5 Reasons Why There Isn’t More Atheist Representation in Congress
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- Опубликовано: 3 июл 2024
- 5 Reasons Why There Isn’t More Atheist Representation in Congress
Hemant Mehta (www.friendlyatheist.com, / hemant , / friendlyatheist )
Let's talk about something political that has nothing to do with Donald Trump. Okay, just a little.
The current Congress -- everyone in the House and Senate -- doesn't have a single open atheist. Only one Congress member, Rep. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, is “unaffiliated,” and even her staff has said she feels the label of “atheist” is “not befitting of her life’s work.”
A common reaction to this news, when it was first reported in January, was that atheists are merely underrepresented in Congress. Strictly looking at the numbers, this is true. Americans without organized religion make up about 23% of the country, according to the Pew Research Center, but have only 0.2% representation on Capitol Hill. That more than a hundred-fold difference. (This ignores the 10 politicians who chose not to answer the religion question.) Christians, on the other hand, are 71% of the country but 90.7% of Congress.
So why does this continue to happen? Why aren’t there more - or should I say any - open atheists in Congress? Let me offer a few theories…
1) We don’t vote
According to The Atlantic, the “Nones” were approximately a quarter of the population over the past several years, but we made up only 12% of the electorate in both 2012 and 2014. We’re not electing people like us because we’re not electing people, period.
I should mention we don't have numbers specifically on atheists. Just the Nones, which is a much larger group that includes anyone and everyone who doesn't belong to an organized religion.
Despite our percentage gains as a group over the past decade, our voter turnout has remained frustratingly steady. And while the Religious Right is growing smaller, they remain as engaged as ever. It’s that sort of apathy on our side that gives them so much power.
2) We don’t vote as a bloc
3) We would never listen to someone telling us how to vote
4) We don’t have atheist candidates to choose from
5) Atheist candidates wouldn’t necessarily have a “pro-atheism” platform
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When he said "nones" I thought he was saying "nuns"
I WAS LITERALLY ABOUT TO COMMENT THIS 😂
me too
same XD
Benlikesdamusic me too
That's the joke.
"Under god" wasn't in the original version of the pledge of allegiance anyway. And thanks to religious stupidity it was added and now makes our pledge controversial. Its the only part of it anyone ever objects to. Hell I got kicked out of high school for refusing to stand for the pledge. Thanks Eisenhower
I just don't say the pledge. I just stand up basically.
greenbannanna123 same
Rob I'm not much of a nationalist so I wouldn't say it anyway. The words betray my true feelings. I won't pledge allegiance to any nation but I will fight for the future of the human race, wherever it's found. I think the whole concept of a pledge like that is divisive and detrimental.
Rob in 3rd grade I told my teacher this and she started fighting me about it, the next day I brought in an essay, with links to evidence, and my opinion about it.
Toasted🍞
*Obama. it's all Obama.
*Basically anyone can claim to be a Christian, and people believe it without examining their actions*
Möhveli Pärisee they're believers for a reason ;)
Möhveli Pärisee päriseekö?
Möhveli Pärisee I guess you could say there "beliebers"
hahaha haha😂
sure. the key folk is claim. when ever you here that word screen real loud ok.
It's called 'Gulability'
It's how pastors become rich as fuck, by exploiting it. Hence why I could never become one myself.
Atheists shouldn't stand behind a singular candidate, vote as you wish
But voting for someone whom you know can't win or just abstaining doesn't help you. You also need to vote smart.
How can you "vote smart" when both leading candidates are unqualified? You should still vote for one of them? Now that would be stupid. Even an atheist like me would start to believe in -hell-. I'm sorry. It's actually the "Underworld;" hell is where fallen angels go, such as Lucifer.
Point 5 is the most important. There is no "we" in atheism. There's just a bunch of folks who decided that religion is untrue. That is hardly a unifying ideology on which to build a political movement. You might as well build a voting block out of people who don't have mustaches.
I have a mustache.
Why does he assume all atheists are democrats? There are a lot of libertarian atheists.
Khaine's Lair oh thanks
+Khaine's Lair
except for the fact that it improves every bodies lives
first page of an economics textbook will do the trick
Atheists tend to be very liberal.
I have a suggestion on a series you should do going through the bible chapter by chapter quote by quote, saying what was wrong with that chapter and how in today's age evidence is not there to support the bible
Steve Casarrubias that's what guys from the Bible Reloaded do on their channel. While I like to listen Hemant's comments a lot, it is his ability to present condensed knowledge what gives him credit. Besides the Bible gets quite boring in the meantime between all that totallty cool and justified murder and rape. So it requires putting some comedy.
the bible reloaded does that. they are fucking awesome!!
Steve Casarrubias Nice ant though
that would be god damm boring
Hemant cannot answer how DNA can store the operating system he is using. That's ok, Aron Ra can't either. In fact, neither can Richard Dawkins. The sad part is it means the deductions are a waste of time as those 3 won't understand them. They only know all about 1700's rhetoric - and not better than me...
Some great insight there Hemant. I always appreciate when the numbers get involved. Keep it up!
Why does religion have to be an issue in a secular country? It shouldn't matter if they were true believers in the constitution.
It shouldn't be an issue. But it is an issue.
stitcher64 true
It's the same people who read through Bible, see "no clothing of multiple fabric = sin" and say "nonsence!", then they see "man with man = sin" and say "See? See??? Can't deny that! It's written right there clear as day!"
Now imagine these people reading the constitution the same way. Bigots are bigots every day of the week, not just on sundays.
It's not an issue though. It's only a issue to you guys. Lol. The day we have atheist being represented in congress, the day the country loses grace more qucikly.
k
Great video. A must watch.
when he said we could have voted for Hillary, I laughed and stopped watching
Khaine's Lair idk, I'm I'm assuming its better than the WW3 (started primarily by no fly zones) we would have had with Clinton. Not saying I like trump. Just saying Clinton is shit and I would take anything over her, including Trump. Be grateful there isn't a war going on right now and honestly trump is doing a pretty good job so far.
What about Trump's presidency makes you think he's doing a good job?
I'm only being half sarcastic, I'm actually curious.
SkiDaBird are we alive... point proven... we might all be dead with Hillary.
That's ridiculous and you know it. Give me a real argument.
SkiDaBird Hillary would have put a no fly zone over Syria, causing ww3. I would rather take my chances with trump. besides he has not been a bad president, bringing real change (failing to drain the swamp) soo far I can not criticize him on much. why do u not like him?
"what are you, the atheist pope?"
To be fair, I've seen some religious people who think he's just that.
Who do we vote for?
Our favorite Theist?
This dude needs to upload more I enjoy these videos
Good job Hemant! :) I really like your approach and opinions, I learnt a lot :)
Greetings from Slovakia :)
FInally, a video worthy of this channel. I think it's the first one this year...
thanks Hemant!
Good job. You helped me change my mind.
At my private school we are required to do community service. But do you think public schools should require it too? I'm just curious what you might say
Voting for the establishment candidate that's owned by the less offensive head of the corporate party isn't strategically smart. It's religiously stupid. I wrote-in Bernard Sanders. Supporting the "lesser evil" is not only not good enough. It's bad.
I Love listening to your vídeos, you are so awesome !!!
That book cover is amazing!
Well said video
I'm atheist. I would never avoid voting for an openly atheist candidate, but it would be way down on my list when deciding which candidate I would vote for. Hell, I lie about my religious beliefs when it benefits me, so I don't hold it against candidates. Furthermore, lying about religious beliefs is not as bad as many of the things most of the politicians lie about.
you hit the nail on the head
I wanna know your view on (Feron ,Ramesses 2) body found in sea(preserved) and how is it possible that i just know about Quran state that "Today we will preserve your body so you can be a Sign for people who come after you" a long time ago?How it is possible a holy book in which you dont believe is so confirmed about a body which will be found in future and it would remain preserved without any mummification?just reply or make video. I will be waiting for your answer.
Thanks as always Hemant. Motivating the herd of Atheist cats is something we activists struggle with...especially in the highly non-religious New England states.
If Richard Dawkins told all atheists to vote for Hillary he would look kind of like an idiot even if he did live in America especially if it was in the primary, when Bernie was still an option.
Does Hemant have a teleprompter?
How about people don't vote based on whether the candidate is a non-smoker or not? In my neck of the woods, the openly atheist candidate was apparent garbage compared to the openly Christian candidate, and that judgement wasn't based even a little upon their faith or lack of.
I think a lot of people posted based on the title of this video not on the actual content.
I'd love to see a video with you and jacklynglen debating how you approach atheism and argue for reason.
I'm not sure where we disagree on approach...
Hemant Mehta you tend to be much kinder.
Hemant, I turn 18 in September and I am eager to support atheism and church state separation. How can I do this on a local or federal level with such dismal representation?
what do you think about the exorcism? i would like that you talk about it
Smoke and mirrors, doing much harm and no good. Epilepsy, Tourette's, major depression or other physical and psychological maladies won't be cured by holy water and a prayer, but can feed some massive delusions.
Truer words were never spoken...
I think another problem is nones focus on the ideal political system in a nonpartisan rather than the issue that stands now
I thought there was a Congressman who said he was.
I'm happy to be as a citizen of Japan.
We don't have to deal with stupid religion in politics. (well, in sort of...)
I love the religious attitudes in Japan, one of the reasons I almost made it my permanent home. Japan was the first place I ever prayed. It was at a Shinto shrine. I didn't ask for guidance, good luck, money, or even world peace. I took advantage of the quiet, shizuka atmosphere to focus on the natural world, a kind of conscious of the tao, and concentrate on my appreciation of my good fortune. Japan has two spiritual traditions: Buddhism and Shinto. Buddhism recommends ways to live better with your self; Shinto teaches a respect for nature and its cycles and interdependence.
I was in a club on campus called SSA. Secular Student Alliance. We had about 20% conservative voters. A couple of these people are some of my closest friends now and I am fairly liberal. This and other things from that club made me realize that it's difficult to group people by something they do not believe in. We connect on the lack of belief in gods but every other belief could be opposing. Though this is where good talks about politics came from as well. In the club anyway. A lot of atheist FB groups and blogs just bash religion. I don't believe in them I don't wanna talk about them all the time, lol.
Huh,, what about Bernie????
Richard Reddick What about him?
I was a participant in a worldwide online political forum. From the political left, I argued against my right-wing, conservative Republican opponents on many issues. While most of my leftist cohorts were atheists, quite a few of the conservatives were as well. I learned then that atheism was not one of the issues that necessarily follow party lines.
Omg nothing news , in my ears , love you respect !
I thought he said NUNS at first and was SO confused XD
In the beginning there was
Atom and Eve.
A lot of this argument goes under the assumption that no atheists voted for Donald trump. But in relation to unorganization of atheist as a group, it's hard to gauge exactly what the numbers would be
The only thing that is going to make a difference to change that "political poison" thing, is people getting to know those of us in their lives that are atheist and realizing we share many values. It will take time, and at 56, I am unlikely to see it occur in my own lifetime. There are a number of atheists running for midterm offices here in Texas, including Aron Ra. One person that is running in my own district for a US house seat is saying he is a humanist/unitarian. He knows it is a still a political curse to say atheist, but I suspect if he becomes a serious competitor, the incumbent will quickly and publicly connect the dots. They are making themselves seen, however, and that is the first step.
Great video. I agree with you on many points.
However, I heavily disagree with your point about people missing the "bigger picture" when it comes to voting. The thinking that we need to fall in line and vote for the democrat, regardless of any objections to them, is rather silly to me. I think THAT misses the bigger picture more than anything else in terms of what your vote is supposed to mean. I vote my conscience as the Founding Fathers intended. I'm not sorry.
And while reading your face when you said "[w]e're too damn stupid to see the bigger picture," I picked up an emotional investment in your words. I'm assuming you've had some very contentious discussions with people on this topic?
I was going to comment this exact thought. Group think is an nasty mentality to take on - even if engaging in group think may be more "productive" in terms of electing a particular group, it's absolutely ineffective when put in regards to individual issues that, put simply, a two-party system does not cover at all.
Moreover, while I feel Hemant's intentions are in a well-meaning place, considering all atheists or non-believers as left or liberal is somewhat flawed. While it's true that perhaps the majority of atheists are politically to the left of the spectrum, atheism isn't a political platform - and thus I have met some very conservative atheists throughout my life.
Don't feel ashamed for voting for the issues you believe in - I was quite tempted to vote for Jill Stein, but ultimately voted for Clinton due the perceived notion that it was going to be a close race between her and Trump in Ohio (as we found out, a 10 point gap certainly showed us that Ohioans didn't associate themselves at all with Clinton), and I immediately regretted voting that direction.
The time to make change is not on Nov 8 every 4 years. it is years before that date. If you chose to not vote you are effectively voting for someone who will enforce the opposing views you have. Election night is about voting for the best of the worst options, because you will NEVER get someone who completely lines up with you ideologically. So he is 100% correct in you not seeing the bigger picture. You are politically naïve is you think the correct answer ever is to not vote.
I don't agree with Hemant. Refusing to vote for the same democratic leaders every time, the millionaires, the corrupt, the ones who only say what's popular instead of what they believe in (a.k.a. Hillary Clinton) sends the message that people don't want a party which is going to piss on them on every election and just focus on the money and power. Falling in line and just voting the one THEY elect is just telling the party that you don't care about your leaders, so they can put any piece of shit in front of you and you will accept it.
It may have hurted in the short time losing the election, but refusing to vote for Clinton would have helped the party really embrace the liberal values the public expects from them, instead of just saying they do.
The Fore Fathers didn't want public vote. They wanted a republic.
And seeing this election year go to shambles, I am starting to agree with them.
And that's, of course, forgetting the fact that Hillary Clinton ran a terrible campaign to boot. Something Hemant didn't bring up is the fact Hillary DID win the popular vote; she got nearly 3 million votes while Trump didn't even come close to a million... but she didn't get the votes where they counted because she got arrogant and didn't even set foot in a lot of the states that were part of the Democratic Firewall.
That's also assuming everybody voted for Trump because they were falling in line when, in actuality, a lot of those people simply voted for Trump because he was speaking out against outsourcing jobs and a lot of those people came from depressed factory towns... it should also be noted quite a few DEMOCRATS flip-flopped on the party line and voted for Trump over Hillary, and a lot of those Democrats... are from those aforementioned depressed factory towns. You can sit here and shame people for not voting for Hillary all you want, but a lot of those people simply voted for Trump because they wanted to stop sending American jobs overseas and that was Trump's rhetoric throughout the campaign (it was also Bernie Sanders' rhetoric when he was running against Hillary Clinton and had the DNC just gone ahead with Bernie instead of trying to screw him at every turn, he probably would've won in a convincing fashion as the e-mails leaked by Wikileaks have shown us... you know, the same ones the DNC are trying to distract from by constantly shrieking "Russia" at every turn.)
Yeah, I'll admit, I voted 3rd party... because I live in a deep red state that was going to go to Trump regardless of who I voted for. Had I lived in one of those swing states, I would've bit my tongue and voted for Hillary, but to sit there and pretend there weren't more nuanced issues at play other than "you need to look at the big picture". Would Hillary have been better on, say, environmental issues? Absolutely. Would Hillary have been better on LGBT issues? Probably... even though it's come out she herself has problems with the LGBT community in her own way thanks to those e-mails that were leaked. Would Hillary have been better on trade issues? FUCK NO! She was in favor of TPP and Trump was against it and, to Trump's credit, he DID kill TPP (for now). And that last issue is, ultimately, what cost Hillary the election; that and her arrogance. Had she run a better campaign than she did and had the DNC just let things run naturally instead of trying to force the anointed queen as the candidate, we wouldn't have HAD to deal with President Donald Trump and would, instead, have President Bernie Sanders because Bernie literally kneecapped every single one of Donald Trump's strengths as a candidate.
I wish you could be in congress.
I agree with everything said. The other thing is that liberals generally don't stick together. Liberals fight each other as much as they fight conservatives. Conservatives for the most part stick together even as you said, they don't like their candidate.
On my 18th Birthday, my mother and grandmother made sure I registered to vote, by wrapping a Voter Registration application as a gift. Ive been voting for almost 21 years, I don't understand not voting, or for the third party candidate.
I'm not trying to be a, "Kiss-Ass" But you can't complain about something, and not vote your interest.
Hemant doesn't quite understand Moving the goalposts.
I’m an atheist, and I agree with most of this video. But you’re failing to see that the majority of the country doesn’t live in swing states, which are the only states where an individual’s vote actually shapes the outcome of an election. Living in a solid blue state, I see no reason to vote against my conscience when it’s already obvious who’s gonna win anyway. But for swing states, I agree with you.
Two I very simple answers to this question.
1:Theists represent the majority of american voters. Even though america wasn't founded on Christianity, yet most are apart of christian views.
2: Our political system isn't ready for an open atheist, mostly for the world's audience, just take a real serious guess as to how other countries would react if America elected an Atheist president.
I know this waa based on congressional representation, but the same would be sais for our 50 states. Our current leaders and big campaign Donators wouldn't allow it. At least in our lifetime. Better chance of a weak agnostic being elected than a publicly open atheist
We need atheists in Congress, but it doesn't have to be about their atheism.
7:55
Hemant mentioning that reminds me of that video he made explaining why he couldn't possibly vote for Trump (which, for the record, I pretty much entirely agreed with, even though I supported Bernie Sanders).
That video may have had the most horrible comments section I have seen on this channel.
I don't admit it out of fear. i live in the South
A Trump vote of a "strategically smart" vote? Holy FSM, there's a new definition of "stategically smart"!
Some things never change.
As an example the Catholic church is wealthy and very powerful.
I stopped caring about the election after Austin Petersen (an atheist Libertarian) didn't get the nomination.
I think teenagers now are a lot less religious. Every kid my age I've talked to is either very religious or not at all. The majority don't care or are atheists. I only have one religious friend. I know 5 religious kids.
Can I still call myself an atheist if I believe that there is something after death?
Niebieski Kroliczek, yes. Atheism is just a response to the question, "Do you believe in a god/gods?"
...was made aware the entanglement with others like minded was most important not the band of religion per say...
does anyone find it weird that a guy who is all powerful and knowing let his son die for our sins like we were gonna change
Just need to say, Jill Stein wasn't the reason Hilary lost to Trump. That is true for every state.
and i'm soooooo freaking happy that someone talks about atheism on youtube... now, when a person comes up to me and wants to know why i'm an atheist i can say go on youtube to : the atheist voice 😇 i mean look i'm 15 and i'm kurdish. everyone in my big family is an muslim except me. 👍🏽
Exactly right, especially about 3rd party candidates and not voting strategically!
What if some atheist strategically votes republican because they believe in the human rights of an unborn baby, or that giving tax breaks to gay couples is a burden on the state without it being an investment into the future since they can't have children? That would totally go against the premise of the argument in the video.
Is it strategic voting if you vote for someone who does the right thing for the wrong reasons or the wrong thing for the right reasons? I'm pretty sure it's the former...
I think we're just too moral to take office.
I'd say that Bernie Sanders is likely an atheist due to his response to Jimmy Kimmel's
"Do you believe in god," question.
I'm an atheist and I'm proud to have voted against HRC!
As an atheist, I am very upset that I've found out some Christians are born with the idea of believing in God: "The God gene hypothesis is the controversial hypothesis that proposes that a specific gene, called vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2), predisposes humans towards spiritual or mystic experiences." That is the reason why religions are strong and vivid despite the horrendous facts in the bible.
Nice glasses.
I would think being a Christian should be a liability.
I say we need a scientists as president who doesn't believe in religion but science
Nice haircut :3
would you vote for yourseft or vote for a change that can help other. love from ATHEIST
This must suck. Nobody cares in Europe.
thank you. i hope this will change at least some with the new less religious generations coming of age to vote in the next few elections.
we can think for our self but we just don't do a very good job of it........H.M.
The Russia war thing kind of killed Hillary for me though I don't know maybe it would have been worth it?
Did you know Turkey shot down a Russian plan over a year ago? Go type that into google right now because I am pretty sure you were not aware of it. Now explain to all of us how Clinton was going to start a war with Russia. Or, and I really hope you do this, start thinking for yourself.
Strategic voting should not exist. Change the voting process to the alt vote.
It would be very nice if we could vote third party; the electoral college is terrible, and First past the post is worse; we need a better voting system (like Australia) and to abolish the EC altogether
The true silent majority
He still at least has atheist in his name
When I turn 37 I'm going to run for president. Atheist President, anyone
why are you now wearing hipster glasses?
I'm rather surprised that you just called me "stupid" for not voting for Hillary Clinton. I'm an atheist. I'm a progressive (that's an understatement). I'm a critical thinker. And I honestly thought you were too. But the fact that you would call all people who disagree with you "stupid" -- it really leaves me speechless. Especially regarding someone as corrupt as HRC. If you're looking for someone to blame, you should direct your attention to the party which sabotaged its own populist candidate & rigged the election in favor of the only person capable of losing to Trump.
Speak for yourself Helmet!! I'm 81 , I vote.
Quite frankly I don't care but I got a chime in here. Do you think it adifference if had atheists in Congress? Do you think it would benefit society? Do you think it would change anything? The answer is no and here's why. There's always going to be arguments over bills ok. Regardless of background and religion. Everyone is equal. No person is higher or lower than the other. Listen you have every right to your opinion just as I do with mine.
Those damn nuns
As long as someone is a strong secularist, I don't care if they're a Christian, a Mormon, a Hindu, an Atheist, whatever. I'd rather vote for a progressive priest than a conservative Atheist.
I will say though, that there is bigotry against atheists running for public office. That does need to end. Religion should receive no preference for electability.
I think the reasoning in this video is kinda flawed. Why should I vote for Clinton if I genuinely think she would be worse than Trump? Just because I'm an atheist and other atheists are voting for Clinton? It seems like the gist of this video is that religious people tend to engage in groupthink more, and so they got their preferred candidate elected over atheists, who tend to have more nuanced beliefs and opinions. That's unfortunate, but there's nothing atheists can do or should do about it. It's up to the people who engage in groupthink to realize that and stop doing it.
One question. You said atheism is on the rise. One of the fastest growing groups out there. Then you said the real atheist numbers are significantly lower than represented (as other groups were mixed in). So is the latter false, or are you inflating your growth numbers to seem to be growing fast? Because, those mixed in groups are in both numbers. Seems you understand politics just fine.
The percentage of "Nones" (atheists, Agnostics, people who believe in God but have no religious affiliation, etc.) is on the rise. The percentage of atheists is growing, too, but very slowly. We're just a small proportion of the Nones.
Hemant Mehta
The joke is like a politician, the absolute numbers flex. So the growing fast claim is = all none groups & atheist. When you want to seem a beleaguered minority, you use the atheist alone number. They are just too often used interchangeably, without clear distinction.Like a politician, the numbers are clearly manipulated to your needs. Good on the reply, thanks. :)
1: most of the people who I know who are atheists are either openly or secretly libertarian or conservative
2: the atheist community often does pressure people to say they'll vote in a certain way, usually progressive, leading to a closet Tory effect.
3: atheists often don't put their lack of faith as their biggest issue, for many things like immigration, the economy, the second amendment and tax reform
4: atheists are localised, meaning most live in big cities in either liberal or progressive areas, like California, again, those who are atheists but not from those areas are closet atheists
Just a few points you didn't consider
Do you have any kind of data to back up your assertions?
It could be a selection bias, most atheists I know are left wing. I know there's a growth in right wing atheists on RUclips, but I'm pretty sure the pew research centre did a survey that said that the majority of American atheists defined themselves as progressive with some libertarian leanings.
For the closet atheists it's impossible to calculate for self evident reasons
As for their distribution I'd have to check although I do remember reading it somewhere, could be wrong
Bro your president takes Oath on a Bible and you say "5 Reasons Why There Isn’t More Atheist Representation in Congress" XD .. hello?
Look I know people are going hate me in the comments for saying this but I pray that God will show you the truth and that he will bless and forgive you yes I know you don't like Christians and I know your an atheist but I still will pray for you that God will save you and he besides you
Damn them Nuns. Damn them good.
TJ has been hit hard.
As if I would ever have voted for Hillary Clinton, like you say there is no atheist Pope and I decline to fall in line with who I "should" have voted for.
There's an underrepresentation of republican atheists especially. Like me.
do a video on ridiculous "evidences" that God exists given by theists