Why it matters that 7 states still have bans on atheists holding office

A person running for office who is an atheist would be the only one who could sue. The outcome would be an interesting case.

I’d like to someone ask, just once, Mike Pence or someone like him, which is the law of the land, the Bible or the constitution? Seems like like they are at odds

Pence's book is called "So Help Me God".

these bans on atheists holding public office should be challenged.

They are clearly unconstitutional.

If SCOTUS has already said that it can’t be enforced… who can be harmed by it?

About a test for public office. I could see the Supremes claiming that a total ban, not even allowing a known atheist to run for office, would be different. You never know with this court what they will do. They may hear a case where they rule banning nonbelievers is up to the states. Maybe a religious corporation like Hobby Lobby could want to ban atheist and bring a case.

These anti-atheist clauses in state constitutions remind me of the anti-abortion clauses in state constitutions.They mean nothing until the Supremes change the law.

…lose their minds, I find myself wondering if only agnostics and atheists should be allowed to hold office. We don’t try to force our beliefs or lack thereof on others.

Unfortunately, not enough people seem to be able to live their faith the way President Biden does, personally, without needing to insist that everyone think the same way they do.

…faith sustains and comforts him, but he is not threatened by those who believe differently.

I often think that those who loudly proclaim that their faith is so strong that they cannot bear to be around anything that is not in complete agreement with their own beliefs are actually showing a basic weakness in their faith. If it were as strong as all that, shouldn’t it buffer and strengthen them as President Biden’s seems to.

And if the supreme being in whom they believe is as all powerful as they claim, does he/she/it really need so many self-appointed agents here on Earth?

...a great deal over my 71 years on the planet.

I've always wondered, even as a kid being force fed Catholicism, why does an all powerful being needs, demands and threatens us, to be worshipped.

Why does a super duper power need our worship?

I helped bring our children into this world and I never expected them to worship me. Why would a god want worship? Sounds like gods are very insecure.

...god's image seems quite backwards to me. Humans have made their gods in their own image - petty, vain, and vengeful. Nothing superior or worship-worthy about that.

Even during my relatively brief involvement with Christianity in late high school (late 1960s), I was never comfortable with the exclusivity of Christianity. I was completely unable to go out and "witness" or ask people to accept Jesus as their lord and savior. The whole "No one gets to the Father except through me" never sat well with me. What about people who never had the opportunity to hear about Jesus, for a wide variety of reasons - are they doomed because of lack of information? My way or the highway doesn't cut it.

I like to think that if a supreme power exists, and has an important message to impart, wouldn't he/she/it be wise enough and compassionate enough to present that message in a variety of ways? Especially if he/she/it is likened to a loving parent. There were many things I wanted to teach our sons, now 30 and 32, when they were young. If I had only one way to explain something important, and they didn't seem to get it, was I just going to give up, or would I keep at it until I found the explanation that resonated with them? Obviously, the latter.

I had much the same approach in my job. If I was trying to explain to a parent how to manage their child's illness, and I could tell it wasn't clicking with them, was I just supposed to say, "Oh well, too bad. You're on your own"? Certainly not. I would keep at it until I saw that little light of understanding in their eyes.

Gods are the image of humanity. Sad to say.