Obama Mentions Non-Believers in Easter Address

I’ve always harbored a hope that he’s really still a non-believer himself in spite of all his utterances (and book) to the contrary. In this country it’s not possible to get elected to most offices without being “Christian”…

I think that it is respectful, promotes respect for non-believers, and I appreciate it.
Obama tries to be the “Uniter,” after all.

Just acknowledging the existence of non believers is both trivial but monolithic at the same time. It’s kinda sad that I should feel so great about it. But I’m going to take it and run with it in the hope that future presidents, which ever side of the fence they may be on, wouldn’t dare to exclude us. It’ll be like saying “People of America… except for the women, blacks, Jews, left handers, one legged midget Asian lesbians whose favorite color is purple, or ATHEISTS….. (delete as appropriate)…. I ask you to come together…..”

It might have been lip service if it was just once. It might have been lip service if it were mentioned again on a secular day.

But to mention non-believers on the Easter Address? It’s not even a state holiday, it’s an entirely religious day (that the chocolate makers and the egg dye industry has co-opted)! To mention Hindus, Muslims and us is unbelievable.

I doubt I will ever suffer the injustices of those who fought for the Civil Rights movement, but today I feel like I understand a tiny sliver of Rosa Park’s joys.

I think his inclusion of non-believers is a step in the right direction, be it lip service or otherwise. We are included along with believers in a positive statement, and THAT is a good thing!

I’m not sure I buy that Obama’s professed Christianity isn’t genuine. But it’s important to remember that his mother was an unapologetic atheist, and he loved his Mom. I don’t think he could exclude non-believers in good conscience without feeling like he was disowning his own mother.

I suspect he’s a secret non-believer himself. His mom was a non-believer. Imagine that, your mom a non-believer, and you grow up and are somehow convinced to become a Christian. By what argument? What is this non-idiotic argument for Christianity? I’ve never seen such an argument. I think it was a pragmatic “conversion.” As a black politician, being an atheist, well that’d be political suicide.

Of course this is only my suspicion. Who knows what’s going on inside the man’s mind.

I think he cares about and respects his parents, and so does not exclude them from these speeches.

“I think it was a pragmatic “conversion.” As a black politician, being an atheist, well that’d be political suicide.”

Here’s the quote from Wikipedia on his conversion: “In The Audacity of Hope, Obama writes that he “was not raised in a religious household”. He describes his mother, raised by non-religious parents (whom Obama has specified elsewhere as “non-practicing Methodists and Baptists”) to be detached from religion, yet “in many ways the most spiritually awakened person that I have ever known”. He describes his father as “raised a Muslim”, but a “confirmed atheist” by the time his parents met, and his stepfather as “a man who saw religion as not particularly useful”. Obama explained how, through working with black churches as a community organizer while in his twenties, he came to understand “the power of the African-American religious tradition to spur social change.”

I just think it’s nice to be included. Whatever his reasons may be and I’m damned if I’m gonna try and read his mind on that. It’s a good break from the recent decades of venom towards nonbelievers. Especially George Sr.’s statement that we shouldn’t even be considered citizens.

So, I’d like to just say a sincere, “Thank you, Mr. President.”

Not exactly. Even Blaise Pascal admitted there is no proof of the existence of God but he was willing to bet his life on it. But Obama has always been open about how he’s a moderate Christian, not a fundamentalist.

@Vene – well this is before the election so it could be seen as a campaigning scheme, either way I hope that “if” he is a nonbeliever, that he can “come out” when it may not be so much of a political suicide for him (although the mere fact that he has to take this in consideration is saddening and in a way irksome) – and if he is religious and not a heathen then it is still a great leap forward for him to raise everyone’s consciousness to where, to not recognize non-believers would be akin to not recognizing other ethnicities and/or women, I would also want for him to publish his own arguments for his “faith” and will delightfully examine them and “rip them” apart in all loving sense of the term.

I’m sure that there are elements of pragmatism in the statements. How many votes does including non-believers garner? How many does it lose? Whatever his motivation he is doing something to make non-belief more mainstream and acceptable as people will hear these words and take them for granted as normal.

Sure he sees faith as a positive force for social cohesion. That is why he supports faith based initiatives. He is smart enough to understand that something that works for him and for others doesn’t necessarily work for everyone.

I think that it was great that he included non believers in his speech. That bush fellow would have never even thought of it. I am glad that we have Obama has a president. I may be an optimistic fool, but I have a little hope with him in the office.

I know that words have power, but to me actions will always speak louder than words. His mentioning non-believers IMO is a start. A start to what? Not sure myself. But I don’t see anything wrong with it:)

I don’t know what to think about Obama and his religion. He was agnostic for years, and his conversion came a very… convenient time for him in his political career. On the other hand, can one really say for sure that Obama is engaging in dishonesty on this issue? Maybe his Christianity was once political and is now genuine, who knows.

As for the statements of inclusion for secular people, its a step. But I want more. I want in god we trust taken off our coins. I want the exclusionary god taken out of the pledge. I want the federally funded faith based slush fund and prayer breakfast’s to cease. I’m greedy that way.

Wow, let’s not look a gift horse in the mouth, Hemant! I’ll take this “lip service” ANY day over George H.W. Bush’s pronouncement that “No, I don’t know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.”

As much as I appreciate President Obama acknowledging those of us that don’t believe in the supernatural. I have to state that he will go down in history as one of the worst Presidents to ever take on the job. He is just AWFUL. I have rarely experienced watching someone so inept at their job. It is just sad. I know in the current climate that to be a non-believer is also to be liberal. I don’t know why that is. You’re smart enough not believe in superstition, but ignorant enough to drink whatever kool-aid the Democratic party has to offer… good or (and mostly) bad. Why is that? REALLY… Why is that? Republicans are bad enough, but the Democrats are as much against what the United States stands for (Independence, Liberty, Freedom, Self-Reliance) as Islamic Facisist.

“Jews and Christians, Muslims and Hindus, believers and nonbelievers alike … ”
Retorical brilliance!

No are the nonbelievers the non-muslims or the non-christians?

“Jews and Christians, Muslims and Hindus, and nonbelievers” would have been less ambiguous. Although I think he is really an atheist pretending to be a christian.

I agree with several other previous comments that it may be mere lip service but at this point even lip service from a sitting President is a small yet beneficial step in the right direction. Special thanks to Jeff P for mentioning the alleged statement by the first President Bush about atheists, it went through my mind as read this posting also. If it is true, its a dramatic comparison in attitudes toward those who don’t believe.

Until something concrete is done about it, it is lip-service. However, I do appreciate it, because a simple acknowledgment of our existence is already much better than pretending that there is no such thing as atheists. Seeing how it irritates some douchebaggers pardon, teabaggers, seems to confirm that it’s spot on.

@gsw:

That reminds me of a joke about 90s’ Ireland. A fellow is asked a question at a checkpoint: “Are you a Protestant or a Catholic?” He responds, “I’m an atheist.” The guard thinks for a second and asks, “A Protestant atheist or a Catholic atheist?”

Considering that only 20 years ago President Bush I stated that he did not consider atheists to even be Americans, I guess this is a step in the right direction.

Maybe he’s just good at acknowledging reality. After all atheists are an increasingly important minority in America aren’t they? He won’t say the word “Atheist” though. I guess bald people aren’t bald, but “nonhaired” 🙂

What I like most is that he never inserts things sneakily as premises in his talking. He speaks out with clarity. For example, look at this quote by Bob McDonnell:

“slavery … deprived people of their god-given inalienable rights”

Why god-given? He’s not speaking out clearly, like “I believe our rights come from God”. No, he’s talking about something else and “naïvely” slippes God into the speech. Now it’s taken for granted that it was God who created human inalienable rights. But sir, I thought it was the United Nations in 1948! By the way, precisely because he’s talking about something else, it seems inappropiate to point that out because it’s like “come on, don’t change the subject now!” I think it’s a really good thing your current president always chooses to speak with honesty rather than resorting to these sleazy rhetorical tactics.

I don’t care about one’s personal beliefs if, like your president and unlike the guy in the example, one keeps them for oneself.

Here’s the way I think we should judge this: Did someone at Fox News get angry? Did Rush Limbaugh choke on his breakfast? Did a Graham grit his teeth? Did the WBC color their signs especially hard?

If none of these things happened, it was a message that might not matter. After all, we are tuned into these things as awesome atheists (and the atheist-friendly who also post here). If the Christians didn’t notice, we need a louder and better message, O.