And again, with the Republicans. As my brother summarizes this political ad, “You can’t trust a politician that takes support from atheists or agnostics or infidels of any stripe.” Because, you know, it’s uncontroversial that everyone who believes in God is automatically a better person than everyone who doesn’t.
Look, if you want to believe in God, go right ahead. But when you question the patriotism of people who don’t believe in God, or suggest they ought not participate in politics, or run ads like the one above, you’ve crossed a line. There’s no substance in that ad. Elizabeth Dole’s campaign says nothing worthwhile in that ad. Instead, they simply rely on the underlying assumption, which they clearly expect the television viewers in North Carolina to share, that people who don’t believe in God are untrustworthy or shady or somehow otherwise evil.
And you can draw the obvious comparison, if you want: Obama’s comment about people in rural Pennsylvania clinging to guns, religion, and xenophobia when times are tough. What’s the difference? Obama was drawing an analytical conclusion, one that is far from completely unwarranted, while the Dole campaign was simply appealing to irrational, ignorant fear. In some ways, this Dole campaign ad itself is evidence that Obama’s pop-psychological analysis was not without merit.
When religious people wonder why atheists can summon such rage against them, they should remember that there are still enough people in many parts of the nation to create an audience receptive to ads like this one.