I should point out at the outset that the horror expressed by John Kasich, the Republican governor of Ohio, happened two years ago when he told people in a New Hampshire bookshop that Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe was an atheist.

Why I brought this up today is because I was somewhat taken aback that Christian Headlines omitted to mention the British actor’s atheism when it reported that Radcliffe has been picked to play an angel in a comedy about God and heaven.

TBS’ new series Miracle Workers depicts heaven as a grimy and industrial place which God had apparently abandoned.

The show’s description on IMDb notes that the comedy, which is set in the “offices of Heaven Inc” tells the story of two angels who try to convince God not to destroy the Earth.

Kasich, above, was on a tour of downtown Exeter, New Hampshire, when he spotted a copy of Harry Potter. He then said, apropos of absolutely nothing at all:

You know that Daniel Radcliffe has declared himself an atheist? I’m serious. What a weird thing. Why would a guy who has had all that success just, I mean, what the hell is wrong with him?

Radcliffe, the successful former child actor, has made no secret of his atheism, telling Esquire Magazine in 2009 that:

I’m an atheist, but I’m very relaxed about it. I don’t preach my atheism …

For his part, Kasich has been going to Bible study every other week for the past two decades. Raised “a card-carrying Catholic”, Kasich lapsed as an adult and recommitted himself to religion after his parents were killed by a drunk driver in 1987. He’s even written two books on the subject of faith.

Kasich’s remarks were challenged by American Atheists’ then-President David Silverman, who, in a letter to the politician, wrote: