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This morning on The View, the question “Can an atheist be President?” was asked in reference to Bernie Sanders, who recently said that, although he believed in God, he was not involved in religious organizations, which Whoopi Goldberg interpreted as him not going to church often.
After this, Nicolle Wallace, who referred to herself as “the resident Jew,” responded that, in Jewish culture, religion is practiced differently — she doesn’t see going to church as important.
Following this, Candace Bure stated that a recent poll stated that 51% of the population claims that, right off the bat, they won’t vote for an atheist president (which, by the way, is a big change from 1958, when around 80% wouldn’t).
The nicest thing about having an atheist President, Sunny Hostin noted, is that such a President wouldn’t favor any one religion. As she stated, “I personally wouldn’t want my President to believe in the god I believe in because I wouldn’t want his religious beliefs to persuade politics.”
Interestingly, this is also what the Twitter account of The View chose to feature:
.@SunnyHostin says she doesn’t need her president to believe in her same God. Do you agree? https://t.co/DfaKXrfJkC pic.twitter.com/WiOu8P8xmQ
— The View (@TheView) January 28, 2016
Then, Candace Bure stated that she appreciated Sanders’s honesty but, as a Christian, was interested in the “foundation” on which we would build our country, which is why she had an issue with it. Um…news flash…there is no religious foundation in government. Argh.
Whoopi Goldberg then says that, because the President is going to be governing for people of all faiths, the beliefs of the President may not gel with what he or she does as a government leader. Well…I should hope not. But still, a couple head nods indicated that there may be some agreement on that point, which was somewhat interesting.
In any case…it seems people are warming up to the idea of an atheist President — as is especially apparent in their reaction to the view that, whether the President is an atheist or not, religion should not be a factor in government decisions.
With a few notable exceptions, obviously. But the times, they are a’changin.