There has never been a declared atheist as President, although some of the early ones were close to it. Jefferson was a deist and both Adams’s were conspicuously non-religious. Abraham Lincoln comes closest. He declared himself a non-believer as a young man, refused to say he was a Christian, and never joined a church.
Today, If you want to be President, you had better say you believe in God. A 2019 Gallup poll revealed that voters are more likely to elect a Muslim to the White House than an atheist. Non-believers also finish behind gays and every other political/demographic group, except ‘socialist’.
A 2014 Pew Research poll showed voters were more likely to elect a businessman, an adulterer, or someone who had never held office, than an atheist. And sure enough, in 2016, Donald Trump rode his lack of experience, his extramarital affairs, and his business background all the way to the White House — while having to make the ridiculous claim that he was a Christian.
Trump also proved that acting Christian was not a requirement. It was enough to say you are one. Why not? Conservative evangelicals embraced the poseur, despite — or because of — his expressly unchristian lifestyle. Every lurid tale of sexual battery by the pussy-grabber caused ecstasy in the fundamentalist congregation. Fraud, fornication, gouging, stiffing sub-contractors, hiring undocumented workers, cheating at golf, any evidence revealing his immorality was celebrated as proof he was the right man for the job. But even he couldn’t say he was a non-believer.
The religious make-up of Congress jibes with the opinions expressed in the polls. Only one member, California Democratic Rep. Jared Huffman, declares himself ‘other’ — specifically a ‘humanist’. And even he says he is not an atheist.
Among US Governors, ten do not list a religion. However, none of them have declared themselves non-believers. Although one is gay, Jared Polis CO, and one bisexual, Kate Brown, OR.
This antipathy to atheists as President, and the overwhelming religiosity among Representatives, is puzzling when contrasted with the decline in personal religious observance. For the first time, fewer than 50% of Americans claim to belong to a church/synagogue/mosque. The percent of the population attending religious services has fallen by 23 percentage points (70% to 47%) in 21 years (1999/2020).
Why is there this disconnect? Credit conservatives and their genius at branding opponents. In the US, atheism is indelibly linked with the ‘godless’ regimes of Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot. It is associated with unAmericanism, much as Catholicism was until Kennedy’s election. Let’s note that, despite atheism, there was still plenty of worship in those secular dictatorships. They didn’t dispose of God. They replaced them with a terrestrial Godhead. But enough of philosophy.
Added to this is the propaganda that atheists are necessarily immoral. That without a celestial cop, atheists lack the force keeping people on the straight and narrow. It is complete bullshit, of course. You could better argue that without a divine “get out of jail free” card, atheists have no way to salve a guilty conscience. So they have more incentive to do the right thing in the first place. What do I mean? Catholics have the confessional. Protestants can pray for and expect absolution. Jews and Muslims both have a route to atonement, starting with repentance — teshuva and tawbah respectively.
Are there even facts to support the theory that atheism leads to immorality? No, there are not. On the contrary, the evidence suggests that faith produces more sinners than atheism. Both property and violent crimes rates are higher in the Bible Belt than they are in the non-believing Northeast (source: 2019 FBI UCR). Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are also prevalent in states with high churchgoing rates. And online porn viewing is higher in the religious states.
However, despite the rise of freethinkers and the acceptance of other demographic groups, religion remains politically sacred in the US. But I guarantee the future is brighter. Atheists, especially younger ones looking for a career in politics, should not worry about the long term. Kennedy broke the Catholic barrier. Obama broke the color barrier. And Clinton would have broken the gender barrier but for the arcane, atavistic, and antiquated Electoral College. One day a declared atheist will be President — perhaps a Black lesbian atheist.