arbuthnot400A conservative Member of Parliament,┬áJames Arbuthnot, has recently ‘come out’ publicly as atheist, a move he says would not be possible if he were still seeking reelection. According to Arbuthnot, a Tory, he had felt considerable pressure about concealing his religion, but recently spoke out as a bill to allow prayers at council meetings made the rounds.

ÔÇ£It may be true that the pressure on a Conservative politician particularly of keeping quiet about not being religious is very similar to the pressure that there has been about keeping quiet about being gay,ÔÇØ Arbuthnot┬ásaid, before emphasizing that he was not gay.

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