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OK - this is totally messed up:

With election season upon us, and a near constant stream of public jabs and rebuttals between incumbents and their challengers, we should focus on something besides the Americans that are running for office. Instead, let's turn our attention to a rather peculiar set of state laws relating to elections and nonreligious Americans.

It's well known that there aren't many open atheists in Congress or in state government, and that atheists aren't held in high esteem by potential voters. Some question our dedication to what they view as a "Christian nation" while others feel that they can't relate to a candidate who doesn't share the same faith as they do.

Whatever the reason, public distrust isn't the only means by which atheists are discouraged for running from office. In fact, running for a spot in state legislatures as an atheist is outright illegal in some states. Obviously, these laws are trumped by the "No Religious Test Clause" of the United States Constitution, which is found in Article VI, paragraph 3, and states that:

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.

However, these laws are still on the books and have given atheist candidates trouble in the past. Cecil Bothwell, an atheist who in 2009 won an election for a Asheville, North Carolina city council seat, was almost unseated by local critics who pointed to a provision in North Carolina's constitution that prohibited nonbelievers from being elected. This provision of the state constitution is similar to provisions in Arkansas, Maryland, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.

Read on to see how each state expressly forbids godless citizens from running for office. How are these laws still on the books in the United States of America in the year 2012? Sheesh!

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