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Featured: Interviews for the Well-Informed

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Sunday, May 3, 2015

Why Ted Cruz Could be a Gift to Atheists

The New Yorker's Andy Borowitz recently posted a satirical article with the headline “Cruz’s Constant References to Jesus Drive Millions to Atheism.“ Funny... and not actually that far from the truth.

I think if Ted Cruz becomes competitive in the race, or (dare I say it) if he eventually gets the GOP nomination, he may become the atheist movement’s best friend over the next year.

Think about it: This is someone who freely mixes church and state. He announced his candidacy at a fundamentalist Christian school.

He frequently references his faith when talking about policy. That sets off alarms to a lot of us who respect church/state separation. And that includes many Christians.

Cruz is getting more popular, and more well-known, and that makes him one of the most prominent politicians in the country as well as one of the most prominent Christians. He exudes Huckabee-level devotion to the idea of his faith guiding his politics.

More importantly, Cruz is someone who openly speaks out against LGBT rights, women’s rights, evolution, climate change… all issues Republicans want to avoid in the next election.

Because lately, when social issues become the focus in a state-wide or national race, they tend to lose. It's gonna be fascinating watching them navigate LGBT issues next year because they know their stance is unpopular and they know their base is vehemently anti-gay.

Many Republicans even avoided signing a Supreme Court brief against nationwide marriage equality because it’s such a toxic issue for them.

They don’t want another Todd Akin, especially as they’re watching Indiana's Governor Mike Pence get hammered over his anti-LGBT legislation.

You think Ted Cruz is going to avoid those issues? Not a chance. Social issues will become the centerpiece of his campaign.

So why is that good for the rest of us? Because even young Christians cringe at the way Republicans handle these issues.

As Cruz gets more popular, it means more young people will shy away from the label of Christianity because they don't want to be associated with him. Maybe they'll start to doubt their faith altogether, because they don’t want to be part of a religion that does so much damage in our society.

It takes someone as extreme as Cruz to make them realize how awful their beliefs really are.

I firmly believe the presidency of George W. Bush, with his faith-based policies, did as much (if not more) to drive people away from faith as anything the New Atheist ever wrote.

And when it comes to public pronouncements of religion, Ted Cruz is George W. Bush on steroids.

Now, if he becomes President, that's a real problem. That would be a disaster.

But I don't think that's going to happen.

So you can laugh at the Borowitz article… but realize it’s really not that much of a joke.

https://youtu.be/STTEd8w4yAo

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