Congressman Jared Huffman has written a book titled No Prophets: The Fight to Save Democracy from Christian Nationalism to address what he characterizes as a significant gap in public awareness regarding Christian nationalist movements in the United States. Huffman was present during the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack and observed religious symbolism and prayer among participants, which he believes demonstrated the movement’s growing influence and militant character. He contends that despite this event, American political discourse has largely overlooked the religious dimensions of the incident, creating what he describes as a “Bible-sized blind spot” in national consciousness.
Huffman represents a unique position in Congress as the only current member who publicly states he does not believe in God. He grew up in Independence, Missouri, in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, an offshoot of Mormonism, where he was ordained into its priesthood. His faith changed during his college years at UC Santa Barbara following his father’s death, leading him to question supernatural tenets of religion. He has adopted the label humanist, which he describes as an affirmative statement of his belief in leading moral and ethical lives based on science, facts, and reason rather than religious doctrine.
For much of his political career, Huffman kept his secular worldview private. During his first day in Congress in 2013, he participated in a Bible-holding ceremony for his swearing-in photo, a moment he later described as leaving him feeling “sullied and hypocritical.” The decision to publicly acknowledge his non-belief came in 2017, following his mother’s death and Trump’s entry into the White House. Despite warnings from his wife, brother, staff, and advisers that such a disclosure would be damaging to his career, citing polling data showing “atheist” as the worst label for a political candidate, Huffman chose to make his worldview public.
Huffman received support from colleagues including House minority leader Nancy Pelosi, congressman Jamie Raskin, with whom he founded the Congressional Freethought Caucus, and House chaplain Father Pat Conroy. While Huffman states he has encountered harsh judgments and criticism following his public disclosure, he argues the experience has reinforced his commitment to addressing religious extremism in government. He characterizes what he terms “Christian privilege” as a cultural protection afforded to Christian-based religious movements that prevents the same scrutiny applied to minority or foreign faiths, citing both the January 6 attack and the House January 6 select committee’s final report as examples of this phenomenon.
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