Atheist State Representative Juan Mendez's God-Free Invocation (Video)

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "18478561",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "16759093",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "17980324",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "16759092",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "17980324",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 24
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "16759094",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 24
        }
      ]

Democratic State Representative Juan Mendez's God-free invocation at the House Representatives yesterday, as first reported by New Times, is attracting nationwide attention.

If you want to see the video of Mendez's invocation, check it out after the jump:

See also:
-Atheist Lawmaker Quotes Carl Sagan Instead of Doing Prayer Before House Session

If for some reason you can't see the video because of Microsoft Silverlight, you can watch the full thing here.

The invocation was somewhat of a coming-out for Mendez, who, along with members of the Secular Coalition for Arizona, pointed out a recent Pew Research Center study that found nearly one-in-five Americans is not affiliated with any religion.

"I hope today marks the beginning of a new era in which Arizona's non believers can feel as welcome and valued here as believers," Mendez later said.

Without a doubt, there are several, if not many, elected non-believers across the country, but Mendez may be the only one (so far) who has had the guts to say something about it.

Send feedback and tips to the author.
Follow Matthew Hendley on Twitter at @MatthewHendley.