When Will We Have an Atheist President? [View all]

[rug]

July 7, 2014
By Adam Lee

So far this year, a rightward-leaning Supreme Court has issued two major rulings granting sweeping new privileges to religious belief. Atheists and secularists in America are angry and frustrated, and it’s natural to wonder when we’ll have a government that heeds our wishes. Is there any prospect of an atheist president any time soon, or a nonbeliever in some other high political office?

My message, to atheists and friends of secularism, is that there’s reason to hope. It won’t be next election cycle or even next decade, but things may change faster than we think.

The most underappreciated fact about the future of American politics is that the so-called Millennial generation, born between 1982 and 2000, is both the biggest (yes, bigger than the Baby Boomers) and least religious generation in American history. It seems likely that they’re on the leading edge of the same secularizing shift that’s already happened in Europe and other First World countries, as religion ceases to be an overwhelmingly important part of daily life. Higher levels of education are playing a part in this, but it’s likely that, in America at least, it’s also a reaction against the way politically aggressive fundamentalism has made religion synonymous with a particular harsh and intolerant political outlook.

As the younger, more secular demographics grow into adulthood and replace more religiously homogeneous voters, blatant appeals to religion will begin failing as a campaign tactic. We’re already seeing the first encouraging signs of this – the 2006 U.S. midterm elections were swung by independent voters, of which the non-religious are a major bloc; and atheist-bashing political ads have failed to turn the tide in elections, to say nothing of the non-religious’ overwhelming support for Barack Obama in two elections – but it hasn’t happened often enough or obviously enough to really catch politicians’ attention.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/daylightatheism/2014/07/when-will-we-have-an-atheist-president/