This lawmaker isn’t sure God exists
Now, Jared Huffman has finally decided to tell people
So on Thursday, he released a statement saying he is a humanist, a loose philosophy based on the idea that humans should work to improve society and live ethically, guided by reason, not necessarily by anything supernatural. While there are some humanist organizations and congregations, generally it describes a worldview, not an affiliation.
The definition of “atheism” is simply the absence of belief in any deities.
Experts on religious identity in Congress say Huffman seems to be only the second member in contemporary records to describe his ethical system as not being God-based. The first was long-serving Democrat Pete Stark, also of Northern California, who made news a decade ago when he came out as an atheist. Historians debate the specific spiritual views of the earliest members of Congress, and records for many are thin.
The number of members who decline to offer a description of their faith identity has bounced between five and 10 since the 1960s, according to the Pew Research Center, which used data from CQ Roll Call – a news site that compiles a highly used guide to lawmakers – and the Library of Congress.
U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., became the first member to identify as “unaffiliated,” in 2013, and has remained private about her beliefs since. Her spokesperson has added only that she does not consider herself an atheist.
Huffman is believed to be the first to call himself a “humanist,” saying the tag “atheist” offers a level of certainty he doesn’t feel – and perhaps arrogance.
“I’m not hostile to religion, and I’m not judging other people’s religious views,” he said. He also thinks that in 2017, people like himself should be able to be open about their basic faith perspective.
Numbers aside, the decision wasn’t easy. Humanist and secular groups reached out to him in 2014 when he appeared on The Colbert Report in a feature about lawmakers. In that, the comic host ribbed Huffman for leaving his status vague. “Unspecified? Come on, grow a pair. What is it? Are you an atheist?” Colbert cracked.
“I don’t know,” Huffman replied. “Agnostic then?” “Perhaps.” Colbert’s journalist character picked up his pen.
“I’ll just put you down for ‘heathen-slash-hell-bound.’”
Huffman said that at the moment, he’s a “nonbeliever, a skeptic,” but he’s open to having his mind changed. “I suppose you could say I don’t believe in God. The only reason I hesitate is – unlike some humanists, I’m not completely closing the door to spiritual possibilities. We all know people who have had experiences they believe are divine... and I’m open to something like that happening.”
Huffman had stuck with his unspecific profile. But in the past year, he became more alarmed with certain appearances of religion in policymaking, and became more driven by the desire to make space in public life for nonbelievers.
After consulting with everyone from his wife to the Rev. Pat Conroy, the House chaplain, to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Huffman decided that the right thing to do was switch his category. He thinks his constituents will appreciate it. Just one friend advised against it, saying it could hurt him politically.
“I don’t believe my religion is necessarily relevant to the work I do. But I do think it doesn’t quite feel right to just take a pass on the question, because your religious views can speak to your moral and ethical framework on the world. And that is something I think the public is entitled to know,” Huffman said.
Ron Millar, who runs the Center for Freethought Equality, said there is definitely a risk. The center is the advocacy arm of the American Humanist Association.
“Obviously there is a stigma, so there could be some pushback. But we’re only going to get rid of that stigma when more elected officials openly identify,” Millar said.
While Huffman doesn’t identify as atheist, he is aligning himself with Americans whose primary worldview is non-theist – and who are concerned with the separation of church and state.
Openly identifying as atheist is still seen as a political negative, though the negative numbers are declining. A Pew poll last year found 51 per cent of U.S. adults say they would be less likely to vote for a presidential candidate who does not believe in God – a bigger drawback than having an extramarital affair or having financial troubles. But Huffman doesn’t feel alone.
“I think in this day and age, it needs to be okay for there to be a member of Congress with my particular religious views, and I will tell you there are many who would agree with me – this place is full of humanists, agnostics and folks with nonreligious views of various types who are driven to public works for reasons that have nothing to do with religion.”
I’m not hostile to religion, and I’m not judging other people’s religious views.