There Are 10 Times As Many Atheists as Mormons: When Will Non-Believers Become a Political Force?
Here’s a good article on the politics of religious belief (and non-belief) by Adam Lee at alternet.
American politics clearly has a “stained-glass ceiling,” a de facto barrier to atheists running for office. Despite the many great Americans who’ve been nonbelievers, despite the guarantees of secularism written into our Constitution, outspoken atheism is still seen as an insurmountable liability for anyone who seeks to serve our country as an elected officer of the government.
Why is this? It’s not because atheists are so rare that politicians can safely ignore us. On the contrary, nonbelief is far more common than many people realize.