Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Congressman admits to being an atheist

Well, the atheists finally have their guy, they've been waiting for an officeholder to come forward and admit that he doesn't believe in God and now someone has done it:

A U.S. Congressman has caused a stir by becoming the first member of the legislative body to declare himself not to believe in God.

The announcement by Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) was celebrated by atheist and humanist groups Tuesday, while one Christian group described his proclamation as "unfortunate."

Stark, a member of Congress since 1973 and a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee, made the unprecedented disclosure in response to an inquiry by the Secular Coalition of America (SCA). Stark acknowledged that he was a Unitarian - a creedless system that does not require belief in a deity.

The SCA held a contest offering $1,000 to the person able to identify the nontheist holding the highest public office in the country. Four elected officials were willing to announce their status, but as a member of Congress, Stark trumped the other three - a school board president, a school committee member, and a town meeting member.

[...]

Brown said that the SCA applauds Stark's decision especially since it could hurt his chances at re-election, an outcome she said was "very sad ... but it's also the political reality in our nation."

[...]

Stark won his 2006 reelection against Republican George Bruno by a 48 percent margin, winning 83,909 of the 113,102 votes cast.
I think this guy is probably safe for re-election.