# Trump is an atheist. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 6, 2018, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-an-atheist/825690 "2018-12-06T17:39:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-an-atheist/825690/61 "2018-12-07T11:28:39Z")
As spokesman for the atheist community, let me just say that we don’t want him. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-an-atheist/825690/62 "2018-12-07T14:33:15Z")
One of the core origins of Trump’s beliefs comes from good old Norman Vincent Peale of _The Power of Positive Thinking_. [Peale](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Vincent_Peale) was a good friend of Trump’s father, The Donald attended Peale’s church as a kid and got married there (the first time). So Trump grew up Christian and this strongly affects his philosophy, right? Er … Something went very wrong along the way. Remember Peale’s idea is that if you want something to happen you believe that it will happen. Trump’s mentality is a distortion of this: If you believe something is true it is true. Peale’s philosophy isn’t all that Christian-specific to begin with and contradicts core Christian beliefs according to some [experts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Power_of_Positive_Thinking#Theological_critique). I think the actual, recognizable Christian background that Trump got has had minimal affect on him. Instead he’s just your standard money and ego driven agnostic with a mindset that’s a perversion of a corruption of Christianity. He knows perfectly well that if there is a Hell he’s going there afterwards. So there can’t be a Hell. And Heaven sounds boring. What, no porn stars? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-an-atheist/825690/63 "2018-12-07T14:35:24Z")
Think about it: If Trump revealed himself to be the anti-Christ, you might be shocked, but would you be surprised? ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-an-atheist/825690/64 "2018-12-07T16:21:00Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Think about it: If Trump revealed himself to be the anti-Christ, you might be shocked, but would you be surprised? Yes. It’s well known that [Ronald Reagan](https://www.666truth.org/blog/id/1953/antichrist-myths--ronald-reagan) was the Antichrist. Trump would be second fiddle to him, or more likely about fifth fiddle. BTW, the Reagan Antichrist thing came from the fact that all three of his names are 6 letters long: Ronald Wilson Reagan. Well, my name has the same property. Furthermore, my initials are the same as those of the person this thread is about. As far as I’m concerned, there are far too many coincidences between me and Republican presidents. I’m thinking of suing, if I could just figure out who to sue. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-an-atheist/825690/65 "2018-12-07T18:11:48Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > As an atheist who absolutely despises Donald Trump, I have to say there’s a fair amount of “No True Scotsman” arguing going on in this thread. In fact, _lots_ of atheists over the years have argued that atheists are simply people who “don’t believe there is a god” […] I won’t try to argue over what the definition of _atheist_ is, and it was not my point to define it. What I mean to say is that Trump doesn’t believe in God the same way that he doesn’t believe in the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-an-atheist/825690/66 "2018-12-07T18:16:58Z")
> [@Capn\_Carl](#): > > There are plenty of Christians who show as little knowledge of the Bible as he does. There are also plenty of Christians who have sinned as he has. And I can’t know what he thinks about religion, so it’s just a hunch. I think he’s an atheist. What do you think? My own opinion is that he believes he is a god, in the sense of the roman or greek gods. He believes in the divine right for him to rule us and us to worship him and his name. He is a bit upset that in the US he can’t have the same level of rulership/respect as Kim Jong-un or the like. While all of this is MHO, all also probably true. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-an-atheist/825690/67 "2018-12-07T18:50:00Z")
> [@Capn\_Carl](#): > > I really don’t care what he is. I want to know what others think, and why. I guess I care a little less than you do because I didn’t start a thread about it. I am similarly unconvinced he is a Dungeons and Dragons nerd or that he has an unnatural affinity for blueberry muffins or that bathing in sheep dip is on his bucket list. In your opinion are these proclivities similar in triviality to his being religious? Or is there a point to the OP that I am missing? In answer to the OP, I think he acts very much like most Christians I KNOW about, so I see no reason to stain the belief structure of atheists _or_ narcissists by associating him with them. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-an-atheist/825690/68 "2018-12-07T19:07:25Z")
Trump an Atheist? I don’t care if he believes in little green men from Mars. He’s a moronic crook that has not, and never has given a shit about anyone but himself. He’s a narcistic sociopath. Full Stop. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-an-atheist/825690/69 "2018-12-07T19:49:23Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Trump an Atheist? I don’t care if he believes in little green men from Mars. Frankly, if he were openly atheistic or agnostic, I wouldn’t care either, but the fact is that it’s incredibly difficult for an open atheist or agnostic to win a political office in the U.S. (the exception being someone who runs for office in a highly liberal area). And, winning as a Republican, while not openly professing one’s Christianity, is close to impossible. To me, that’s the bothersome part of this all. I see very little reason to believe that Trump has any real faith of any sort (other than his own ego), but he has paid what, IMO, is clear lip service to Christianity in order to gain the approval of the conservative Christians whose support he knew he needed in order to win in the primaries, and then in the general election. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-an-atheist/825690/70 "2018-12-07T19:58:27Z")
Trump’s only religious trapping is his mirror. Jesus was a loser because he got captured. Trump only likes holy figures who don’t get captured because they’re available for photo ops with him. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-an-atheist/825690/71 "2018-12-07T20:27:08Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I don’t think the Obamas are atheist, but I do agree with the people who say that they are most likely nominal Christians, meaning that they go on Christmas and Easter, and maybe other times on occasion, and don’t think about it all that much the rest of the time. > > And so what if he’s Muslim? The Constitution itself has a few things to say about this kind of thing. (I don’t think he is, BTW.) I gather you don’t remember the shitstorm about his former pastor. The Obamas definitely went to church more than twice a year. [Here](https://www.thoughtco.com/barack-obamas-religious-beliefs-background-248613) is an article about his early religious upbringing - or lack thereof. There is no smoking atheist gun, but I’m betting he was one. And I absolutely agree with **pool** that his religion was taken up for political reasons. He used God a lot in his keynote, and it went over very well. The guy knew that running while black was hard enough - he didn’t need to run while black and atheist too. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-an-atheist/825690/72 "2018-12-07T20:30:10Z")
Trump’s religion probably depends on the last person he talked to. My definition of atheism is simply lack of god belief. Trump may be an atheist under that definition, which requires no intellectual underpinning, but I bet we kind of believes in some civil type of god (like the In God we Trust god) because he is intellectually incapable of reasoning why this is untrue. But that doesn’t make him religious in the least. ---
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-an-atheist/825690/73 "2018-12-07T21:21:54Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > As an atheist who absolutely despises Donald Trump, I have to say there’s a fair amount of “No True Scotsman” arguing going on in this thread. In fact, _lots_ of atheists over the years have argued that atheists are simply people who “don’t believe there is a god” I agree, seems to be a lot less inclusiveness here of degrees of non-belief as ‘atheism’ than there is when it’s debate about what % of Americans (for example) are atheists. And just bashing of Trump, which, whatever, who can really defend the guy personally. I don’t think religious conservatives do by and large. They think they are under cultural attack, and whether that’s true or not if you feel that way you want a fighter on your side. Most of them believe he has/will. I don’t think many believe he’s a devout Christian. Anyway Trump is of a form of ‘traditionalist non-believer’ nominally associated with a religion (tends to be Christianity in our cultural but not necessarily) in which he clearly has little actual interest. Whether that makes him an ‘atheist’, or whether he would become one with the stroke of the poll question of saying ‘unaffiliated’…again people might consider how they’d treat that question in other contexts. Are they sure they wouldn’t ‘borrow’ de facto non-believers like Trump as ‘atheists’? 🙂 Of course any statement about actual belief is speculative. Trump doesn’t _manifest_ any apparent interest in his supposed Presbyterianism when it’s not directly political. I have no idea if he might not have some residuum of belief at some level. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-an-atheist/825690/74 "2018-12-07T22:39:01Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Think about it: If Trump revealed himself to be the anti-Christ, you might be shocked, but would you be surprised? Well, I’d be more surprised that there really was a antichrist and that these were the end times. Trump filling the shoes- not so much as a eyebrow raise. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-an-atheist/825690/75 "2018-12-08T01:26:18Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > My own opinion is that he believes he is a god, in the sense of the roman or greek gods. He believes in the divine right for him to rule us and us to worship him and his name. He is a bit upset that in the US he can’t have the same level of rulership/respect as Kim Jong-un or the like. > > While all of this is MHO, all also probably true. That statement about Kim Jong Zero is definitely correct, and the rest? Agreed 100%. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-an-atheist/825690/76 "2018-12-08T01:29:01Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I gather you don’t remember the shitstorm about his former pastor. The Obamas definitely went to church more than twice a year. > > [Here](https://www.thoughtco.com/barack-obamas-religious-beliefs-background-248613) is an article about his early religious upbringing - or lack thereof. There is no smoking atheist gun, but I’m betting he was one. > And I absolutely agree with **pool** that his religion was taken up for political reasons. He used God a lot in his keynote, and it went over very well. The guy knew that running while black was hard enough - he didn’t need to run while black and atheist too. Oh, I definitely remember the furor over Rev. Wright. And I’m talking about now, not before he was POTUS. ---
**Author:** ![Capn\_Carl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Capn\_Carl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capn_Carl)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-an-atheist/825690/77 "2018-12-08T01:52:51Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > I guess I care a little less than you do because I didn’t start a thread about it. I am similarly unconvinced he is a Dungeons and Dragons nerd or that he has an unnatural affinity for blueberry muffins or that bathing in sheep dip is on his bucket list. In your opinion are these proclivities similar in triviality to his being religious? Or is there a point to the OP that I am missing? > > In answer to the OP, I think he acts very much like most Christians I KNOW about, so I see no reason to stain the belief structure of atheists _or_ narcissists by associating him with them. My goal in the OP was to get exactly the sort of responses it has. Some have been humorous, some insightful, all of them interesting, to me anyway. Most interesting have been yours. I think you find this thread or something in my OP objectionable, am I right? I’m getting the feeling that I’m missing something, either about you or about me, but whatever it is, it’s going over my head. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-an-atheist/825690/78 "2018-12-08T05:24:37Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > In answer to the OP, I think he acts very much like most Christians I KNOW about, so I see no reason to stain the belief structure of atheists _or_ narcissists by associating him with them. Atheists don’t have a belief structure, only the lack of one. And Karl Rove is an avowed atheist, so if it was going to be stained, it is already. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-an-atheist/825690/79 "2018-12-08T08:09:02Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > … And Karl Rove is an avowed atheist, so if it was going to be stained, it is already. Maybe, there is controversy on this. > **[Karl Rove and the politics of religion](https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2008/february/karl-rove-and-politics-of-religion.html)** > > A religious man after all, Rove talks about the role of faith in American politics _But last night Rove told me he is in fact a religious person, though he didn’t specify how his Christian roots manifest themselves in his life._ ---
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-an-atheist/825690/80 "2018-12-08T17:19:40Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Atheists don’t have a belief structure, only the lack of one. And Karl Rove is an avowed atheist, so if it was going to be stained, it is already. On ‘belief structure’ that just shifts the ambiguity to what that means rather than what ‘atheist’ means. In practical terms I’d distinguish in every day (internet, fortunately rarely in real life) experience people who tell me I’m stupid for believing in ‘my imaginary friend’ they are _sure_ does not exist, v people who simply don’t believe in anything in this regard. And the idea that people of any of these variations are strictly more virtuous than others is about equally ridiculous coming from people anywhere on the spectrum IMO. Though again noting that getting up in other people’s faces about their personal beliefs in this respect is obnoxious. I’m giving the example of people I know are ‘positive atheists’ because of their bragging about it. I’m not saying that less obnoxious people don’t have the same positive disbelief, which of course they are entitled to, but I don’t see it. And again in real life the people I deal with are rarely obnoxious this way like on the internet (I live in a very ‘blue’ area, so it’s not that I deal only with religious people). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-an-atheist/825690.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-an-atheist/825690.md?page=5)