Friday, October 17, 2008

Texas Atheist Group Releases Voters Guide

In a press release issued on Wednesday, the Atheist Community of Austin announced release of the ACA 2008 Voters' Guide featuring responses from 50 candidates in various elections in the state of Texas. The survey was sent to 482 candidates for federal and state offices that are on the ballot in Texas this November. According to the release: "The survey focuses on the Constitutional separation of church and state, freedom of conscience, rational decision making, science advocacy, equality, and other important issues that conventional sources often do not satisfactorily address." ACA's website has links to additional information about the survey. ACA says the survey is needed because: "Non-religious/secular individuals are estimated to represent more than 14% of the population of the United States; yet candidates often ignore or openly dismiss the interests and concerns of this group in order to court religious voters--a political move that fails to address the diversity of opinion held by religious individuals who aren't a part of the more vocal religious demographics."