State Constitutions & Discrimination against atheists
Offline State Constitutions & Discrimination against atheists
"The owner of a coffee shop near Birmingham, Ala., has banned members of a secular group for atheists, agnostics, and other questioners from meeting in her cafe.
"It's not OK to discriminate on the basis of race or sexual orientation anymore, but it's perfectly valid for someone to say I would never vote for an atheist for president," says Mel Lipman, president of the American Humanist Association."
Discrimination against atheists -
52% of Americans claim they would not vote for a well-qualified atheist for president. [3] More recently, a 2006 study at the University of Minnesota showed atheists to be the most mistrusted minority among Americans.
State Constitutions
Some States' Constitutions in the US require a religious test as a qualification for holding public office:
The Bill of Rights of the Texas Constitution (Article I, Section 4) last amended on September 13, 2003 states that an official may be "excluded from holding office" if she/he does not "acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being."
North Carolina's Constitution, Article 6 Sec. 8 states "Disqualifications of office. The following persons shall be disqualified for office: First, any person who shall deny the being of Almighty God...."
South Carolina's Constitution, Article 6 Section 2: "Person denying existence of Supreme Being not to hold office. No person who denies the existence of the Supreme Being shall hold any office under this Constitution."
Tennessee's Bill of Rights: Article 9, Section 2: "No person who denies the being of God, or a future state of rewards and punishments, shall hold any office in the civil department of this state."
Atheism still has pejorative connotations arising from attempts at suppression and from its association with practical atheism; as mentioned above, godless is still used as an abusive epithet today.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discrimination_against_atheists
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"Why do Atheists care about Religion?" - VIDEO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4fQA9mt-Mg
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"All the gods of the Greek and Roman mythology represent the attributes of the one supreme divine power - the SUN."
~ Macrobius 400ce "Suns of God" 67-68
http://www.truthbeknown.com/sunsofgod.htm
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This stuff keeps going on, america will become a whole lot smaller.
*Looks at Japan*
Arkansas's Constitution Article 19 "No person who denies the being of God shall hold any office in the civil departments of this State, nor be competent to testify as a witness in any court."
Maryland's Constitution Article 37 "no religious test ought ever to be required as a qualification for any office of profit or trust in this State, other than a declaration of belief in the existence of God."
Pennsylvania's Constitution Article 1, Sec. 4 "No person who acknowledges the being of a God and a future state of rewards and punishments on account of his religious sentiments, be disqualified to hold any office or place of trust under this Commonwealth."
"All the gods of the Greek and Roman mythology represent the attributes of the one supreme divine power - the SUN."
~ Macrobius 400ce "Suns of God" 67-68
http://www.truthbeknown.com/sunsofgod.htm
RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION IN U.S. STATE CONSTITUTIONS:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/texas.htm
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Find your State Constitution here - http://www.constitution.org/cons/usstcons.htm
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"All the gods of the Greek and Roman mythology represent the attributes of the one supreme divine power - the SUN."
~ Macrobius 400ce "Suns of God" 67-68
http://www.truthbeknown.com/sunsofgod.htm