Religion and Representation
By CHARLES M. BLOW"That’s why a report this week by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life about the religious composition of the 112th Congress caught my eye. According to the report, the unaffiliated (atheists, agnostics, the unchurched, uncommitted, etc.), at 16.1 percent of the population, is the largest religious group in America without representation in Congress. (Six members, about 1 percent, did not specify a religious category.)"
Though atheists make up about 5% of Americans, there is only one in out of 435 Congress, California’s Pete Stark. That is .23% representing 5% of Americans or a representative deficiency of more than an 20 times less than should be. 20 times!
But what struck me about this column is something I have been saying for so long. Neither politicians nor the mainstream media can decry religious belief. Even a New York times columnist MUST not cross that line. MUST NOT cross that line.