Atheists, i.e. Nones, are Mostly Democrats and Growing

There is lots of hand wringing about what Democrats should do after the last election. Mostly, punditry talks about getting the "Christian vote" back. I don't think that is really an option for Democrats. The Christain demographic is getting smaller, and the secular one is growing. Nones, no organized religion, are among the largest percentage voters in the country.

Long ago when I was a mayor I was in the press and on TV frequently. On occasion, someone disagreeing with me would say something absolutely and provably false. Reporters would repeat to me what the other person had said and want me to argue. When exasperated, I would tell the reporter to determine who was telling the truth. It was foolish of me to demand this. A successful story was one where two parties were carrying on an emotionally charged argument. Resolving the argument in favor of one or the other killed the emotion needed to draw viewers and sell ads.

The same thing has been done with religion. Religious people have proclaimed, for example, God answers prayers. Secular people say there is no God to answer anything. The press has treated both sides as equal in integrity. As decades have passed, however, the public, one person at a time, has trended toward the secular doubt side. The Democrat party picked up secular people as supporters. These voters are Democrats because the Democratic Party is more secular. That is, Democrats and non belief have become one and the same thing. 

There really is no option available to the Democratic Party to pander toward organized religions. Pandering to the religious right would make the party smaller, not larger. From what one reads, leaders and strategists in the Republican Party are eyeing secular voters also. The nones are a large and attractive voting block Republicans have noticed but they are an hour late and a dollar short.