Wow . . . if those numbers aren't disturbing, I don't know what is . . .

Sent by Jim L. | 6:14 PM ET | 02-12-2008

voting should come down to positions on the issues and competency. from just the pool of cristians i know, it is obvious that they hold many different political opinions. this has to make me wonder what difference religion makes. near as i can tell, none. i'd vote for an atheist, a morman, a buddist, a taoist, etc... only if i agreed with their political positions.

Sent by adam schaeffer | 6:14 PM ET | 02-12-2008

NPR mentions many people think the Mormon Religion is a cult, but never mentions why.

Christopher Hitchens has said the US press is afraid of Muslims extremists--is NPR afraid of the a backlash from taking a deeper look at the Mormon religion.

Polytheism.
http://contenderministries.org/mormonism/polytheism.php
http://www.irr.org/MIT/hinckley.html

Black Skin and the Seed of Cain
http://www.mrm.org/topics/miscellaneous/black-skin-and-seed-cain

DNA vs The Book of Mormon
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1178456481485432134

Bible vs The Book of Mormon http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2123385090702569026

Sent by Jim Smith | 11:27 PM ET | 02-12-2008

i just saw some of the program, but what i saw was a pretty good infommerical. and i thought this was supposed to be an neutral media.......shame on me

Sent by dennis cowart | 9:05 AM ET | 02-13-2008

There is a new organization created specifically to take on these and related issues. It is called the Coalition of Secular Voters, and can be found here: http://secularvoters.org/

Sent by Jeff | 9:28 PM ET | 02-13-2008

I have become used to being expected to vote for a president who has unusual beliefs. I think all of our presidents have professed to believe in a book that claims man was made of dust during the first week of earth's existence 4,000 years ago. The first woman was made from his rib. Some years later, a man named Noah put two of each of the species of animals on earth (there are approximately 1 million named species) on a boat for 40 days. I could go on . . .

Sent by Will Corning | 8:50 AM ET | 02-15-2008

It is rather ironic that we expect the leader of the world's most powerful nation to harbor irrational and unproven beliefs about the nature of reality, isn't it?

Sent by angsty | 8:53 PM ET | 02-15-2008

History tells us that Abe Lincoln was an athiest president.

Sent by bob | 10:55 PM ET | 02-15-2008

It amazes me on how many people still will not vote for someone simply because they are Atheist. I am going to assert that many of these people assume that because they have no religion, the also have no morals. This just simply isn't the case. There are many atheists that are model citizens just as there are also atheists that belong in prison. Morality is simply not exclusive to religion!

Sent by Aron McCart | 4:23 AM ET | 02-16-2008

It seems to me that people would rather vote for an hypocrite who espouses their beliefs than for an honest atheist. Unless the hypocrite is caught in their lies. Then they will support him because at least he's not an atheist.

Sent by Michael OSullivan | 9:48 PM ET | 02-16-2008

I think part of why many would be hesitant to elect an atheist is that an atheistic belief system does not have a historic/static basis for morality (not that individual atheists lack morals). In other words, people aren't sure if an atheist's moral principles would change while in office or whether the underlying foundation of the morals is strong.
While many claim that all morals are relative and baseless, at least a religious affiliation gives some sense of what a person's morals are, and of what underlies the person's specific moral principles.
Such an affiliation can be misleading, but that is another issue...

Sent by JO | 12:54 AM ET | 02-17-2008

Actually JO, I couldn't disagree more. I think atheists are capable of a much greater morality that believers of any religion.

Most -if not all - believers are driven into a moral life by fear - you'll go to hell if you don't follow the instructions in whatever holy book you follow. Or you don't do it out of fear, but because "God" tells you do do it.

An Atheist who choose to lead a moral life, does so because he or she wants to. There's no "heavenly" reward at the end of the road. When you're an atheist, you live a moral life because it benefits you, your community and the world at large. It's not some act of worship to some faceless deity.

Sent by Nick | 8:29 AM ET | 02-17-2008

Atheists DO have a "higher power" to answer to when making decisions, and it's one that religious people may not take into consideration. While the religious person is too busy being concerned about what "god" thinks, the atheist is concerned about his reputation and his self respect. Being answerable to a "god" you'll never meet is never as serious as being answerable to the people who elected you.

Sent by Nate | 10:02 AM ET | 02-17-2008

The growing militancy among atheists is upsetting.

Sent by Jody Sol | 1:09 PM ET | 02-18-2008

I'm not personally an atheist, but once I attempted to put myself in their shoes while observing public discourse on religion, I quickly noticed that there is a huge disparity in the amount of respect and tacit approval they are expected to give to religious beliefs and people, and that expected of the religious for non-religious beliefs and people. I imagine it gets old fast.

Sent by Andrea | 8:32 PM ET | 02-18-2008

Is it militancy to ask why someone who says there is no god, is treated as if he or she automatically has no morals, and allowed no equal place in the democracy of We The People?

It is the militancy of the aggressive evangelical bronze age world view that should be upsetting. This false world view has elected an incompetent and criminal presidential / vice president and held NO ONE accountable for their disastrous leadership.

Forrest Erickson

Sent by Forrest Erickson | 8:33 PM ET | 02-18-2008

Obviously Richard Nixon is no great example of an ideal president, and so I agree that bringing up his name would have caused undue prejudice. Now that Romney is out of the race, I feel it apropriate to bring up the fact that Nixon was a Quaker. His having been Quaker didn't seem to affect his electablity. Did the fact that he was exceptionally bad at being a Quaker make it more palatable? I don't remember any debate on his religion during his campaign. But then again, campaigns were much more civil back then. (It was Nixon's side that used the dirty tricks...) It is notable that Mitt Romney's father, George was contending for a few months with Nixon. That would have put a Mormon up against a Quaker-- also an unusual combination.

Sent by Bitherwack | 11:46 PM ET | 02-18-2008

I am not a particularly relious person myself (although I do try to keep an open mind). Therefore, I find it incredibly ironic that many supposed "atheists" espouse their beliefs with the same conviction as your run of the mill Southern Baptist. If you truly don't believe in God or religion then why care so much? Claiming that your beleifs (or lack thereof) are being descriminated against certainly doesn't bear the mark of a mind that has moved beyond religious convictions. Rather, I would suggest simply taking a step back and enjoying the spectacle that invariably accompanies any sort of theological discussion (especially amongst politicians). As Nietzshe said, "Not by wrath does one kill, but by laughter". Just some food for thought.

Sent by JLC | 11:39 AM ET | 02-20-2008

DNA research supports Book of Mormon claims of genetic link between Native Americans and ancient Israel. The primary pre-Columbian lineage group designated as Q is found in modern Jews; 5% of Ashkenazi, 5% of Iraqi Jews and 15% of Yemenite Jews.

Sent by Doug Forbes | 5:50 PM ET | 02-23-2008

Doug, you can read an excerpt of Charles Mann's book 1491 at the Atlantic Monthly

The Atlantic Monthly | March 2002 | Source

Before it became the New World, the Western Hemisphere was vastly more populous and sophisticated than has been thought???an altogether more salubrious place to live at the time than, say, Europe. New evidence of both the extent of the population and its agricultural advancement leads to a remarkable conjecture: the Amazon rain forest may be largely a human artifact

by Charles C. Mann

Sent by fred camorra call | 12:23 PM ET | 02-24-2008

Well, I'm not surprised by the whims of some of the American voters. They haven't had the greatest tract record for electing people based on MORAL upright behavior. Just look at the last two & you see the problems that exist. One being held still up as a "model" though he cheated on his wife with an aid; and the other being a man who spouts the babble of his faith to justify killing thousands of Iraqis for the sake of ??? and let us not forget those Afghan women who were going to be "liberated" from their cultural dress. For what purpose? All you have to do is look at the Christian webpages that complain about not being able to send their missionaries into certain countries & you have a Who's Who of the "Axis of Evil". The reality is BIGOTRY and RACISM & Sexism have continued to this day, as has NATIONALISM. All these isms justify injustice to the "Other" people. Why would the atheists or the Mormons think they are immune? THe Muslims of this country have been being stomped on for a number of years & I can't remember very many of either the Mormons or the Atheists standing up for their fellow Americans who were/are Muslim. As a Muslim American who traces my lineage back to the Massachusetts Bay colonies, I find the hypocracy of religious bigotry amplified when we say "seperation of CHURCH & State". Lets get real... CHURCH is the only thing allowed in politics especially now!! The complaints of the religious majority (ie Christians) has been one that has crushed the rights of all others & yet they complain when their sect (whatever it is) is a target of bigotry & hatred. Well, if the pulpits were not used as they were just recently to PUMP up bigotry (ie Obama's former/current minister) then perhaps PEACE in this world could happen right here in the "Land of the Free". I'm sure the Native American community would love to finally see their own faith given the same level of respect & treatment as the majority group that over-ran this country. We could perhaps start with SEPERATING religion from public politics & then perhaps respect the various faiths of prison inmates where Missionaries are allowed in, but other ideology groups or minority faiths can't go in unless an inmate invited them to come. Christians however, tend not to be under this same rule. So across the board religious descrimination is growing in this country, not fading.

I remember when we had a rule in our society... that we didn't talk about religion or politics in POLITE company.

Maybe that is something we need to return to.

Sent by A. S. David | 11:03 PM ET | 03-20-2008