Would you vote for an atheist for president?

Transcribed from the Jason Rantz Show.

A new poll from Pew Research Center suggests a candidate being an atheist would have more negative impact on getting votes than if they were a pot smoker or cheater.

Fifty-three percent of poll participants said they’re less likely to vote for someone who does not believe in God, while only 35 percent of people would be less likely to vote for someone who’s a cheater, and 70 percent say a candidate using marijuana wouldn’t impact their vote.

I will say, I would be very unlikely to vote for someone who is an atheist. If all things are equal and you’ve got the atheist versus a person who believes in God, I’m going to vote for the person that believes in God.

This whole idea of an atheist versus a cheater, I’m unlikely also to support someone who is a cheater. If you cheat on your spouse, the chances of me voting for you are very, very slim. But there is a slightly different dynamic there.

You could still be a good leader and cheat on a spouse. But I could argue why you can’t be a good leader and an atheist. One thing is, you don’t fear any repercussions after death. That is one aspect of religion and the belief in God that I think is very applicable to someone who is a politician.

Someone who is given the amounts of power that we give to politicians, I want them to fear some of the repercussions after death based on the decisions they make while alive.

It’s not that someone who is an atheist isn’t moral. It’s not that someone who is an atheist isn’t able to have a really good run as a political leader, but I do wonder what they hold themselves ultimately accountable to.

They’re not feeling like they’re being judged by a higher power. They’re not feeling like after they die they will be judged for their character while alive, for their decision making while alive, and someone who believes in God is.

When we’re talking about people in power, I need them to be fearful, otherwise I fear that they’re going to run out of control.

And if we’re being honest, we can also acknowledge that atheists have a little bit of a PR problem. Atheist groups that are out there, that speak on behalf of atheists, they tend to be kind of jerky.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, for example, they push their message around religious holidays and they’re trying to pick fights, it seems, when they go out around Easter and Christmas and say Jesus doesn’t exist, God doesn’t exist, come out of the closet and be open about being an atheist. They seem like they’re pushing for a fight.

Even though I think it is incredibly unfair to judge all atheists based on these atheist groups, it is a little bit of a PR problem that you have these people who are out there.

These are the reasons I probably would not vote for an atheist. People will take this personally, and it’s not to say that atheists are bad people. I don’t believe that. It’s not to say that atheists can’t be good leaders. I do not believe that either. I just tend to think that with all things being equal, I give an edge to the person who believes in God.

Transcribed from the Jason Rantz Show.

JS