I grew up in Seattle; and by and large, it’s a pretty liberal/progressive place, as things go. And with the exception of the nuts in eastern WA, the state’s not so bad. (It’s a blue state, you know.) So, this bit of idiotic religious bigotry in the governor’s race seemed especially depressing to me: Gubernatorial Candidate Slams Atheists

Ron Sims, running for governor under the Democratic party (Washington), made a statement expressing a high degree of bigotry against Atheists… in a debate hosted by KING5 and the Seattle Times… One viewer who submitted a question… asked Sims if he would appoint [Atheists] to a judgeship. Sims responded “I think it�s important for a person to feel they are not the only answer and that if they don�t have to account for what they say and what they do, those people are very dangerous. People who think they are the beginning and end of every question and answer are very dangerous people. Anyone who does not hold a belief in a higher authority is a very dangerous person.”

Part of what’s interesting is that he gives voice to exactly the equation that lurks in lots of very mainstream rhetoric: Being someone who “doesn’t hold a belief in a higher authority” is the same as being someone who thinks “they don�t have to account for what they say and what they do” and “they are the beginning and end of every question and answer”. That is, atheism is equivalent to non-moral egoism. Is there a more widespread piece of stupid theistic bigotry?