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{"id":662,"date":"2014-05-27T08:15:00","date_gmt":"2014-05-27T08:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2014\/05\/dont-believe-in-god-dont-bother-to-run-for-president.html"},"modified":"2014-05-27T08:15:00","modified_gmt":"2014-05-27T08:15:00","slug":"dont-believe-in-god-dont-bother-to-run-for-president","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2014\/05\/dont-believe-in-god-dont-bother-to-run-for-president.html","title":{"rendered":"Don’t Believe in God? Don’t Bother To Run For President"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

As an atheist<\/a>, it\u2019s a pretty sure bet I won\u2019t get into heaven (which doesn\u2019t matter since, well, I don\u2019t believe it exists). But it also looks like I couldn\u2019t get elected<\/a> president either.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to a recent Pew Research Center<\/a> survey, more than half of Americans reported<\/a> they would be less likely to vote for an atheist running for political office than for a believer. In fact, they preferred pot smokers and adulterers over atheists, which makes the study a little hard to dissect. Does that mean not believing in sin is worse than sinning?<\/p>\n

At the same time, nearly the same percentage said they would be less likely to back a candidate who had never held office before. As someone who couldn\u2019t win an election in his own house, that\u2019s a second strike against my electoral chances. Oh, and military service was the top factor in winning someone\u2019s likely vote (43%). We\u2019ll just count that as a third strike \u2014 no military background \u2014 and I\u2019ll declare right now my noncandidacy for the presidency. Which isn\u2019t all that disappointing. The gig comes with a nice house, but the hours stink, everybody blames you for everything, and you have to wear a suit. Deal breaker.<\/p>\n

Read the rest here<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"