And Bill Rappleye should know that. Rather than forcing the candidates in last night’s debate to profess a particular religious belief, a more enlightened questioner might have confronted Cianci with the protections embedded in the U.S. Constitution. Article VI [3] states that “. . . no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.” Why not challenge Cianci on the cynical demagoguery behind his campaign’s robo-calling blitz aimed at scaring elderly Catholics. ‘Atheism’ is not a pejorative term: More and more Americans proudly identify as such.
All this is particularly offensive in the state founded by Roger Williams who argued against any effort of the state to dictate religion or promote any particular religious idea or practice, famously declaring, “Forced worship stinks in the nostrils of God.”