Congress has become more theologically diverse

By ROBERT WHITCOMB
PROVIDENCE JOURNAL
Congress is branching out. Not only is there now the first Muslim member, Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., and the first Buddhists, Reps. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., and Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, there is also -- and this is extraordinary given the political realities -- the first one that we can remember who won't say he believes in God.
"I am a Unitarian who does not believe in a supreme being," said Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., reminding us of the ambiguous theology of Unitarianism. Still, Stark does represent the San Francisco area, one of the places in America most likely to accept public non-belief, and to embrace a worldly, not to say trendy, stance toward everything.
It's curious that Stark still chooses to identify himself with what many people would consider a religious denomination. Or maybe it's still too perilous for a politician to come right out and confess, in no uncertain terms: "I am an atheist," even in the Bay Area.
America's multiplicty
In any event, it's nice that Congress reflects more widely these days America's multiplicity of views and emotions about religion. Of course, we're just talking about their public views. Given the realities of human nature, and the exigencies of politics, it's usually hard to figure out what politicians really believe. One thing almost all of them are usually very firm about in public, however, is that they stand four-square with God, however the Supreme Being may be defined from day to day. Whether or not the politicians really take the phrase "In God We Trust" literally, they are almost always sure to say that they do.
Scripps Howard News Service