I'll Just Leave This Here

[Mytical]

Sleepwalker. I am not sure what you mean. For instance, lets say you tell me "I've been abducted by aliens." Now I personally believe there is other intelligent life out there, but they haven't visited earth yet..but lets say I don't believe there are at all. Why would I take your beliefs serious, and if I didn't what difference would it make to me if you believed that little green men abducted you or not?

So yeah, why would atheist worry about what somebody believes or does not believe? How does it affect them? Long answer short..it doesn't. An atheist that MUST prove his/her OPINION that something does not exist is correct is no better then a zealot who MUST prove his/her OPINION that their belief is the only reasonable one. *shrug*

[Hyena Dandy]

It means religious.

it also isn´t new, it means religious in Spanish and Portuguese

So why are you using it in English? IT feels just kinda disrespectful.

[Sleepwalker]

Because it is shorter.

Mytical- Yes, it does. When believing is a prerequisite for being elected to president of the united states, you cannot say those little green men aren't having an effect. It is laughable to believe that people's body parts have magical powers, but tell that to the albinos being slaughtered in parts of africa.

As for zealots, which one was right? Martin Luther King was a zealot, and plenty of people agitated for him to 'calm down'. Agitating for the status quo does not make you reasonable if the status quo is unreasonable.

[Mytical]

Actually believing is not a prerequisite anywhere for being the president. Now many profess to believe, yes, and it does help get them elected .. yes. However, there are a LOT of people who profess to believe who do not. Even the bible speaks of them believe it or not. While it is not called so in the bible it is 'lip service'..no real faith, but saying you have it.

Since we may never know if a president actually believes or not, it is a moot point. Still, does not affect you in the least. Nobody has put a gun to your head and say "believe or die". You are not hunted down, burned at the stake, or otherwise forced to convert. Believe, do not believe, your call. Let the others have the same luxury. Live and let live.

[Gravekeeper]

Actually believing is not a prerequisite anywhere for being the president.

To be bluntly honest, you will never be elected president in the US if you're not some flavour of Christian. You'd have a hard enough job getting close to any politicial position. There are extremely few declared Atheists that have even been in any sort of office in the US. Even Wiki can only drudge up 5 over the entire course of the country's history.

Atheists are trusted on par with rapists in the US. So it is effectively a prerequisite, yes.

[SkullKing]

Atheists are trusted on par with rapists in the US. So it is effectively a prerequisite, yes.

Considering that people who urinate on public, are trusted on par with rapists, that is not saying that much.

[Mytical]

Again, claiming to be Christian. Anybody can claim it, many people claim it, but are only giving 'lip service'. Since there is no way to prove if somebody is or isn't, besides that persons word..a total athiest could get in..just do what a lot of politians do. Lie.

[Sleepwalker]

Aha. You cannot hold a leadership position in this country if atheist, and this does not affect me? There are people who are forced to live a lie as 'believers' to get elected, and you think this disproves my point? My god, it matters not what pressures are put on me to be a christian, since I can always lie about it!

Privilege blindness. You have no problem with the pro religious status quo, as long as people either feign belief or shut up about their non belief. To do otherwise is to oppress you. Seriously, next time I hear you whinging about gender and sexuality, remind me to open up a can of 'STFU you whiner' in your thread. I mean, noone has killed you, does it really matter that you are afraid to bring up your sexuality in public and that laws discriminate against you? You can always marry a woman and pretend to enjoy sex twice a day for the rest of your life.

[Kheldarson]

Forced to live a lie? No, I think Myt was saying that because there are so many people that say they're Christian yet never go to church or do anything special about it, an atheist politician could effectively do the same. Claim Christianity but never do anything with it. And then his tongue in cheek was to emphasize the point that it's essentially a case of what's one more lie in the number any politician will inevitably tell us.

[Gravekeeper]

Considering that people who urinate on public, are trusted on par with rapists, that is not saying that much.

It says quite a bit, frankly. Also, I'm using an actual study that was conducted. You're passing off your opinion as fact as if that somehow negates my point.

Forced to live a lie? No, I think Myt was saying that because there are so many people that say they're Christian yet never go to church or do anything special about it, an atheist politician could effectively do the same.

Problem is the very first thing the media seems to do is investigate who a presidential candidate's church/pastor is. Americans basically want a resume of their religion. Even if its total lip service, you gotta show up in the pews. >.>

[Hyena Dandy]

And that to me says that atheists should have their choice respected, and not be forced to live a lie. That's a bad thing that they can't get elected.

It's also a bad thing to disrespect people choosing to be religious, which is what I think the point of the thread is.

[SkullKing]

It says quite a bit, frankly. Also, I'm using an actual study that was conducted. You're passing off your opinion as fact as if that somehow negates my point.

I was actually referencing the fact that you can land in sex offenders registry for public urination with little differentiation from those who are sexual abusers.

As such your phrase by itself didn´t mean much to me.

If you had provided the study link in the post it would have meant more.

[Mytical]

Sleepwalker, you make a lot of assumptions..and you know that assuming makes an ass out of you and me ..right?

You assume I am a christian. Which I am not. You assume I care if you are one or not. I do not. You assume that there is only one religion in America (or at least come across that way) I can assure you that is not the case. Also, you assume being Christian is an automatic win for politicians. There is a certain Mormon (we will leave the debate if they are christian or not for another thread) who would like to dispute that. He's ran for president before..and never even gotten close. Yes the person who did get elected went to a church, and had to distance himself from that church because of some radical things the preacher of that church did....go figure.

You really don't even have to lie about it, just not bring it up. I can count on one hand how many politicians I actually know their religious beliefs. So you don't have to 'live a lie'. If it never comes up, what does it matter?

[Sleepwalker]

Don't ask, don't tell? People are questioned as to their religious beliefs, they don't even have the thin protection gays in the military had.

And sure, being a christian is not an automatic win. It is just required TO win.

I don't give a damn what religion you are. I DO give a damn about you telling me that institutionalized prejudice doesn't matter when you can pretend to belong to the dominant group. Shit, some blacks can 'pass', therefore fuck civil rights laws.

[siead_lietrathua]

And sure, being a christian is not an automatic win. It is just required TO win.

i dont remember hearing in american politics that religion is a requirement, but maybe i'm wrong.
if the people insist on voting on politicians with religious backgrounds, then the problem is with the people not the politician.
just random