As Politico notes, Reagan and a Democratic Congress had no problem pushing this through in 1983. A quarter of a century later, has atheism come so far that it can afford to ignore the feds trying to pass a similar resolution now? Oh yes, my friends:

“This doesn’t have anything to do with Christianity,” [Broun] said in an interview with POLITICO. Rather, he says, it seeks to recognize that the Bible played an integral role in the building of the United States, including providing the basis for our freedom of religion that allows Muslims, Hindus and even atheists to vocalize their own beliefs…

Atheists, who might feel themselves a particular target with the declaration of a biblical year, aren’t even worried about Broun’s effort.

“Right now, we’re seeing atheism on such a rise,” said David Silverman, vice president and national spokesman of American Atheists, a group dedicated to fighting for the civil rights of atheists.

“We are seeing Christianity on such a dramatic decline that we’re not particularly worried about it. We’re thinking that this kind of old-style George W. Bush Republicanism is about to go away,” Silverman said, referring to the latest Pew Forum survey of American religious life, which showed nonreligious Americans as the fastest-growing group.

Snarks Barney Frank, “Does that mean 2009 is not the year of the Bible? What is 2012 the year of? The Quran?” Actually, if this gets passed, maybe. Once Congress recognizes a “year of the Bible,” inevitably there’ll be a push from interest groups to recognize other faiths — and non-faiths. If you don’t want 2015 to be a “year of ‘The Origin of Species'” or whatever, you’ll side with the godless on this one.

Exit question: If they did pass it, would The One sign it? I know which way I’m betting!