Tête-à-Tête-Tête

That’s a step up from dogcatcher, a job for which non-theists ordinarily need-not-apply. I guess we’re coming up in the world - though I’m not sure he was “out” when elected. Let’s see how his next re-election bid goes.

Maybe atheist purists will take a beef with his non-identification as “atheist”. Maybe if that means he would answer “no” to a yes-or-no question, in which case, I’d like to hear what he is. However, if it means that he doesn’t positively self-identify that way in the sense of “I am an atheist”, I certainly don’t blame him. In fact, I don’t think any of us really should do that except in the rare appropriate context. I don’t self-identify as a stamp collector, despite not collecting stamps. I don’t self-identify as a non-liver-eater, despite not eating liver — in spite of the fact that I can’t stand liver. There’s something wrong with a culture which encourages people to self-identify in terms of what they are not.

Like Stark, I self-identify as Unitarian Universalist. That’s something I am. If I wasn’t that, I would probably identify as a humanist, a skeptic, or maybe even freethinker - depending on the context.

So, I’m cool with that. And, by the way, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out Barney Frank is a closeted non-theist, too.