Member-only story
Can An Atheist Ever Become President?
A friend told me he struggles with his faith and doesn’t believe in God anymore. He’s an atheist. But he said this to me privately and said he’d never say this publicly. Why? Because he’s involved in politics and may want to run for office one day. And the biggest death sentence for a politician in America today is saying “I don’t believe in God” (his words, not mine).
I listened to a recent episode of the Ezra Klein podcast, where journalist Jane Coaston interviewed Russell Moore, the editor-in-chief of Christianity Today. Most of the podcast was about the politicization of the Evangelical church, and especially how Trump-y some churches have become, which is driving many pastors to quit.
It was a very disheartening but interesting listen, but what stuck with me was an anecdote about a friend who didn’t believe in God and didn’t like the Baptist church particularly. But he asked Moore what local church he could go to that wasn’t “too Baptist.” When Moore asked why he wanted to go to a Baptist church given his previous statements, his friend said something along the lines of “I’m trying to run for office, and this is the South.”
