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Republican presidential hopeful Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) claims that he is "dedicated to upholding the rule of law and preserving the Constitution." He sure has funny way of showing it. At a National Religious Liberties Conference in Iowa last Friday, Cruz basically declared that atheists are not fit to become president. Specifically, as OutsidetheBeltway.com reports at the conference…
…right-wing pastor Kevin Swanson introduced Cruz to the stage to ask him how important it was for candidates to submit to Jesus Christ as "the king of the President of the United States." "Any president who doesn't begin every day on his knees isn't fit to be commander-in-chief of this country," responded Cruz.
I know atheists aren't all that popular with voters; only 58 percent said that they would consider voting for one in a recent Gallup poll. But I would like to remind the senator of what Article 6 of the Constitution he is supposedly so dedicated to preserving says with respect to political office and relgion:
The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States. (emphasis added)
Ted Cruz is entitled to his opinion (as stupid as it is), but our nation's founders clearly thought that the belief or non-belief in a Cosmic Big Brother was a matter of private conscience and is not be a bar to public office. They are right and Ted Cruz is wrong.
Disclosure: I have been an out-atheist since my early teens.
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