U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Photo: Joshua Lott/Getty Images
Atheists are the most despised minority in America; this is demonstrated most clearly by the fact that more people would be willing to vote for any other minority - Muslim, gay, female - than vote for an atheist for president. This discrimination is fueled by bigoted prejudices about atheists' values and morality, and you can tell a lot about a person's character based on whether they promote or oppose this bigotry. Sadly, John McCain is on record as supporting anti-atheist bigotry. According to John McCain, the most important thing which voters must take into consideration is whether a candidate will carry on "in the Judeo-Christian principled tradition."
Read More: John McCain on Secular Atheists: Is John McCain Bigoted Against Atheists?
Comments
McCain has quickly shed his “maverick” image and lurched far to the right to get the Republican nomination. For me, more than the social issues, were his lurches to the right on economic issues. He makes fiscally corageous and responsible votes against the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts for the rich, then says this year they need to made permanent! His anti-atheist bigotry doesn’t surprise me, either. He sounds like Huckabee and Romney on this issue.
No way I want McCain to be president.
Wow Austin, I think you’ve criticized every candidate now. If you don’t mind my asking (and I understand if you DO mind) who on Earth are you going to vote for? How will you even decide?
>his interview with beliefnet makes clear that people of all faiths are entitled to all the rights protected by the Constitution, including the right to practice their religion freely.
Except they should never, ever be considered for the office of president by the American people if they’re not going to back the Xian worldview.
>I think the number one issue people should make [in the] selection of the President of the United States is, ‘Will this person carry on in the Judeo Christian principled tradition
It’s no different than saying, “I totally support equality for people of all races–but when choosing a candidate for president, a person needs to consider whether or not the candidate will continue to support the preferencial policies toward and treatment of Caucasians that has always been part of our U.S. tradition.”
Wow.
411314:
You’re right–he has criticized every candidate. I can’t speak for Austin, but for most of my life, I never voted. I didn’t see the point of choosing between one dishonest corporate puppet or another.
One night I had the rare fortune to have dinner with a group that included the CEO of Dansk. We actually sat next to each other and had a lot to talk about. He held to a lot of conservative ideas that I very much disagreed with. I was younger, and more fired up than I am today, too. One point he made, though, really struck me. He explained that when he voted, he simply paired down the candidates to the ones most likely–in his view–to protect his interests. His biggest interest, of course, was his money. But that same idea works for anyone.
I don’t expect a candidate to be honest. I don’t expect a candidate to be clean/unfettered from corporate corruption and special interests. I don’t expect a candidate to be immune from the pressures of a majority constituency that might be VERY VERY wrong in what they want done.
So, what do I do? I pick the issues that are most important to me, and I focus on those. I look at how this or that candidate has voted in the past, and I sign up for information with associations who work to further those interests, to make it easier. They will let you know who is “for” or “against” what you’re for and against.
In one local election, I even downloaded a list from one group and brought it with me to the polls. I didn’t blindly vote for all the candidates on the list, however. Sometimes I had issues with candidate X on another front, and couldn’t support him/her even though they were “with me” on issue X (because more than one issue is important to me).
It’s not about finding the candidate that is going to be “for” everything I’m for. That’s impossible and would mean being paralyzed as a voter. It’s about finding the collective candidates who are most likely to support as much of what I support as I can find, and, basically, weeding out the most egregious of the bunch and voting _against_ them–even if their opponents aren’t my favorite people.
It takes some consideration. But it can be done if it’s important enough to the individual.
That’s sort of my take on it.
When it comes to the atheist issue, some candidate are more offensive (*Huckabee*) than others. I just have to judge the best I can. When someone makes statements saying people _should_ incorporate religion into government (like this quote from McCain), that’s not as bad as Huckabee’s comment that the Constitution should be revised to match the Bible. But it’s also not as good as another candidate declaring he has belief, but that the Constitution is the legal/binding basis for American policy and law.
As a black woman (and proud atheist) who has lived through the civil rights movement, I disagree with the following opinion:
“Atheists are the most despised minority in America.”
I know you are basing this from the recent survey about people not voting for an atheist for president, and yes I do know all too well that atheists are discriminated against.
However, I have experienced threats and acts of brutality because of the color of my skin. I have been denied jobs because of my race and gender.
So far, I have gotten into debates (usually polite) with theists. They don’t agree with me — but they have given no indication that they despise me as you say.
I would be more convinced if your evidence discussed “hate crimes” in America during the last decade. How many atheists have been the victim of criminal acts simply because of their beliefs?
Here are some stats from FBI.gov –
“Racial bias motivated crimes against 5,119 hate crime victims of single-bias incidents. Nearly 68 percent (67.9) of the victims were the object of an anti-black bias.”
Here’s more:
“n 2004, law enforcement agencies reported that there were 1,586 victims of crimes motivated by a religious bias (single-bias incidents only). Most (67.8 percent) were victimized because of an anti-Jewish bias. An anti-Islamic bias motivated offenses against 12.7 percent of victims, and an anti-Catholic bias provoked crimes against 4.3 percent. Victims of an anti-Protestant bias made up 3.0 percent of victims of hate crimes resulting from a religious bias; other religions, 9.3 percent; and multiple religions, group, 2.5 percent. The remaining 0.4 percent of hate crime victims were targeted because of the offender’s anti-Atheism or anti-Agnosticism bias.”
In small town North Carolina there is nothing worse than a Muslim, liberal or an atheist. I think this is true in many parts of the nation. What is so disheartening is that this sort of bigotry is not only tolerated but accepted. Obama has been called a Muslim and people like Ann Coulter call him by his middle name to feed the Muslim claim. The claim is adamantly denied and people are outraged about the dishonest propaganda but no one is raising the true issue of the matter… So what if he was Muslim! No one is bothering to confront the fact that all these people raising issue are bigots and spreading their hatred of non-judeo Christians over our national air waves and yet imus gets kicked off the air for saying nappy headed hos. Bigotry of any kind should not be taken lightly nor should it ever be tolerated.
Hi Austin,
Since females outnumber males in the USA, I was wondering whether you were perhaps referring to women in politics when in your article about McCain’s anti-atheist bigotry you called women a minority.
Bigots cannot commit a hate crime against you if they don’t know you are an atheist. Atheists can hide their atheism; few black people can pass for white.
No, I was referring to women generally. The term “minority” isn’t just used to refer to those with relatively lower numbers, but also those with relatively lower power.
“I have experienced threats and acts of brutality because of the color of my skin. I have been denied jobs because of my race and gender.
So far, I have gotten into debates (usually polite) with theists. They don’t agree with me — but they have given no indication that they despise me as you say.
I would be more convinced if your evidence discussed “hate crimes” in America during the last decade. How many atheists have been the victim of criminal acts simply because of their beliefs?”
I think when Austin said “most hated” he meant “hated by the most people”. Hate crimes are more an indication of who is hated most INTENSELY than who is hated MOST.