Is Obama Losing Support Among Atheists and Christians Alike?

By Paul Stanley, Christian Post Reporter Tuesday, July 24, 2012

President Obama has been criticized by some born-again Christians for running the most anti-biblical administration in history, but recent data from Gallup show that he is actually losing ground among atheists as well.

WallBuilders' David Barton in a blog post in March asserted that Obama is one of the most biblically "hostile" presidents in our nation's history, citing Obama's contraceptive mandate for religious institutions, the removal of all religious symbols from his events, and the appointment of pro-abortion ambassadors to the Vatican, among a long list of items.

But if Obama is losing support among the nation's most religious, shouldn't logic dictate that he must be gaining steam among the non-religious?

Not necessarily. Democrat strategist Mark Mellman recently pointed out that the president is "hemorrhaging support among white atheists."

"The president's vote is down 10 points since 2008 among whites who profess no religion – more than among any segment of non-Hispanic white voters, except single white men and non-Christian whites," wrote Mellman in an op-ed in The Hill.

Mellman pointed out that atheists and non-Christians comprise appropriately 13 percent of the overall electorate and that his segment was as large as the black community in 2008 and even larger than the Latinos.

In an interview with The Christian Post, Mellman asserted that vying for either the religious or the nonreligious vote is ill-advised when all constituencies are worried about the economy.

"I think any voter issues today comes down to the economic challenges people are facing today, irrespective of their religious affiliation," said Mellman. "Turnout may be off a bit compared to four years ago but successful candidates will work harder to appeal to those who are politically engaged."

Whether a significant percentage of atheist or non-religious voters will move away from President Obama may not be known until after the election. Nonetheless, several conservative leaders point out that for Christians there are important issues in addition to the economy, for example the continued appointments of liberal federal judges in key locations who hand down opinions that fly in the face of Christianity.

"If I were a died-in-the-wool atheist, I wouldn't care how many times President Obama talked of his Christian beliefs or used 'God' in his speeches because the longer he is in office the more he can undermine Christian beliefs through his judicial appointments," a conservative leader who asked not to be identified told The Christian Post.

"Our economic situation is important, but future judicial appointments should also be considered when choosing our next president."