Chile has Bachelet as president, and she's an agnostic. I'll see if I find more

Amusingly according to that same poll... a Black Man could get 95% of the vote, and a Morman only 77%.

To be honest, I don't really know Kasz. I'm being a bit presumptuous over Europe. As for Canada, it's funny, I think all Prime Ministers to date would identify themselves as Christian, but it's such a non issue that they don't even talk about it. Oh sure, Harper has before, but that's because he's conservative. Much like Canadians don't give a flying fig about their leader's spouses (what's the deal with the whole first lady thing anyways!?), religion is a big non issue.

Cyprus, Belarus and Kazakhstan's current presidents are atheist

Poland and Romania had democratic presidents that are atheists

Well the US did have one non Christian president... though not an atheist.

Like i said Abrham Lincoln, he was a proud Deist.  Though admittidly he stopped talking about it after he started running for President and let people assume he was his wife's religion.

People say they wouldn't vote for an atheist.  But honestly I don't buy it.

At the end of the day people are going to vote on policy, or at least perceived policy.  No big Liberal is going to suddenly vote for a super conservative just because the democratic candidate is an atheist.

I think it's more likely that people just assume atheists would have stances they don't agree with.

Except for the faith debates. Nothing about the Democratic nominee process irked me more then watching them trip over each other to pander to the religious community in those awkward and painful debates in which they were forced to talk ad nauseam about how religion guided their lives.

And no one, not even Obama, rose above it to question why it was necessary. I never doubted that the U.S. was "ready" to elect women or racial minorities, but religion is still so influential there. I just don't see that changing any time soon.

The first lady thing I think has to do with the fact that the first lady has had a history of actually doing stuff in US politics.

It's like electing a pair to be president almost. In many cases the Presidents wife does more then the Vice President.

They don't always get involved, but they can and often do, mostly in charitable work... and sometimes even play a bigger role

Edith Bolling Galt Wilson was practically president for a while when woodrow wilson was sick.

Elenaor Roosevelt was a huge impact... on social issues and tried to keep FDR in check during japanese internment and some of his other civil rights violations.

Hillary Clinton took it to a whole nother level. Her being first lady is a big reason she's a serious presidential contender.

Definitely.  And I am a Christian.  I would be least likely to vote for a scientologist.  I also would probably not vote for a Mormon, but not to the same degree that I wouldn't vote for a scientologist.