Representative Pete Stark: "I am a Unitarian who does not believe in a supreme being."

Yesterday I wrote the following post:

Here's a snippet from the press release of the American Humanist Association:

[Representative Pete] Stark [D-CA] affirmed his nontheism in a response to an inquiry from the Secular Coalition for America, of which the American Humanist Association is a member organization. The inquiry was part of a unique and original campaign by the Secular Coalition for America to locate politicians who were open about their nontheism. In response, the American Humanist Association has launched an advertising campaign congratulating Stark. The first of the ads will appear tomorrow in the Washington Post.

The Secular Coalition for American says its research "reveals that Rep. Stark is the first open nontheist in the history of the Congress."  The Secular Coalition offers further background information on its campaign:

In October, 2006 the Secular Coalition for America, a national lobby representing the interests of atheists, humanists, freethinkers, and other nontheists, announced a contest. At the time, few if any elected officials, even at the lowest level, would self-identify as a nontheist. So the Coalition offered $1,000 to the person who could identify the highest level atheist, agnostic, humanist or any other kind of nontheist currently holding elected public office in the United States.

In addition to Rep. Stark only three other elected officials agreed to do so: Terry S. Doran, president of the School Board in Berkeley, Calif.; Nancy Glista on the School Committee in Franklin, Maine; and Michael Cerone, a Town Meeting Member from Arlington, Mass.

(Thanks to the Dallas News Religion Blog for the lead.)

I took the post down later in the day because Pete Stark's office responded to this announcement in a way that made me unsure whether he considered himself to be a "non-theist."  He said he was a Unitarian Universalist -- some UUS believe in God; some don't.  Stories in today's Washington Post and Los Angeles Times clarify the matter via statements from Representative Stark.  Here's the relevant snippet from the LA Times:

Stark, who has served in Congress since 1973 and chairs the health subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee, clarified his views in an e-mail statement.

"When the Secular Coalition asked me to complete a survey on my religious beliefs, I indicated I am a Unitarian who does not believe in a supreme being," Stark said. "Like our nation's founders, I strongly support the separation of church and state. I look forward to working with the Secular Coalition to stop the promotion of narrow religious beliefs in science, marriage contracts, the military and the provision of social services."

Unitarian Universalism describes itself as creedless, meaning that it has no underlying authoritative statement of religious belief. Some members believe in God; others do not.

So there it is.  I've revised the title of this post to reflect Stark's own words.  (For the record, I would note that the Establishment Clause prohibits the government from promoting religions of any sort, not just ones some consider to be narrow-minded.  That doesn't mean religious people cannot advocate for the adoption of certain policies; they can, of course.  It means advancing religion may not be the predominant purpose or primary effect of governmental action.)

The Washington Post article contains this historical note:

A number of other Unitarians, including John Adams and Adlai Stevenson, have served in Congress, and Thomas Brackett Reed, speaker of the House in the 1890s, called himself a freethinker. But they all claimed some belief in God, according to Fred Beuttler, deputy historian of the House of Representatives.

"As far as I know, Representative Stark is the first self-proclaimed non-theist," Beuttler said.

And here's a copy (pdf) of the ad the American Humanist Association ran in today's Washington Post. 

One more note.  The Los Angeles Times story says that "[a] USA Today/Gallup poll last month found that 45% of respondents said they would vote for a 'well qualified' presidential candidate who was an atheist," whereas "[n]inety-five percent said they would vote for a Catholic candidate, 92% a Jewish candidate and 72% a Mormon candidate."  As I've said on other occasions, I would encourage my fellow Americans to cast their ballots based on a candidate's character, record, values, vision, and policy positions rather than his or her religious beliefs or lack thereof.   

Comments

[Carlton Colquitt]

Stark broke the ice. Many will follow. Intolerance has been dealt another blow. It is a poisonous faith that requires hatred and the belief that others must die if they disagree with you. This shrivels man's spirit and further stimulates the cycle of violence that is already endemic to humanity any way.