A Republican candidate for Congress claims Satan is to blame for legal efforts to separate church and state, and is urging Christians to rise up against any atheist seeking elected office.

Jody Hice, a right-wing Baptist pastor and the GOP nominee for an open U.S. House seat in Georgia, argues America must follow God’s law, and campaigns to place copies of the Ten Commandments throughout public buildings as part of his spiritual battle to save America.

Hice made his offensive and derogatory comments on atheist lawmakers during an interview with the Trinity Broadcasting Network. During that interview, Hice said:

“Are we going to be a nation that is led by people who acknowledge God? Who acknowledge God’s law and acknowledge the role of God’s law in our society and the founding of our country? Or are we going to be led by people who totally reject God. It’s a frightening thing if we don’t rise up.”

Hice claims if we don’t elect Christians to Congress, the results will be “disastrous.”

Hice is well known for his Biblically based rants. Hice blamed the Sandy Hook shooting on America’s “kicking God out of the public square.” Hice has also warned that homosexuality “enslaves” people, and has compared being gay to alcoholism, drug addiction, “tendencies to lie,” and “tendencies to be violent.” No surprise, Hice is also a sexist, and claims he has no problem with women entering politics – as long as they ask their husbands first.

Last month Hice made headlines after claiming Islam is not a religion and that the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious liberty does not apply to Muslims. In 2012 Hice wrote:

“Although Islam has a religious component, it is much more than a simple religious ideology. It is a complete geo-political structure and, as such, does not deserve First Amendment protection.”

Speaking for many reasonable people, Hemant Mehta, writing at Friendly Atheist, notes:

This is someone who has a legitimate chance of becoming a member of Congress. We should all be freaked out.

Hice will face Democrat Ken Dious in November. If he wins, Hice would replace Republican Congressman Paul Broun, who is currently one of the most socially conservative members of Congress. Given the district’s hard conservative lean, Hice will likely win the general election in November.

Readers may begin to freak out at their leisure.