Could the USA electorate stomach electing an openly atheist president?

Not just the first amendment, the constitution itself explicitly declares that there shall be NO religious test for any office. All the christians who flatly state they will only vote for a christian president ought to consider they're violating the constitution every time they do so.

But sadly, no -- I don't think it could happen just yet. Give us another 20-30 years, though.

Until then, nothing but christians (or, at least, candidates that pay lip service to being christians, which is the vast majority of them).

What's funny is that we *have* had atheist presidents -- back closer to the founding of our nation, when the constitution actually meant something even to christians.

Peace.

I have found that often, with certain folk who are adamantly atheist, it is almost as though they hold to this conviction, religiously. Therefore, if an American president were elected who was an atheist, he would actually be promoting a kind of religion. Agnosticism, on the other hand, is not so devout and appears to be a more honest and reasonable position. To be able to just say, "I don't know." Maybe there is and maybe there is not a God. We'll all one day find out. I could accept hearing that coming from the oval office, but not professions of atheism.

You * do * realize not many presidents go on and on about their * Christianity *. Yes, they state these are their beliefs, but I challenge you to find out how often it arises in conversation.

I noticed you didn't use the term "openly Christian". Why is that? Because it just * is *?

You use a term such as "openly atheist" and it smacks of an "in your face" mindset. I don't see it being a "just is".

Would I vote for an "openly atheist" president? Not if they continuously made it a topic of conversation. I'd sense an agenda in the making.

I doubt that an atheist would be elected- the religious right in past years seems to be getting louder and more prominent in political circles.

As for non-Christian religious? I don't think that would necessarily make a difference in the electorate, depending on the religion of course. Look at Mitt Romney- he's Christian but got a lot of flack for belonging to one of the more unorthodox sects of Christianity.

I personally would not vote for an atheist, due to religious beliefs that I won't go into, but if an atheist were elected I would support him or her as the leader of my country. I don't think it would make a difference if the candidate were non-Christian religious though. I'd rather that the leader of my country believe in at least some kind of higher power. One can find snippets of truth in any religion.

No, but with the internet and the access of information it provides, many people are turning atheist. In the future people will see how silly it is to base their opinions on their religion and we'll overcome this bigotry. I can foresee having a terrible, and dogmatic president who will turn the public opinion against religion in politics at least long enough to elect an atheist or at least an agnostic.

I think a non-Christian, theist President is going to come before an openly atheistic one.

We have openly non-Christian US Senators, after all, but no openly atheistic ones - demonstrating that people will elect the former to a federal office, but not the latter.

The USA electorate will not elect an openly atheist president

I've heard President Obama is an atheist or agnostic and only belongs to a church because if he didn't appear Christian, he might lose a big demographic. Good for him, it makes sense, I don't blame him but I am saddened that someone's religion rather than their intellect and diplomatic skills is what counts in whether or not they should have the power to rain down atom bombs on all the world's cities. Personally I'd rather that the finger on the button belongs to someone who doesn't believe in adult fairy tales.

No member of congress has been openly atheist, until this happens, the president can only be a closet atheist.

You are forgetting that the U.S. has a comparatively low IQ rate compared with most industrialized nations, combined with a social and cultural heritage that leans toward prejudice, bigotry, and fear of free thought. These facts do not bode well for a pro-atheist electorate.

The upside (somewhat) is that most of the more intelligent elected officials are already atheists but are just afraid to admit it for fear of the votes they'll lose.