I don't, in fact, I think it's impossible. Even being elected t0 most any Public Office would be impossible in my opinion.
It's about as possible as a completely honest man being president. In other words, don't bet any money on it. If they were honest, I suspect that many presidents have been atheists. They have to pay lip service to religion to garner the Christian vote.
Thomas Jefferson's beliefs have always been in question and a source of considerable debate, as were other prominent Founding Fathers.
That's true, @Lon Tanner, but the views of the Founders have been "tweaked" to satisfy the political climate. Franklin was probably an Atheist, but most of them were Anglican or Congregationalist, depending where they hailed from. Jefferson was quoted as saying that "I believe in one God, but have nothing against those who believe in three." All the Founders, including Franklin, thought that religion in public life was essential for the survival of the Republic. Religion has been removed from public life, and the nation has suffered for that. The "religion is not necessary" groups have portrayed the Founders as Deists, but I have found little evidence for that.
Ironically, (and I know this may cause some to squeal) Trump may be the most honest to hold the office in recent times. Do you know of any other politician in Washington who could be the subject of an open-ended, unlimited budget probe by his enemies for two or more years and not be accused in writing of any crime? There may be a couple, but I don't think I know of any on either side of the aisle.
In essence, it is more psychologically sound to proclaim something or someone greater than themselves. To merely say that one is held accountable by the people one serves is nice and may placate many individuals but to say that one is held accountable by God and seeks wisdom from God is a whole other matter. When a person recognizes a higher authority based on faith, that leader is also placed in a position whereby there are set ethics and morals that the faith based populous envisions that a good leader will employ to govern in a just manner. The Atheist, although as honest and hard working as his or her counterpart [is supposed to be] is seen as a singular entity who employs his own ethics and morals to govern. How ever true or false that may be, it is still a sort of stigma that the non-believer has to overcome in a predominantly faith based country. Bottom line, probably not in my lifetime.
I would be more concerned about the motivation behind the desire to proclaim oneself an atheist than in the reality of someone's beliefs. While I would be more inclined to vote for someone who believed similarly to myself, largely because I'd feel more comfortable knowing the candidate's center, I don't look to a president or a congressman as a spiritual advisor or as a role model for me to follow, so I would and have voted for people whose beliefs on spiritual matters are far different from my own. I had no reason to expect that Donald Trump was a Christian when I voted for him in lieu of other candidates who wore their religion as a badge on their chests. I am used to candidates lying about a lot of stuff. Even Obama felt the need to assert that he was a Christian when he ran for office. Although I don't think very many people actually believed him, the assertion allowed them to vote for him regardless. Jimmy Carter practically carried the Christian flag with him when he campaigned, yet I didn't even consider voting for that man. As much as possible, I try to vote on a candidate's issues rather than their church affiliation. If someone held to the right side of issues that were important to me, and I could believe that his atheism came out simply as an honest answer to a question, I wouldn't rule out voting for him, yet if he held his atheism out as a badge of pride, then there is an agenda that goes with that, and I'd take that in consideration. Overall, I'd rather have an honest atheist than a hypocritical Christian. When someone is known to be a liar, their positions on issues don't matter because they can't be trusted. Unfortunately, that has been the case with several people who I have voted for in the past.
@Ken Anderson , why would you have not voted for Jimmy Carter? I believe he is a truly Christian person. However, I don't think a truly Christian person can ever be an effective president. A person has to make some difficult decisions as president. Decisions that mean death for some humans. That's why I think President Carter was an ineffective president.
I agree,@Shirley Martin. Carter was just too nice a person to be a President. I guess it depends on your interpretation of Christianity as to whether a Christian can be an effective national leader. There is a old book (fiction) that is a difficult read, but it deals with just some of those questions. The title is Vicar of Christ.
@Shirley Martin Was it not Carter who sent the helicopters to Iran to rescue our hostages? Deaths resulted. Captives held for, what was it, 455 days? Five minutes after Reagan was sworn in as President, the announcement was made that the hostages were being freed. How could that turn-around have happened? Frank
Because his Christianity seemed to be on his sleeve rather than in his heart. Maybe I shouldn't say that. I have no reason to believe that he is not a Christian. It just seemed that wherever there was a choice had to be made, he was a liberal Democrat before he was a Christian.
In the UK we don't mix religion and politics, it would make us throw up in the street. Case in point was the war criminal B.liar. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/po...ted-to-end-speech-with-God-bless-Britain.html