as "being a dick" is sort of what's up for discussion here. I think it's "being a dick" to invoke religious belief as a politician, because it's intentional exclusionary towards those who do not share those religious beliefs, even in basic contours.
jul 28, 2025, 5:38 pm • 9 0 • view
It's hard to understand I think for most Americans, because even non-christians are typically monotheistic, but imagine that the US had a significant population of people who worshiped the stars. It would be pretty offensive to prattle on about "God" to those people.
jul 28, 2025, 5:39 pm • 6 0 • view
on the scale of politician dickishness? such a nothingburger that i don't know that it really makes a ripple. (i say this as a non-observant jew bordering atheist myself. i get the impulse.)
jul 28, 2025, 5:41 pm • 3 0 • view
That doesn't mean it's politically optimal. It's not. If you want to win elections, you probably shouldn't say that sort of thing. But I think we show a lot more tolerance than is expected of any other religious minority.
jul 28, 2025, 5:36 pm • 98 4 • view
The worst of it, in my lifetime, was the bush administration. Peak evangelical power, and also the height of the debate over whether gay people should get to just be normal people. I got very tired of being told that it was “religious bigotry” for gay people to want rights.
jul 28, 2025, 5:54 pm • 14 0 • view
Ironically Bush was a big time God-botherer and he imposed his religious ideas on policy (even leaving aside claims he thinks God told him to invade Iraq), but his speeches included the word 'Atheist' as part of lists of faith communities deserving consideration, much more than his own father's did.
jul 28, 2025, 6:13 pm • 8 1 • view
I always suspected that W was personally close to an atheist.
jul 28, 2025, 6:53 pm • 1 0 • view
His father said he didn't think you could be both an atheist and a patriotic American. Imagine saying that about Muslims or Jews
jul 28, 2025, 6:51 pm • 6 1 • view
I've heard that about both all my life, and especially about the latter.
jul 28, 2025, 6:53 pm • 4 0 • view
100% agree and today was pretty eye opening seeing how large the backlash is on Bluesky to atheists objecting to religion in politics. This is a totally valid belief that people can hold
jul 28, 2025, 9:49 pm • 2 0 • view
*scrambles to table, knocking over furniture on my way to post* GOD IS GLONZO
jul 28, 2025, 5:47 pm • 42 2 • view
*youth pastor voice* you know who else liked to chew on power lines?
jul 28, 2025, 6:16 pm • 26 0 • view
Even ignoring the power of actual religious institutions, it’s fucking nuts that we’re supposed to live in a Democracy under leaders and among voters who will tell you point-blank how belief in God impacts their worldview and ideology and then never be allowed to question the source of those ideas.
jul 28, 2025, 7:25 pm • 3 0 • view
Yeah it's fine to be sick of Christianity as a dominating cultural hegemony. I hate that that's what counts as antitheism in the modern zeitgeist, instead of like, trying to get Israel and Iran to blow each other off the map.
jul 28, 2025, 5:45 pm • 0 0 • view
Yeah I was really think we’d see a huge divergence and adoption after the Catholic Church’s massive and ongoing abuse of children, but nope, apparently that is not a bridge to far for the majority of the degenerates that is humanity. I guess a consolation prize is how ‘non-religious’ is growing.
jul 28, 2025, 6:06 pm • 2 0 • view
believing in Glonzo is a bipartisan requirement to hold federal office and i'm somehow supposed to be okay with that
jul 28, 2025, 6:47 pm • 8 0 • view
In my unscientific observation, with the ever-increasing scandals and now with churches legal ability to endorse candidates and openly contribute to their campaigns, that taboo is fast collapsing.
jul 29, 2025, 9:58 am • 0 0 • view
I seem to recall past polls asking people whether they would be OK with their adult child marrying a member of a specific group. Atheist ranked dead last, just behind Muslim and far below the level of any of the racial or ethnic groups
jul 28, 2025, 5:35 pm • 9 0 • view
I think there was a similar poll done indicating parents would rather have their child be gay than be an atheist
jul 28, 2025, 5:38 pm • 3 0 • view
While in a lot of ways I don't care that much, we're expected to be magnanimous constantly in the face of being told we're incapable of morality, that the only path to doing good things is through belief in god, etc. But if we say " seems unlikely to be true", we're the asshole.
jul 28, 2025, 5:35 pm • 16 1 • view
What is the distinctive interest that atheists have which is currently lacking representation? Is it just the tax thing?
jul 28, 2025, 6:53 pm • 0 0 • view
Liberals and leftists love clapping like a seal every time someone says “I’m religious… but I don’t hate gay people!” or “Jesus would want us all to be communists.”
jul 28, 2025, 5:34 pm • 12 0 • view
Many of them, even the atheistic ones, forget accepting this is a trade they make because redistributism or social equality is *that good* and so available by any means necessary (or even because politeness and goodwill are that good) -- a *trade*, not some replacement proof of God
jul 28, 2025, 5:38 pm • 1 0 • view
Jared Huffman CA-2 fwiw.
jul 28, 2025, 5:49 pm • 1 0 • view