Humboldt County’s congressional representative Jared Huffman issued a statement today saying he is a nonreligious humanist. The San Rafael-based Democrat is believed be the first member of Congress to identify as a humanist.

Speaking to the Times-Standard today from a taxi cab in Chicago while heading to a congressional colleague’s district, Huffman explained why he broke from his longstanding practice of declining to answer questions about his religious views.

“There was no earth-shaking event. Just a gradual realization that I no longer felt comfortable declining the question,” he said. “You get asked about it more than you think in Congress. In fact, it’s one of the first things they want to know when you get to Washington.”

But Huffman also said statements and policies introduced under President Donald Trump’s administration contributed to his decision.

“I’ve seen so much sinister stuff happening in the name of religion, from the Muslim ban to attacks on women’s reproductive freedom, to this cynical agenda that purports to be about religious freedom, but is really about allowing people to discriminate,” Huffman said. “And I’ve been watching people, frankly that I regard as complete phonies, pretend to be religious and use religion in a very cynical way. All of that contributed to my feeling that I should just say what I believe.”

Huffman said he also has seen a lot of good things happening that were inspired by people’s faith and because of ties to religion. But he said religion has no place in government.

“I think protecting people’s rights to exercise religion has a place, but I think dragging your religion into our government should be off limits,” Huffman said.

According to the American Humanist Association, which Huffman said his beliefs are based on, humanism is “a progressive philosophy of life that, without supernaturalism, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good of humanity.”

Huffman clarified that he is not an atheist.

“I leave a little crack in the spiritual door,” he said. “We all know people who have had experiences they believe to be divinely inspired and it changed them. If God ever wants to talk to me, I’ll take the call.”

The 53-year-old congressman is no stranger to religion, having grown up in a household that was part of a reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which he said is known today as the Community of Christ. He said he even was in the church’s priesthood as a young man, serving as a teacher. While he said it would take more space than this newspaper has to explain what led to his move toward nonreligious views, Huffman said his “spiritual drift” occurred at the age of 20 while attending college.

Some of his family members still practice religion or hold similar beliefs to his own, he said.

The number of congress members who have declined to offer their religious affiliation has been in the minority, ranging from five and 10 since the 1960s, according to a Washington Post review of a Pew Research Center study and Library of Congress documents.

While his statement is relatively new, Huffman said the response from both his constituents and his colleagues in Congress has been overwhelmingly positive.

“Some of my colleagues did see it and it was very supportive,” he said of the responses. “In fact, I had a great conversation with two colleagues who are atheist but haven’t come out and have given generic answers to the question.”

In his statement, Huffman relayed a hope that his announcement might show that it is OK to say what you believe “and that there’s room in American politics for people with secular, nonreligious views.”

Huffman’s religious beliefs did not seem to alter local political parties’ opinions of him.

Humboldt County Democratic Committee Chairman Bob Service said Huffman is another example of “the diversity that the Democratic party is so proud of.”

“We stand by the separation of church and state and the right of any American especially, including our legislators, to hold whatever religious beliefs they choose,” Service said.

Humboldt County Republican Committee Chairman John Schutt said they were surprised that Huffman “finally stands for something” and said he found it interesting that it took Donald Trump being president for Huffman to realize what his religious beliefs were.

“We still think [Huffman] is unqualified to be there and unable to do the job,” Schutt said Thursday evening. “… Our opinions on him have nothing to do with his religious beliefs at all. They were developed long before that.”

Thursday’s statement is not an attempt to preach his religious views, Huffman said.

“I am really not judging anyone else’s religious choices,” he said. “I have enormous respect for my constituents, friends and family members who have all sorts of religious views.”

Will Houston can be reached at 707-441-0504.