Spain Elects Atheist Prime Minister
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Atheist Republic (News)
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): n.d.
Spain made the headlines with the recent election vote results against the current leader of Spain, Mariano Rajoy, and for the political opposition, Pedro Sánchez. Sánchez has been sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Spain.
Sánchez is the leader of the opposition party called the Spanish Socialist Worker’s Party. When Sánchez took the oath to be sworn in as the Prime Minister, there was no crucifix or Bible to place a hand on at the time. By which the report means, Sánchez is an atheist, even though 2/3rds of the country are Roman Catholic.
In a 2014 interview, Sánchez stated, “I am an atheist and I believe that religion should not be in the classrooms, it has to be in the churches, in the classrooms you have to form citizenship, not people with religious beliefs, that corresponds to the private sphere.”
When Sánchez gave a godless oath as well, however, he only has 84 members of the Spanish Socialist Worker’s Party in the 350-seat Parliament. The question of success for an atheist leader in a majority Roman Catholic Church nation remains to be seen.
In the oath, Sánchez stated, “I promise by my conscience and honor to faithfully fulfill the obligations of the office of President of the Government with loyalty to the King, and to keep and enforce the Constitution as the fundamental norm of the State.”
He switched the word promise in place of swear and emphasized conscience and honor rather than Christian Theity who intervenes in the world.
The article concluded, “But when you have someone who looks to evidence and reason for guidance over internal religious dogma, it’s at least a good starting point.”License
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