A national group of atheists gave President Obama a lukewarm grade and Mitt Romney a failing grade on statements and actions touching on topics of religion and government entanglement.
The highest grade in the Secular Coalition’s Presidential Scorecard for the 2012 elections was a “B,” given to Libertarian Gary Johnson. Democrat Obama received a “C” and Republican Romney was hit with an “F.” Green Party candidate Jill Stein was handed an incomplete.
This Presidential Election Scorecard was produced by the Secular Coalition for America, which serves as the national lobby for atheists, agnostics, humanists and other nontheistic Americans.
The four candidates considered for the scorecard were those whose names appear on the ballots in enough states to garner the required 270 electoral votes to be elected president. Grades were based on candidates’ public statements and actions related to religion-government entanglement on topics of “government and values,” health and safety, education, government funding and government acts.
The coalition argues that with the rise of the Christian Right, religion has gained prominence in U.S. elections. Now, for the more than 45 million voting age non-religious Americans, says the coalition, its scorecard provides information on where each candidate stands on issues important to them.
“While voters choose candidates for many reasons and based on many issues, we hope the Secular Coalition’s scorecard will be one more tool they use to inform their decision,” said the group’s executive director, Edwina Rogers, in a statement.
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