Will we ever see an atheist president?

Being identified as an atheist in the United States today is still such a major political liability that a candidate holding this position probably could not gain a major party’s nomination for president or even the Senate. Only eight members of the current Congress declined to indicate their religious affiliation, and only one of them, Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) identifies herself as religiously unaffiliated…

So why would it be so difficult for an atheist to be elected president? First, Americans perceive atheists to be untrustworthy, insensitive and morally rootless. Despite their recent campaign to improve their image, a 2014 Pew poll found that Americans rated atheists more unfavorably than any religious group including Muslims. Second, in other polls, most respondents (as many as 72 percent) said they want the president to have strong religious beliefs. Many Americans also say they want presidents to seek God’s guidance about the major decisions they must inevitably make.

During the 1988 campaign, Roger Sherman of American Atheists asked George H.W. Bush at a campaign stop in Chicago what he would do to win the votes of atheists. Bush replied that he would do little because “faith in God is important to me.” Sherman countered, “Surely you recognize the equal citizenship and patriotism of Americans who are atheists.” “I don’t know that Atheists should be considered as citizens,” Bush declared, “nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.” It is hard to imagine another presidential candidate making such remarks in this age of ideological pluralism, political correctness and emphasis on civility. Also, the public image of atheists has improved, but it still lags behind that of most other groups.