PETER STARK: THE ONLY NATIONAL POLITICIAN WILLING TO SAY HE'S A

FRIENDLY ATHEIST - The Secular Coalition for America announced that
Congressman Pete Stark (D-CA) is the first openly non-theistic
congressperson in history. Congressman Stark has served in Congress for
California's 13th District since 1973. He is currently a senior member
of the Ways and Means Committee and the Chairman of its Health
Subcommittee. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology and received his MBA from the University of California,
Berkeley.

People were invited to submit the name of "the highest level atheist,
humanist, freethinker or other non-theist currently holding elected
public office in the United States of America." . . .

Once the nominations were received, the staff of the SCA sent the named
public officials a letter explaining the contest and requested a
response as to whether the person (1) was a non-theist who would allow
the SCA to announce this fact, (2) was a theist, or (3) felt that this
was not a question they wished to discuss in the context of an elected
position. In many instances, follow-up phone calls were made when
warranted, and in the case of Congressman Stark, there were face-to-face
meetings with his staff.

In all, only four individual allowed the SCA to identify them as out
non-theists. The other three nominated themselves, and while they are
not as highly ranked as Congressman Stark, they should be commended for
publicly coming out as a non-theist. Those individuals include: Terry S.
Doran, president of the School Board in Berkeley, California; Nancy
Glista on the School Committee in Franklin, Maine; and Michael Cerone, a
Town Meeting Member from Arlington, Massachusetts.

http://friendlyatheist.com/2007/03/12/behind-the-scenes-of-congressman
-pete-starks-announcement/


"NONTHEISTIC Americans, including humanists, are the group most likely
to be discriminated against for their convictions," said Fred Edwords,
director of communications for the American Humanist Association.
"Recent polls show that fewer than 50 percent of Americans would vote
for an atheist presidential candidate, even if that candidate is well
qualified. The fact that Pete Stark's public avowal of nontheism is
controversial reinforces this point. Atheists are the last group that a
majority of Americans still think is okay to discriminate against."

"By contrast, such an announcement by a politician wouldn't be news in
Europe, where the public has embraced secularism to a degree not seen in
the United States," Edwords continued. "Clearly, when it comes to
American religious prejudice, we still have a lot to overcome."

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