When It Comes to Intolerance, Religious People are the Worst

 

This is staggering.

Nearly half of Americans would NOT vote for a non-believer.

Ponder what this actually means. Just imagine all the great thinkers and problem solvers –past and present– who would be instantly excluded from high office and public service. Scientists. Writers. Philosophers. Doctors. Diplomats. Entertainers. Do an online search on “famous atheists” and see the list of names. You might be surprised.

Conversely, look at the innumerable numbers of felons, perverts, pedophiles, grifters, and assorted scumbags who have been actually been elected to and are still in office — the overwhelming majority of them people who cling to religion, starting with the current occupier of the White House. I’m willing to bet a sizable percentage of those who answered they’d *never* vote for an atheist enthusiastically cast their ballots (in multiple elections) for Trump. If a presidential candidate isn’t singing Jesus’s Greatest Hits (even when it’s all an act), that’s an automatic NO vote for nearly half the nation.

As a non-believer let me just say this is, well, unbelievable.

To be clear, this poll was conducted in Michigan only, which is fairly representative of the rest of America. I suspect that if these poll questions were asked in many Southern states, the percentages of bigotry and stupidity would be even higher. They would certainly be above 50 percent when applied to the two biggest boogymen — atheists and Muslims.

Yes indeed, this is a nation of hateful bigots. There, I said it. Because it’s true. The data proves it. Many of our elected officials preach it.

The other categories listed in the poll also ring alarm bells. Muslims face nearly equal measures of intolerable rejection. Frankly, I don’t like *any* political candidate with strong religious allegiances. Anyone who truly believes in talking snakes and the “divine prophecy” of cataclysmic end times makes me shudder and shouldn’t be in any position of authority. But let’s also acknowledge that we non-believers have no other options than to support religious candidates who dodder to invisible imaginary sky wizards and adhere to ancient fairy tale superstitions. So long as a faithful Christian (or any religious official) keeps our government secular and is capable of solving our problems, their personal and private opinions on spiritual questions do not matter. Nor should they. The same standards apply both ways, including to atheists and Muslims. Of course, we don’t get that tolerance from the other side, as this poll proves.

I must also address two more groups identified in this poll. Look at the percentages of Michiganers (ne Americans) who refuse to vote for a Jewish person — a whopping 20 percent. Just wow. I’m no fan of Israel and its horrible policies, but that’s just blatant anti-semitism.

The strangest response of all is the 7 percent of respondents who said they would not vote for a Christian. Sure, it would be great if far more non-Christians would run for public office. But also let’s keep things real. If you don’t vote for any Christians, then you likely aren’t voting at all. It’s nearly impossible to NOT vote for a Christian candidate in America.

There are several takeaways from the religious and political views illustrated in this poll. Sadly, all of them are deeply troubling and quite discouraging.

Read More:  “Why Won’t Religion Just Leave Us Alone?”