Agnostic.com

5 7

I just made a comment on social media that references that I've left the church. It was on a fellow nonbeliever's page but I know sometimes comments show up on friends' Facebook feeds so here's to the wait...

ashleyrenee 4 Feb 7
Share

Enjoy being online again!

Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.

Create your free account

5 comments

Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.

1

I love waiting for angry comments and the possible "unfriending". 😀

1

Enlightenment comes slowly; acknowledging enlightenment comes even more slowly.

1

Good luck. Stay safe. Keep your options open.

7

If you're in the south, you may want to consider if your job is safe if your employer finds out you left the church. If you have concerns, you may want to delete that... it is perfectly legal to discriminate against atheists in this here United States.

@AxeElf Even under circumstances where a person technically can't be discriminated against for something, there are plenty of legal loopholes where it can slip by if they do. In any "Right to Work" state, any person can be fired for any reason or no reason at all. There may be things they can't put on their discharge paperwork, but even if they tell you what you are really being fired for but there are no witnesses or evidence, that boils down to a he said/she said, the burden of proof is on the person making the claim, and depending on the judge and/or jury, that can be a high threshold. Even in other states "just cause" can very easily be trumped up.

Plus, although since a ruling in 2002 the following laws are said to not be enforced anymore - the laws are still on the books, and I wouldn't put a lot of trust in the legal system to just not enforce anti-atheist laws during the Trump administration:

[washingtonpost.com]

@AxeElf The "public trust" specification, such as in Texas, means that even jobs like being a librarian, or poverty relief programs like shiftworker at a homeless shelter, are not technically available to atheists:

"The most common public trusts are charitable trusts, whose holdings are intended to support religious organizations, to enhance education, or to relieve the effects of poverty and other misfortunes."

[britannica.com]

Here's a copy of the Washington Post article in case anyone hits a paywall:

GovBeat
There are states where you technically can’t hold public office if you’re an atheist
By Hunter Schwarz July 8, 2014 Email the author
Eight state constitutions include restrictions on people who don’t believe in a supreme being. In Arkansas, denying the existence of God means you can’t hold civil office or testify in court, while in Tennessee there are also guidelines about belief in the hereafter.

States with restrictions on atheists holding office

However, the Supreme Court ruled in a 1961 case that a Maryland man appointed as a notary public didn’t have to declare his belief in a supreme being to hold office, arguing it violated his rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Since then, these restrictions haven’t been enforced, said Dave Muscato, a spokesman for American Atheists.

Still, candidates for office who are openly atheist face discrimination at the polls. Muscato said a belief that atheists aren’t moral or trustworthy contributes to voters’ reluctance to say they’d vote for them. A 2014 Pew poll found 53 percent of Americans think it’s necessary to believe in God to be moral, and a 2012 Gallup poll found 43 percent of voters would not vote for a candidate who was atheist.

Here are the states and what their constitutions say about belief in a supreme being:

Arkansas

Article 19, section 1: “No person who denies the being of a God shall hold any office in the civil departments of this State, nor be competent to testify as a witness in any Court.”

Maryland

Article 37: “That no religious test ought ever to be required as a qualification for any office of profit or trust in this State, other than a declaration of belief in the existence of God; nor shall the Legislature prescribe any other oath of office than the oath prescribed by this Constitution.”

Mississippi

Article 14, section 265: “No person who denies the existence of a Supreme Being shall hold any office in this State.”

North Carolina

Article VI, section 8: “The following persons shall be disqualified for office: First, any person who shall deny the being of Almighty God.”

Pennsylvania

Article 1, section 4: “No person who acknowledges the being of a God and a future state of rewards and punishments shall, on account of his religious sentiments, be disqualified to hold any office or place of trust or profit under this Commonwealth.”

Note: Pennsylvania differs from the other states in that it says believers cannot be disqualified from holding office for his or her religious sentiments, but that is not extended to atheists.

South Carolina

Article XVII, section 4: “No person who denies the existence of a Supreme Being shall hold any office under this Constitution.”

Tennessee

Article IX, section 2: “No person who denies the being of God, or a future state of rewards and punishment, shall hold any office in the civil department of this state.”

Note: Ministers are also barred from holding office, because they “ought not to be diverted from the great duties of their functions; therefore, no minister of the Gospel, or priest of any denomination whatever, shall be eligible to a seat in either House of the Legislature,” according to article IX, section 1.

Texas

Article 1, section 4: “No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office, or public trust, in this State; nor shall any one be excluded from holding office on account of his religious sentiments, provided he acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being.”

4

You are up for grabs my dear and good luck.

Write Comment
You can include a link to this post in your posts and comments by including the text q:21956
Agnostic does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any content. Read full disclaimer.