Atheism in Five Minutes - Teemu Taira
35. Is It Possible for an Atheist to Become a President or a Prime Minister?
Atheism in Five Minutes - Teemu Taira
Stuart McAnulla [+]
University of Leeds
Stuart McAnulla is an Associate Professor in Politics at the University of Leeds. He has research interests in the politics of contemporary atheism, ideological change in British
politics and social/political science meta-theory. Books include: The Politics of New Atheism, 2019 (co-authored with Steven Kettell and Marcus Shulzke), Routledge, and British Politics: A Critical Introduction, Continuum.
Description
Even talented atheist political leaders need to think carefully about how they refer to God and religion in their campaigns. For example, presidential candidates in the United States are expected to have a religious affiliation, and polls suggest that many electors would not vote for an openly atheist candidate. However, the more secular political context in the United Kingdom means that it is very possible for an atheist to become the British prime minister. Indeed, within wider Europe there have been instances of atheists being elected as national leaders, and in Australia the atheist Julia Gillard became prime minister (2010-13).