for the sake of time, attention span and english language-challenged foreros, I've highlighted the basics of the article. Meh.
BOSTON—He’s not exactly a profile in courage. After all, Pete Stark is 75 and has represented his liberal district near San Francisco for more than 30 years. It’s unlikely that he’ll be tarred and feathered or sent packing for admitting that he’s, well, a godless politician.
Nevertheless, last week Stark broke a political taboo. He became the first member of Congress to say publicly that he doesn’t believe in “a supreme being.” The next most powerful politician to identify himself as a “non-theist” in response to a question by the Secular Coalition for America was a school board president in Berkeley.
Some described Stark’s admission as “coming out of the closet.” Others rued the fact that God was not on his side. A spokesman for the Concerned Women for America unabashedly bashed him, saying that “a Christian worldview is proper for a politician to have.”
Not surprisingly, Stark has no ambitions for the presidency. In one of those endless polls surveying whether we are “ready for” a black, a woman, a Jew or others to be president, only 14 percent of Americans believe we’re ready for an atheist as president. What Stark has done, however, is open a fresh chapter in this year’s hefty book on presidential politics and religion.
“I do not speak for my church on public matters—and the church does not speak for me, ” said Kennedy. JFK’s pivotal speech and his election seemed to take religion off the public table.
Fast forward to the rise of the Moral Majority. In 1976 Jerry Falwell offered his very un-JFK opinion: “The idea that religion and politics don’t mix was invented by the devil to keep Christians from running their own country.”
Over the following generation, the religious right bonded to the Republican Party. It also grabbed the idea that traditional religion was the only way to frame the moral dimensions of a public issue.
In the past several years, many Americans have tried to decouple “religious” from “right.” Prominent evangelicals are trying to expand the conversation about values from gay marriage to the environment, from abortion to poverty. At the same time, there are progressives as well as conservatives who connect their religious beliefs to public policy. And Democrats too are urged to wear their religion on their sleeves and in their speeches.
In 1967 and in 2007, the values of many—maybe most—Americans feel rooted in religion. As a society we need to have conversations about right and wrong. But in this increasingly pluralistic country we also need to uphold the idea that morals are not the exclusive property of any one religion. More controversially, we need to welcome the idea that values are not the exclusive property of religion itself.
Pete Stark denies that it takes courage to become the first admitted non-theist in the House. “What is courageous,” he adds, “is to stand up in Congress and say, ‘Let’s tax the rich and give money to poor kids.”’ There are many ways to be a true believer.
I'm sick and tired of politicians and wingnuts whoring themselves out to TPTB/money and attempting to make a religious case for it. And, come think of it, the establishment of religion, any type of establishment of religion -or any ideology, for that matter- is, how to put it, religion's own worst enemy.
Zenkiu. Now, back to the "Spoiler" thread....
-- Edited by go_fish at 13:28, 2007-03-22
Can you simplify this and point out the important parts. I have a short attention span
for the sake of time, attention span and english language-challenged foreros, I've highlighted the basics of the article. Meh.
BOSTON—He’s not exactly a profile in courage. After all, Pete Stark is 75 and has represented his liberal district near San Francisco for more than 30 years. It’s unlikely that he’ll be tarred and feathered or sent packing for admitting that he’s, well, a godless politician.
Nevertheless, last week Stark broke a political taboo. He became the first member of Congress to say publicly that he doesn’t believe in “a supreme being.” The next most powerful politician to identify himself as a “non-theist” in response to a question by the Secular Coalition for America was a school board president in Berkeley.
Some described Stark’s admission as “coming out of the closet.” Others rued the fact that God was not on his side. A spokesman for the Concerned Women for America unabashedly bashed him, saying that “a Christian worldview is proper for a politician to have.”
Not surprisingly, Stark has no ambitions for the presidency. In one of those endless polls surveying whether we are “ready for” a black, a woman, a Jew or others to be president, only 14 percent of Americans believe we’re ready for an atheist as president. What Stark has done, however, is open a fresh chapter in this year’s hefty book on presidential politics and religion.
“I do not speak for my church on public matters—and the church does not speak for me, ” said Kennedy. JFK’s pivotal speech and his election seemed to take religion off the public table.
Fast forward to the rise of the Moral Majority. In 1976 Jerry Falwell offered his very un-JFK opinion: “The idea that religion and politics don’t mix was invented by the devil to keep Christians from running their own country.”
Over the following generation, the religious right bonded to the Republican Party. It also grabbed the idea that traditional religion was the only way to frame the moral dimensions of a public issue.
In the past several years, many Americans have tried to decouple “religious” from “right.” Prominent evangelicals are trying to expand the conversation about values from gay marriage to the environment, from abortion to poverty. At the same time, there are progressives as well as conservatives who connect their religious beliefs to public policy. And Democrats too are urged to wear their religion on their sleeves and in their speeches.
In 1967 and in 2007, the values of many—maybe most—Americans feel rooted in religion. As a society we need to have conversations about right and wrong. But in this increasingly pluralistic country we also need to uphold the idea that morals are not the exclusive property of any one religion. More controversially, we need to welcome the idea that values are not the exclusive property of religion itself.
Pete Stark denies that it takes courage to become the first admitted non-theist in the House. “What is courageous,” he adds, “is to stand up in Congress and say, ‘Let’s tax the rich and give money to poor kids.”’ There are many ways to be a true believer.
I'm sick and tired of politicians and wingnuts whoring themselves out to TPTB/money and attempting to make a religious case for it. And, come think of it, the establishment of religion, any type of establishment of religion -or any ideology, for that matter- is, how to put it, religion's own worst enemy.
Zenkiu. Now, back to the "Spoiler" thread....
-- Edited by go_fish at 13:28, 2007-03-22
Can you simplify this and point out the important parts. I have a short attention span
Pete Stark denies that it takes courage to become the first admitted non-theist in the House. “What is courageous,” he adds, “is to stand up in Congress and say, ‘Let’s tax the rich and give money to poor kids.”’ There are many ways to be a true believer.
I agree....
America shouldnt question whether its ready for a black/female president.. they should question if they are ready for a 'real' president that will do what it sets out to do and not do what it promises not to. What the president/member of senate belives or does not believe should not be of concern, only that he/she is doing what they were put in office to do.
for the sake of time, attention span and english language-challenged foreros, I've highlighted the basics of the article. Meh.
BOSTON—He’s not exactly a profile in courage. After all, Pete Stark is 75 and has represented his liberal district near San Francisco for more than 30 years. It’s unlikely that he’ll be tarred and feathered or sent packing for admitting that he’s, well, a godless politician.
Nevertheless, last week Stark broke a political taboo. He became the first member of Congress to say publicly that he doesn’t believe in “a supreme being.” The next most powerful politician to identify himself as a “non-theist” in response to a question by the Secular Coalition for America was a school board president in Berkeley.
Some described Stark’s admission as “coming out of the closet.” Others rued the fact that God was not on his side. A spokesman for the Concerned Women for America unabashedly bashed him, saying that “a Christian worldview is proper for a politician to have.”
Not surprisingly, Stark has no ambitions for the presidency. In one of those endless polls surveying whether we are “ready for” a black, a woman, a Jew or others to be president, only 14 percent of Americans believe we’re ready for an atheist as president. What Stark has done, however, is open a fresh chapter in this year’s hefty book on presidential politics and religion.
“I do not speak for my church on public matters—and the church does not speak for me, ” said Kennedy. JFK’s pivotal speech and his election seemed to take religion off the public table.
Fast forward to the rise of the Moral Majority. In 1976 Jerry Falwell offered his very un-JFK opinion: “The idea that religion and politics don’t mix was invented by the devil to keep Christians from running their own country.”
Over the following generation, the religious right bonded to the Republican Party. It also grabbed the idea that traditional religion was the only way to frame the moral dimensions of a public issue.
In the past several years, many Americans have tried to decouple “religious” from “right.” Prominent evangelicals are trying to expand the conversation about values from gay marriage to the environment, from abortion to poverty. At the same time, there are progressives as well as conservatives who connect their religious beliefs to public policy. And Democrats too are urged to wear their religion on their sleeves and in their speeches.
In 1967 and in 2007, the values of many—maybe most—Americans feel rooted in religion. As a society we need to have conversations about right and wrong. But in this increasingly pluralistic country we also need to uphold the idea that morals are not the exclusive property of any one religion. More controversially, we need to welcome the idea that values are not the exclusive property of religion itself.
Pete Stark denies that it takes courage to become the first admitted non-theist in the House. “What is courageous,” he adds, “is to stand up in Congress and say, ‘Let’s tax the rich and give money to poor kids.”’ There are many ways to be a true believer.
I'm sick and tired of politicians and wingnuts whoring themselves out to TPTB/money and attempting to make a religious case for it. And, come think of it, the establishment of religion, any type of establishment of religion -or any ideology, for that matter- is, how to put it, religion's own worst enemy.
” said Kennedy. JFK’s pivotal speech and his election seemed to take religion off the public table. 
