Yes, Jimmy Kimmel: Bernie Sanders does believe in God

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/10/23/1437706/-Yes-Jimmy-Kimmel-Bernie-Sanders-does-believe-in-God

By Rob in Vermont

Go ahead and Google Bernie Sanders atheist, and you'll see a fair amount of recent talk suggesting that Bernie Sanders is an atheist (which is false; see below) because when Jimmy Kimmel asked him the other night if he believed in God he didn't treat it as a softball question and simply say

"Yes."

We all know what would have happened if he had done the easy thing:

TV Talk Show Host:  Do you believe in God?

Typical Politician: Yes, I do.

[Audience applauds, candidate beams]

Which is really cringe-worthy in our country - whose Constitution specifically forbids religious litmus tests for our political leaders, where people of every faith and people of no faith are supposed to be considered equal members of our democratic society.

Here's how it actually went down. Sanders did get get applause, but not by giving the easy answer:  

Kimmel: You say you’re culturally Jewish, you don’t feel religious.  Do you believe in God, and do you think that’s important to the people of the United States?

Sanders:  Well, you know, I am who I am.  And what I believe in and what my spirituality is about is that we’re all in this together. That I think it is not a good thing to believe that, as human beings, we can turn our backs on the suffering of other people.  [APPLAUSE]  And you know, this is not Judaism.

This is what Pope Francis is talking about, that we cannot worship just billionaires and the making of more and more money. Life is more than that.

I posted a diary about Sanders's belief in God recently on Daily Kos:

Occasionally you'll hear folks speculate that Bernie Sanders is an atheist, because he rarely talks about his religious views. ...  

Well, here's a rare glimpse of him speaking directly on this subject, published in [the Sept. 19, 2015] Burlington Free Press:

Sanders doesn’t generally speak about his own religious views. He said he’s proud to be Jewish, and though he’s “not much into” organized religion, he wouldn’t be doing what he is today if he were not “spiritual.”

“I believe that there is a connection between all living things, and that my belief in God requires me to do all that I can to follow the ‘Golden Rule,’ to do unto others and as I would have them do unto me,” he said. “As a public servant, it requires me to do all that I can to ensure that every person lives with dignity and security.”