Anthony M. Stevens-Arroyo
Director, Research Center for Religion in Society and Culture

Anthony M. Stevens-Arroyo

Anthony M. Stevens-Arroyo is Professor Emeritus of Puerto Rican and Latino Studies at Brooklyn College and Distinguished Scholar of the City University of New York.

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Atheist's or Believer's Delight?

“Atheists’ Delight!” is how I would characterize this question. The only sensible answer is to stress voting for “the best qualified candidate,” which would “prove” that religion doesn’t matter. If one insists that religion become a qualification for office, that insistence makes the respondent not only a bigot, but also un-American. Pushing beyond the superficial first blush, however, there actually is a question here for people for whom faith matters.

At issue is not the religious preference of the voter, but the religious practice of the candidate. In other words, "What is the role of faith in making a candidate the best qualified?"

My experience with religion leads me to conclude that throughout history its members are mostly sinners. (I know that some religions call all their adherents “saints,” with the unfortunate connotation that everyone else is hell-bent. But that is a separate issue.) Current candidates for the presidency have likewise demonstrated a host of imperfections which makes them a lot like presidents who have won elections and turned flaws into major blunders.

The issue for me is how a candidate addresses mistakes and failings. Religion shapes one’s perception of mistakes and failings (“sins” is the theological term), so knowing something about how a candidate deals with adversity may be useful to an intelligent voter. People can chose to totally ignore religion, of course. But freedom goes two ways. Each person should be free to take this factor into account in making up his or her mind about voting – that’s the protection to the practice religion guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

There are some historical examples to serve as cautionary tales. Stalin, Pol Pot and Mao Zedung are three of the most prominent political figures who believed in atheism. None of them even gave people a choice of voting for them, but ruled as bloody dictators. An intelligent and logical observer would have understood that atheism shaped the way these leaders dealt with dissent, mistakes and political decisions. Might an atheist someday come to power and provide a model of good government? I would want to move beyond the rhetoric and examine the practice of atheism of such a hypothetical candidate and make sure it is not like the three mentioned above before voting.

Politicians professing to be religious should be measured by a similar standard. For instance, recognizing beforehand candidate George W. Bush’s shallow understanding of the Methodist tradition, would have disclosed the hollowness of his 2000 election claim to be a “Compassionate Conservative.” Indeed, the Methodist Church is one of the most distinguished for its advocacy for the poor, and the need for social justice. But the religious practice of George W. did not include heeding the directives of his professed church. When the Methodists denounced the pre-emptive invasion of Iraq, for example, this president did not follow the leadership of his denomination. The problem is not that he is Methodist: the problem is he is not Methodist enough.

So the practice of his religion was more important than his public profession. The same question of adherence or neglect ought to be a factor in considering the candidacy of Methodist Hillary Clinton.

Knowledge of a candidate’s professed religion, I maintain, is not as important as information on a candidates religious practice. Based on that logic, the real question for this week might read: “Is a Muslim candidate who practices the mandates of the Qur’an to be preferred over a Christian who ignores the teachings of Christ?” Given the current morass in Iraq, the rise of militancy in Iran, the fragility of the Saudi Royal House, the ambiguity in Syria and the factional strife in Palestine, this is not an idle question for foreign policy. The answer would require a grasp of the differences not only between Sunnis and Shiites, but also discernment about the teachings of Hanbali, the Hanafi school, Hassan al-Banna, Sayyid Qutb, and Salafism. How wonderful it would be to have a US president a person who could analyze a situation with this sophistication!

One should be equally rigorous with U.S. presidential candidates. For instance, what if anything does McCain’s practice of religion in a Baptist church say about following his faith as an Episcopalian? If you take your civic duties seriously, such factors are relevant, even if they are not determinative. A careful examination of religion from the perspective of faith, rather than from an atheist’s point of view would constitute a Believer’s Delight!

By Anthony M. Stevens-Arroyo  |  October 5, 2007; 3:06 PM ET  | Category:  Religion & Politics Save & Share:  Send E-mail   Facebook   Twitter   Digg   Yahoo Buzz   Del.icio.us   StumbleUpon   Technorati  
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I like George Carlin's statement:

"I don't want to belong to a group that has as its
symbol a man nailed to a couple of sticks."

In that vein, despite Stalin, Pol Pot, and Mao, I
would like to see a genuine atheist become the
President of the United States.

Present candidates, who profess their belief in
God in order to garner votes from the religious
adherents among us, ar hypocrites.

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The author ignores recent scholarship that proves that Stalin, Pol Pot and Mao Zedung committed their atrocities not because they were atheists, but because they were not NASCAR enthusiasts.

Yet, what is Mr Arroyo doing to bring NASCAR to the countries that were so devastated by Stalin, Pol Pot and Mao Zedung's a-NASCARism? Precious little, I'll bet.

Posted by: Mr Mark | October 8, 2007 3:21 PM
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Would you place George Washington in the same category as Stalin, Pol Pot and Mao Zedung?

"George Washington's practice of Christianity was limited and superficial because he was not himself a Christian... He repeatedly declined the church's sacraments. Never did he take communion, and when his wife, Martha, did, he waited for her outside the sanctuary... Even on his deathbed, Washington asked for no ritual, uttered no prayer to Christ, and expressed no wish to be attended by His representative." [New York Press, 1987, pp. 174-175]

http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/irwin_kula/2007/10/god_isnt_a_political_hack.html

Posted by: Bemused | October 7, 2007 11:29 PM
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Chiguaga: support your claims. Otherwise you look like a race-baiting fool.

Posted by: Anonymous | October 7, 2007 10:59 PM
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Chiguaga: support your claims. Otherwise you look like a race-baiting fool.

Posted by: Anonymous | October 7, 2007 10:59 PM
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Mr. Stevens-Arroyo,

I'm not even going to dignify your essay by responding to any of your supposed points. I'd just like to say that you are pathetic, hateful man. I pity you.

Posted by: Ash | October 7, 2007 8:20 PM
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All these people are a bunch of racist. They hate Mr. Stevens-Arroyo not because of his arguments but because of his Latino background.
Some day all the United States will be a Hispanic nation, everybody is going to speak Spanish and all the Anglo people would have to get back to Europe. LOL

Posted by: Chiguaga | October 7, 2007 7:07 PM
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I agree—an astonishingly poorly-written column. Aside from the aforementioned straw man argument Stevens-Arroyo uses, I really liked his little trick of suggesting that atheist presidential candidates should be scrutinized to be sure they are not tyrannical mass murderers hiding behind a mask of banality, while theist presidential candidates should be scrutinized to be certain that they have a sufficiently deep grasp of other religions—Bush’s shallow understanding of Methodist is given as an example.

So, who would you choose?

Atheist: A vote for an atheist might be a vote for Stalin v2.0.

Theist: On the other hand, a vote for a theist might be a vote for someone who doesn't know a lot about religions, even his or her own religion.

To answer the original question, yes, a candidate's religious beliefs should be taken into account when voting. Given that G.W. confesses God tells him what to do and bases some of his responses on this divine communication, I would be remiss not to. If the word God were removed from that relationship, and Bush claimed that he heard a voice telling him what to do, it might be reasonable to assume that G.W. needs treatment for a mental illness. Add God in and those kinds of questions go away.

I’d be really interested to hear from Stevens-Arroyo on what methodology he proposes to use to investigate his proposition that any atheist candidate could potentially be the second coming of Pol Pot, Stalin or Mao Zedung?

Posted by: John Griffith | October 7, 2007 10:13 AM
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I agree—an astonishingly poorly-written column. Aside from the aforementioned straw man argument Stevens-Arroyo uses, I really liked his little trick of suggesting that atheist presidential candidates should be scrutinized to be sure they are not tyrannical mass murderers hiding behind a mask of banality, while theist presidential candidates should be scrutinized to be certain that they have a sufficiently deep grasp of other religions—Bush’s shallow understanding of Methodist is given as an example.

So, who would you choose?

Atheist: A vote for an atheist might be a vote for Stalin v2.0.

Theist: On the other hand, a vote for a theist might be a vote for someone who doesn't know a lot about religions, even his or her own religion.

To answer the original question, yes, a candidate's religious beliefs should be taken into account when voting. Given that G.W. confesses God tells him what to do and bases some of his responses on this divine communication, I would be remiss not to. If the word God were removed from that relationship, and Bush claimed that he heard a voice telling him what to do, it might be reasonable to assume that G.W. needs treatment for a mental illness. Add God in and those kinds of questions go away.

I’d be really interested to hear from Stevens-Arroyo on what methodology he proposes to use to investigate his proposition that any atheist candidate could potentially be the second coming of Pol Pot, Stalin or Mao Zedung?

Posted by: John Griffith | October 7, 2007 10:05 AM
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Just to pile on the critique of Stevens-Arroyo's "logic"--by his reasoning we should be scrutinizing every political candidate for U.S. President (all Christian) to make sure they're not like Milosovec, Mussolini, Franco, Pinochet, or Hitler.

I hope the people who pay him read these columns to see what an intellectual hack he appears to be.

Posted by: rafael | October 6, 2007 9:35 PM
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"Faith" refers to a type of belief that is maintained in the absence of evidence. Is this really an admirable characteristic and something we want to see in our political leaders? I'd much rather have a president who utilizes rational thought and who bases his or her decisions and beliefs on evidence.

Posted by: vjack | October 6, 2007 11:52 AM
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I know what it is bugging many bloggers.
Mr Arroyo's piece is like it was written for really dumb readers.
Yeah.That's what bothered me.It spoke to me as if I was a naive fool.
And the grotesque grin is no help.
Gives me the creeps.

Posted by: Meg | October 5, 2007 11:46 PM
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As far as we know,there is no god,any more than there's a boogieman or an easter bunnyrabbit.
But God is your bread and butter,so you have to keep pushing him on people,like Walt Disney pushed Mickey Mouse.
But Disney never pretended that Mickey Mouse was real,like you pretend that God is real.
Religion's trick is to push the God idea into a child's head,so that when he's grown up it becomes a part of his identity,and he's successfully indoctrinated,and you got him for life.
Well,atheism is on the march.Check the bestseller lists.People are getting sick of you and your religion.
People wouldn't believe in a God if it wasn't drummed into their heads as children.
My dream is that one day it will be against the law.

Posted by: yoyo | October 5, 2007 11:28 PM
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Um...How does one "believe in atheism"?

Posted by: Jorg | October 5, 2007 9:54 PM
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And once again, Stevens-Arroyo takes time out of his busy life to insult atheists. Does the man never sleep?

Posted by: Brian Westley | October 5, 2007 9:32 PM
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Perhaps Stevens-Arroyo should stop "practicing" his Zeus-atheism?

Posted by: A Thinking BUM | October 5, 2007 7:54 PM
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::sarcasm::

Stevens-Arroyo is right, but he doesn't go far enough: ALL of the atrocities of the past 2,000 years have been conducted by people who were atheists.

Atheism with respect to Zeus has caused all of wars and genocide in the past 2,000 years.

Can you name a single massacre that occurred in the past 1500 years that WASN'T conducted by a Zeus-atheist?

I didn't think so.

What a damning account of those who fail to acknowledge the lightning wielder of Olympus!

::/sarcasm::

Posted by: A Thinking BUM | October 5, 2007 7:52 PM
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Professor,
Your proposed question is profoundly flawed:"
Is a Muslim candidate who practices the mandates of the Qur’an to be preferred over a Christian who ignores the teachings of Christ?” You are not comparing apples to apples and your question is full of condecension, namely that what you are implying: is the best that can Islam offer better than the worst Christianity can offer. U could have paused the question as: Is the Muslim who lives up to Quranic guidance and principles preferable to a Christian who lives up to the guidance and principles of the Bible? This would have been a fair question but not the right question-which should be: is a presidential candidate qualified to and will faithfully implement, respect and protect the US constitution?

A Muslim believes in the true unaltered, uncorrupted and consistent truth, Monotheism, which Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad preached-along with the package of values and ethos that come with it.

Let me refer you to the unique model of Muslim Spain (711-1492 AD)-which model predates America and which achieved a multi-cultural and multi-religious diversity of tolerance and peaceful co-existence unprecedented in human history-and resulted in a brilliant contribution to human civilization-without which the European renaissance and the industrial revolution would have never been possible.
Unfortunately, this model of enlightened human diversity was destroyed by no one other than narrow-minded, xenophobic and religious extremism of the Catholic Church and manifested it self in the horrendous Inquisition imposed mainly on Spanish Muslims and on Jews and the in the Crusades on the Muslim east.

If not checked, McCain’s bigotry can lead to hatred and trouble.

Posted by: Asim | October 5, 2007 7:41 PM
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I bought a used car once from a guy who had that same smug expression on his face and a similar slick line. Stupid me.

Never again. I'm not buying what you're selling.

Posted by: Anonymous | October 5, 2007 7:06 PM
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Atheist = not theist
Theist = belief in a god.

So theist is something, in this case a belief.

So
Theist = something

This would make atheist not something.
And if it is not something then it is nothing.

So this Anthony Stevens, who writes as if he understand basic logic, completely fails to implement it. And in this case makes his whole point on top of a strawman he built, maybe so he can feel good about himself as it knocks it down.

All he is really doing is showing how he can use “nothing” to demonize a segment of the population that doesn’t believe as he does. This makes him a bigot.

Posted by: Joe | October 5, 2007 7:00 PM
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The professor hasn't kept up with the arguments on other threads re: the totalitarianism of Stalin, Pol Pot, etc., etc. and that atheism is not an ideology unto itself, but simply the rejection of theistic belief. But then, it's clear he is afflicted with religiously-enforced tunnel vision, so reading those past discussions wouldn't help anyway.

You want to play the "body count" game, with religion and god on one side, and "atheistic ideology" on the other? Let's throw in the divine decimation of all terrestrial life on the planet (save a few representatives that got a boat ride) in Genesis. Not to mention the other OT atrocities.

Do you think it happened? Or is it just fable? It certainly provided a convenient template for future authoritarian ideologues.

Your god makes the 20th century fascists and communists look like slackers.

Posted by: jay s | October 5, 2007 6:52 PM
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I hate this man. I truly hate this man. Here on full display is the full panoply of religious idiocy:

"I never met an atheist I liked."

-Change that to anything else and he would be out on the street holding apocalyptic signs.

He called atheists "spoil sports." Really mature. What analysis!!!

"Leaders who believe in atheism."

-Again, willful ignorance.

"The practice of atheism."

-See aforemetnioned ignorance.

I hat ethat stupid smiling picture he has and everything he writes. I want a response f4rom this vacuous clown. Is this how he treats his students. Does he just talk past them and ignore all objections to his thinking and just go on repeating the same stupid incantations? Apparently its acceptable to believe just about anything to Arroyo as long as it doesn't hurt anybody, and by anybody I mean people who believe in his sterile nonsense that has no teeth and no ability to meet anything but tepid objections coming from timid multiculturalists. You are the most aggravating person on this blog Arroyo. At least Colson and Cal Thomas are openly bigoted and not infuriatingly smug, silly, and patronizing. Go jump off a bridge.

Posted by: Bill C. | October 5, 2007 1:20 PM
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"...examine the practice of atheism..."

There is no "practice of atheism". To suggest so is akin to referencing the "hobby of not collecting stamps".

And is this piece an example of being "fair and balanced", something that you were so passionate about last week?

Posted by: Mike K. | October 5, 2007 12:37 PM
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You don't get it do you? I am a proud atheist,but there is no such thing as believing in atheism.
It's about NOT believing in the spooky and weird;which is what believing in a skygod is all about. But you are unable to see that aren't you?
You are simply indoctrinated,and blind to certain realities. And to think you get paid to write this drivel.
You,and others like you,make me proud to be a non believer.

Posted by: Jimbo | October 5, 2007 10:27 AM
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"There are some historical examples to serve as cautionary tales. Stalin, Pol Pot and Mao Zedung are three of the most prominent political figures who believed in atheism"

Apparently you don't believe in the rules of logic. How do I "believe in atheism," which is nothing more than the proposition that there is not sufficient evidence to justify belief in a deity.

As for Stalin Pol Pot and Mao, you juct ignore the glaringly obvious fact that they were Marxists and any reading of Marx can quickly point out the connection between his beliefs and totalitarianism. No you are so intellectually dishonest and filled with hate of atheists that you just say those leaders "believed in atheism" (a non-sensical proposition anyway) and ignore everything else. I am wondering what mockery of an educational institution decided to give you a doctorate, and also why your post on this site aren't evidence enough of intellectual infantility to have you fired from Brooklyn College. My guess is that the Latino Studies department is filled with hacks such as you who like talking to each other in group think sessions.

Posted by: Bill C. | October 4, 2007 2:04 PM
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You said:

'I know that some religions call all their adherents “saints,” with the unfortunate connotation that everyone else is hell-bent. But that is a separate issue.'

I am acquainted with only one denomination that calls its adherents "saints," and this denomination explicitly teaches that good people outside the denomination are _not_ "hell-bent." As a result, I find myself questioning your credibility.

Posted by: Kent | October 4, 2007 12:56 PM
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