Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders disappointed many atheists among his fans at a Democratic town hall Wednesday, when he declared he had “very strong religious and spiritual feelings,” RNS reported.
“It’s a guiding principle in my life, absolutely, it is,” Sanders said in response to a question from a New Hampshire voter about his faith. “Everybody practices religion in a different way. To me, I would not be here tonight, I would not be running for president of the United States, if I did not have very strong religious and spiritual feelings.”
A week earlier, Sanders told The Washington Post that despite the fact that he is “not active in any organized religion” he believes in God. It made him an instant hero with the atheist crowd, who reveled at the idea of an American president who does not profess his faith or wears it on his sleeve.
The reaction to Bernie’s honesty about his faith in God was swift and unforgiving. Lauren Nelson, writing for Friendly Atheist on Thursday Sanders’ response felt like a “punch to the gut,” explaining, “Here was a candidate who, throughout decades of public service, had always been a staunch advocate for keeping religion out of politics, and he was saying that religion was the reason he was running?!. Sanders, who has in the past indicated that his Judaism was a function of culture instead of belief?! HOW COULD HE BETRAY US?!”
The 73-year-old democratic socialist Senator from Vermont is Jewish and secular, doesn’t belong to a synagogue either in Burlington or in Washington, D.C. He is, however, a strong supporter of Israel, refused to criticize Israel’s actions in Gaza in 2014, and spent a few months in 1963 on kibbutz Sha’ar Ha’amakim (Hashomer Hatzair) in western Galilee.