Excellent. Short, (enforcedly) honest and to the point:
New Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has answered "no" when asked on BBC radio if he believed in God.
The rapid-fire question and answer format on 5 Live meant the 40-year-old did not have the chance to elaborate.
I know that a politician's religious beliefs are not as big a deal over here in Blighty as they are stateside, much to my relief. But it's nice to see someone come out and say "No," when asked the question. To be fair to the guy, he did elaborate later:
He later said he had "enormous respect for people who have religious faith", that his wife is Catholic and that his children are being brought up Catholic.
He also said:
"However, I myself am not an active believer, but the last thing I would do when talking or thinking about religion is approach it with a closed heart or a closed mind."
Which I think is the right attitude all round.
So good on you Nick Clegg. Buggered if I know how good a Lib Dem leader you'll be, though.
Yes, it made me smile too … but also wonder – is it the Richard Dawkins voice-of-reason phenomenon all over again?
UK voters (especially the ones least likely to vote for the Tories) are not a very religious bunch. In fact, many of them tend to pride themselves in not being religious, so it only makes sense that if you want to sell books or get elected, you can try to appeal to that by appearing non- (or even anti-) religious.
So maybe Nick Clegg is honest about his lack of religious beliefs. Good on him, but it’s not a testimony for free thinking Clegg, it’s a testimony for the free thinking British voters!
I absolutely love living in a country where pretty much everyone I know is free thinking, but I find the politics (or publishing business) of appealing to that sentiment every bit as ridiculous as any other political (or marketing) maneuver.