MyDD :: First member of Congress to openly announce nontheism

First member of Congress to openly announce nontheism

by Brian63, Mon Mar 12, 2007 at 10:38:42 AM EST

Details found at the Secular Coalition of America press release:

http://secular.org/news/pete_stark_07031 2.html

"Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.), a member of Congress since 1973, acknowledged his nontheism in response to an inquiry by the Secular Coalition for America (www.secular.org ). Rep. Stark is a senior member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee and is Chair of the Health Subcommittee."

This will hopefully be the first among many to be open about their secular beliefs.

Brian

Tags: Politics, Misc, Culture, Religion, atheism, Pete Stark, CA-13 (all tags)

Permalink :: 4 Comments :: Post a Comment

Re: First member of Congress to openly announce no (3.00 / 1)

Stark is a UU (Unitarian Universalist), which is a "religion" (if that's what you want to call it) that allows all other religions within it. UUs can be humanists, atheists, Christians, Buddhists, Jews; they are united, however, in being religiously liberal.

The only other UU in Congress is Kent Conrad.

by raginillinoian on Mon Mar 12, 2007 at 11:31:07 AM EST

Re: First member of Congress to openly announce no (none / 0)

Yes, I have occassionally attended UU services too. At one, a poll was conducted and about a third of the congregation were self-identified atheists. There may be more closet atheists in Congress still, and hopefully they will feel freer to come out as a result of Stark's presence.

Brian

by Brian63 on Mon Mar 12, 2007 at 11:36:31 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Nontheism! (none / 0)

Oh no, he didn't really use the word 'nontheism,' did he? That's not even a real word, it's just a gormless relabeling of atheism with some convenient-but-meaningless distinctions tacked on. Listen, you can't just go around combining Latin prefixes with Greek roots, especially not when there's already a perfectly good word to describe what you want described. This guy's a longtime Congressman? And people say the kids aren't alright!

Yes, I'm aware there's a possible misogynist reading of the myth. Sorry.

by Endymion on Mon Mar 12, 2007 at 05:05:28 PM EST

Re: First member of Congress (none / 0)

We have a discussion of this at the Internet Infidels Discussion Board:

http://www.iidb.org/vbb/showthread.php?t =182524

Brian

by Brian63 on Mon Mar 12, 2007 at 06:39:04 PM EST

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