Written by Don Byrd
In a forum on Friday, Texas Republican Senator and presidential candidate Ted Cruz remarked that an atheist “isn’t fit to be commander-in-chief of this nation.” This despite the clear constitutional prohibition on any religious test for office.
Back in September, in response to Ben Carson’s assertion that Islam is “not consistent with” the U.S. Constitution, and that no Muslim-American should be “in charge of this nation,” I wrote:
We should judge candidates’ qualification for office based upon their policy ideas and their record of service, not the faith they claim. If a candidate supports objectionable policies, their candidacy should be opposed on those grounds.
Muslim-Americans are fully American. No faith renders an American any less so. That is the promise of our Constitution. It should be the aspiration of our candidates for office as well.
What I wrote with regard to Carson’s statements about Muslim-Americans applies equally to Cruz’s statements about atheists. Why do Cruz and Carson feel the need to disqualify candidates on the basis of their faith or lack of faith, when the Constitution says otherwise?
These candidate statements are troubling on (at least) 2 fronts:
First, they show an incredible lack of regard for the spirit of religious liberty enshrined in the constitutional command that there be no religious test for public office. Simply put, an American’s suitability for office is not determined by his or her faith. Period.
Second, I can’t help but notice that there are currently no Muslims or atheists running for President. So, what is the purpose of either of these statements other than to try and win political favor by discrediting minority religious viewpoints? That brand of divisive politics, along religious lines, harms our democracy and undermines the promise of religious liberty.
