Jim Henderson <nos### [at] nospamcom> wrote:
> Distrust of atheists is high enough that most people won't vote for a 
> politician who says they're an atheist.  Hell, Barney Frank - the first 
> openly gay US senator - came out as an atheist only *after* he retired.  
> It was safer (for his career) for him to be out as gay than out as an 
> atheist.

Something like 20 or 30 years ago it was basically a political suicide
in the United States to openly declare your religion, because that would
have driven away at least half of your voters.

"Oh, he's a Catholic. Those aren't even real Christians! I'm certainly
not voting for him!"

"Oh, he's a Pentecostal. Those are crazy cultists! I'm not voting for him!"

"Oh, he's a Mormon..."

At some point this got changed and reverse. Nowadays it's a political
suicide to *not* declare your religion. You can be even a Mormon and
still have a good chance at precidency. Even Christians who completely
abhor mormonism (with its teachings about multiple gods, how people
become gods, baptizing for the dead, temple rituals etc.) will actually
try to find excuses and rationalize how it's not that bad. At least they
believe in God... (or at least a slightly similar version of God than
the more traditional one. Let's just pretend that mormonism doesn't
teach that God has a wife etc...)

-- 
                                                          - Warp

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